Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot

In the attempt of hiding from the police, Enzo Ceccotti, a small street criminal, jumps in the very polluted river Tevere; a few days after he'll discover to have acquired extraordinary powers.

I'm sure that it will not be easy to fully comprehend the beauty of this movie if you don't understand the complexity of the contemporary Italy. This movie depicts perfectly a country full of contradictions: a breath-taking city envied all over the world that hides a degraded outskirt deep inside; a generation of children stuck in their grown ups bodies with their vanilla puddings and their Japanese anime on local TV channels; a criminal class that fluctuates from the ridiculousness to the ruthlessness to whom money has the same importance than popularity and Youtube visualization numbers; and a criminal with no emotional bonds, values or reasons to do good (that would not inspire empathy in any other superhero movies), is saved from an unexpected "damsel in distress" and becomes the hero of a community that often looks hopeless to those who live here every day but that sometimes, unexpectedly, finds its superpowers in the common people, the real heroes of this crazy, misunderstood country.

I love Italian movies and series because mostly are high quality products. Here we have a little pretty anti hero gem called Jeeg Robot. First, the acting is quite good. Pretty raw and credible. Some familiar faces from Gomorrah. Second, the cinematography and the FX's are pretty good. Not excessive CGI used. And last, the script was quite good. Some not predictable turns. So, overall a great little great gem again coming from Italy.

Go with it! Actually run with it would be better. And the filmmaker of this one did exactly that. It's always about the money, although you couldn't tell the budget for this one, because the mind goes a long way. And they really though of something that while it may not be unique, it very much feels like it is. And that alone is worth more than a really big budget.

So if you are open minded and like weird Indie movies, you will have the time of your life with this one. It's our anti-hero who's carrying this, but also the female lead who's helping a lot (maybe not always literally but you get the point). It may feel creepy or wrong at times, but that just goes to show you, that the movie is rough on the edges. And it's refreshing that it doesn't seem to mind about correctness one way or another. One of the best Fantasy movies in the last couple of years - and who said Italy couldn't do any Genre movies anymore?

Oh my, just when I thought I see it all, another hidden gem surprises me. This movie has everything, and even when I think I will never see a more controversial relationship between two main characters since "Leon, The Professional", Enzo and Alessia appear. A weird movie, with a rare plot, but I need to say that better than a lot of American superheros movies that saturate the cinematography year by year these days. Just hope this will not be just a one hit wonder and the director continue these franchise because they could have a future if they make the right moves. A sad story, with a non-conventional approach, for be "a superhero movie", but that is well executed and will take a place between my favorite films outside of Hollywood. Great work!!!!

Enzo (Claudio Santamaria) is a small time petty thief who falls into a vat of chemicals and finds himself imbued with superhuman strength. Meanwhile the local hood boss Zingaro (devilishly well played by Luca Marinelli) finds himself obsessed with the new superhero and his crazed ambitions to infamy puts both hero and villain on a familiar collision course.

This superhero origin story is given a local Italian flavour, and the result is an understated superhero film with layered characterizations: this makes the catharsis from the redemptive arc of our hero well earned. With the cosmic heroics of the Marvel stable overwhelming the cinematic landscape this past decade, it is a breath of fresh air to see a movie which does so well with just the basics of a well worn superhero story. Surprisingly good, down to earth and heartfelt to boot. Bravo.