8 Underrated Films From Famous Directors You Probably Missed

7. Super - James Gunn

James Gunn has become a major Hollywood name after only one film, the refreshing Guardians Of The Galaxy. However, because of that massive hit (and that the further you go back the weirder it gets), discussion of his pre-Marvel career often misses out vast swathes, typically honing in on skin-crawling creature feature Slither (which even gets an easter egg in Guardians). But you should really also consider his previous foray into the superhero genre, Super.

Like Guardians, it takes an alternative slant to caped fighters, sending up convention and injecting realistic character humour into proceedings. Not that they're really all that similar; Super is a down-to-Earth vigilante story where a loner doles out violent justice as a release. It's essentially Kick-Ass, only more irreverent, darker and realistic.

Despite starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, the film didn't get much of a release and, because it scored a rotten rating on RottenTomatoes, doesn't look like one worth checking out retroactively. Which is a massive shame, because it's really great, an intense action movie that doubles as a troubling exploration of mental illness.