"What The World Needs Now Is A Shining Hero!"	Year of Release: 1988 Directed by: Phillipe Mora Running Time: Approx. 101 minutes Rating: PG Listing on the A.K.A. Page: YES! Click Here! A Second Opinion: Bad Movie Night Buy it on DVD at: Amazon.com or Movies Unlimited.com. My Rating:

Captain Invincible- Alan Arkin! After being accused of being a Communist by the McCarthy Committee, he was stripped of his super-hero status, and became an alcoholic. He has to learn how to use his special powers and reprogram his "amazing computer brain" in order to defeat the evil Mr. Midnight.

Mr. Midnight- Christopher Lee! A tyrannical madman who has stolen the HYPNORAY! He intends to conquer the world with said device and create a master race, but has his efforts thwarted by Captain Invincible. Sadly he is killed when hit by a huge model of the Earth.

Patricia- Australian detective who discovers our drunken washed up hero and helps him regain his abilities and his lost patriotism.

Julius- Small mutant rat/man/creature/muppet/thing, and one of Mr. Midnight's henchmen. He basically serves as scenery in the movie and has no true purpose...he's so gosh darn cute though!

The President- He was a boyscout who met Captain Invincible back in the 1950's. He gets Captain Invincible to once again become America's shining patriotic hero!

I can't think of a more patriotic movie than this. No other film has ever shown the same appreciation or devotion to this super-power nation us Americans call home. In the early 40's and 50's, Captain Invincible was a super hero who battled the Nazi's in Europe and battled bootlegger's at home. Unfortunately for our hero, he was sent before the dreaded McCarthy Committee and was accused of being a Communist (as well as being accused of flying without a pilot's license, wearing a red cape, and wearing underwear in public). This devasted him so badly that he became a raging alcoholic.
Years go by and his assistance is needed again. Someone has stolen the "top-secret" HYPNORAY from the Pentagon (with the aid of a "giggle-gun" Hehe). No one knows what to do until the President arrives and proclaims (in a song and dance number), that what the world needs now is a hero." So a search begins worldwide for Captain Invincible, which ends pretty fast. Patricia, an (extremely homely yet busty) Australian detective was saved by the drunken Captain earlier, so she immediately knows where to find him. The President arrives in Sydney (or is it Sidney?) to help talk Captain Invincible into helping the U.S. of A. in this time of crisis.
Well the Captain takes the case but must now regain his "Magnetic Powers" and his ability to fly, plus he has to reprogram his "amazing computer brain!" After a while he begins to regain his special powers and we learn of his origin too! Apparently his mom was having sex with a G.I. when suddenly aliens flew by and zapped Captain Invincible's mom with some kind of ray. Said ray impregnates mom and the aliens all enjoy a smoke... hehehehe (get it?!). After battling some killer vacuums, singing a few musical numbers, and taking on an evil deli owner (who has an automatic fish machine gun), Captain Invincible falls into a trap and discovers the hideout of his arch-nemesis, Mr. Midnight.
Captain Invincible dispatches of Midnight's henchmen, easily makes it through all his booby traps, but is almost defeated by...BOOZE! Seeing Christopher Lee sing about drinking alcohol while ugly women in revealing clothes dance around in the background is terribly amusing. It took a while for me to stop laughing at this point, especially since Chris Lee isn't the greatest singer in the world. Well, all seems lost until Patricia goes and plays "God Bless America" over Eagle Radio (which went off the air after World War II). This cranks up the Captain's patriotism ten fold. He chases down Mr. Midnight, who would have succeeded in his evil plot which I am going to explain to you now, in full (even though I should have earlier). Mr. Midnight used the HYPNORAY to make certain races purchase homes near the NY shoreline.
So the Sicily Acres, Polish Acres, and Afro-Acres housing projects were all filled up by hypnotized racial minorities. Then Mr. Midnight planned on exterminating these said minorities by blowing up the shoreline and sending all the residents to their deaths on land and on the sea. Luckily Captain Invincible picks up a nearby globe (that's the size of a Volkswagon) and hurls it at Midnight, killing the genocidal maniac on impact. And so Captain Invincible has saved New York and quite possibly the world from mass genocide and the tyrannical rule of Christopher Lee! "GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR HOME, SWEET HOME!"

President: "What the world needs right now, is a hero."

Captain Invincible: "Magnet on!"

Captain Invincible: "Into the blue!"

Captain Invincible: "Begin Programming!"

Captain Invincible: "Australia? That's where I've been all these years? I knew everything looked different but I thought it was the booze!"