Gunn's movie is an ingeniously nasty concoction that feeds the cult of superhero fandom back into itself.

Thanks to Wilson's ridiculously nerdish ambition, and a lively performance from Page, there are laughs to be had, but it could have been a funnier parody.

Writer-director James Gunn eventually loses control of the tone, which slips from deadpan to deadly and trashes what little amusement there was in a finale of gruesome violence.

A pitch-black comedy that operates at the top of Rainn Wilson and James Gunn's abilities.