Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Review.

Thoughts: Since Joss Whedon's Agents of SHIELD is premiering tomorrow, it seemed like a good time to review one of Whedon's many fantastic works, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a internet film created by Joss Whedon (aka King of Nerds), who directed and wrote The Avengers. During the writer's strike of 2008 Joss Whedon and his brother Zack had the idea to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike, so they made Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The movie was originally released in three parts, however it has since been released as a full 42 minute movie. Because of this, you can watch the entire movie on YouTube, and I have the video posted below. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a deconstruction, satire, and parody of the superhero genre, and leave it to Whedon to make it a musical. As I have said before, I cannot stand musicals in general, however, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog managed to be the only musical that I genuinely enjoy. The songs, humor, and story are all perfectly executed with Whedon's usual wit and likeable characters.
Since the movie is a satire, the tone is intentionally corny and over-the-top, which is one of reasons why the movie is positively hilarious!


Directed by: Joss Whedon
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Superhero
Release Date: July 15, 2008 (2008-07-15) – July 20, 2008
Running Time: 42 minutes
MMPA rating: Would be PG-13


The Good: Several hilarious jokes and songs, Witty dialogue and humor, One particularly excellent song, Perfect ending, Unique story, Completely the opposite of what you would expect, Catchy songs,

The Bad:



Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Dr. Horrible is filming an entry for his video blog, giving updates on his schemes and responding to various emails from his viewers. Asked about the "her" that he often mentions, he launches into a song about Penny, the girl he likes from the laundromat ("My Freeze Ray").
The song is cut short by his "evil moisture buddy" Moist, who brings up a letter from Bad Horse, the leader of the Evil League of Evil. The letter informs Dr. Horrible that his application for entry into the League will be evaluated, and that they will be watching for his next heinous crime ("Bad Horse Chorus").
The following day, Horrible prepares to steal a case of wonderflonium for his time-stopping Freeze Ray by commandeering the courier van using a remote control device. Penny happens to be on the same street ("Caring Hands"), and appears asking him to sign a petition to turn a condemned city building into a homeless shelter. However, the remote requires his attention, and he appears uninterested in her and her cause. As Penny leaves, Horrible is conflicted, but opts to steal the wonderflonium, telling himself that 'A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do' ("A Man's Gotta Do").
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 8.6/10- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog's story contains a surprising amount of depth and commentary on the superhero genre, despite the absurd concept and setting. The characters are likeable and well developed considering the amount of time given to each one. Unlike most superhero movies, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is from the perspective of the villain, Dr. Horrible, which makes the movie unique in terms of how it executes the narrative devices. Also the songs manage to progress the story as well. It is also important to mention that the ending is basically perfect. Additionally, the ending is amazing, one of the best ones I have seen.


Action: 4.0/10- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is not an action movie, however there is some humor through Captain Hammer beating the crap out of Dr. Horrible.

Acting: 8.2/10- Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible plays Dr. Horrible perfectly, and he can sing well. Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer gives a hilariously hammy performance in his role. His singing is also intentionally hammy and over the top. No one else could have played the role better than Fillion. Felicia Day as Penny is that extremely likeable character that most of Joss Whedon's work typically has, and, of course, Felicia kills it in her role. Also she is the best singer of the group, although the others are also great. Fun fact, Joss Whedon originally considered playing Captain Hammer but decided to bring in Fillion for the part instead.

Special effects: 7.3/10- The movie does not use many effects and much of the set design is intentionally corny, however the few effects that are present get the job done.

Soundtrack: 9.5/10- As I have said before I highly dislike musicals but Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an exception. The songs are often humorous, witty, and superbly executed in the scene. Several of the songs are among my favorites of all-time, especially "Brand New Day."

Comedy: 8.6/10- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an often hilarious film! Although the movie is not an entire laugh-fest, Whedon's typical genius sense of humor is present in both the songs and dialogue.

Would I Watch This Again: After watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog over a year ago, I have seen it at least three or fours times, as well as listening to the entire soundtrack a few more times, so yeah, I will watch and re-watch the movie many times.

Overall: 8.9/10- Overall Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is fun, entertaining, witty and the best parody of the superhero genre around, plus the ending is amazing, basically watch the movie!

Closing comments: Coming from a guy that usually dislikes all musicals, the comic book jokes and reversal of the normal narrative structure makes Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog one of my favorite movies ever.

Recommended for: Joss Whedon fans, Superhero fans, Comic Book fans, Musical fans, Nathan Fillion fans,

Warning: The movie does contain a few inappropriate and suggestive comments, although it would only be rated PG-13 or the standard modern comedy in terms of content.

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If you have seen the movie, please comment and let me know what you think. Also full spoiler comments are encouraged, especially about the ending.

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