Film: Unknown Origins
Starring: Javier Rey, Verónica Echegui, Brays Efe, Antonio Resines, Álex García, Carlos Areces, Ernesto Alterio, Leonardo Sbaraglia
Director: David Galán Galindo
Rating: ***
Reviewer: George Sylex
Overview: Director David Galán Galindo makes an interesting use of the formula and content of the superheroic universe in his Unknown Origins (2020). As a matter of fact, the world of comics has always been around the filmmaker's career, being explicitly present in his second film, the short film The King & The Worst (2009), which puts the world in the hands of two soldiers during the 2nd world War, “the king of comics” (Jack Kirby) and “the worst director in the world” (Ed Wood). Here in Origen Secretos this theme of “salvation by the heroes of everyday life” comes up, but the area of action of such a character is smaller, although the crimes that motivate this creation are not at all small.
It all starts with David (Javier Rey), a police officer recently transferred to Madrid because the current local investigator, Cosme (Antonio Resines), is retiring. Then, a bizarre murder indicates the existence of a serial killer who kills people making them appear as in the original stories of famous comics from Marvel and DC, so the delegate Norma (Verónica Echegui) requests that David is assisted by Jorge (Brays Efe, who is the face of the Young Nerd), son of Cosme and owner of a geek shop whose knowledge of the universe of comics be above average.
Based on the book of the same name by David Galán Galindo (who also wrote the script and directed this film), ' Unknown Origins' is, above all, quite innovative. By mixing the root police suspense — that is, the premise of investigator and suspect and scattered clues, whose sequence of discovery leads to the identity of the murderer — romance (after all, it has to be right) and geek culture, David Galán Galindo brings freshness and smiles to an increasingly rising genre. Freshness because it is, in fact, quite original to mix nerd culture in such a serious genre (although there is still a doubt about the copyright of the use of all these names in production), and smiles because, well, you can't help but laugh at this premise.
The script, which has the collaboration of Fernando Navarro, evolves very well as the identities of the superheroes are being revealed, and includes many references to pop culture that the viewer gets more and more excited about the evolution of the story (and, honestly, with the creativity of this serial killer). As an example, we have a citizen who is killed by a deadly spider bite, and his body is found hanging from the ceiling of an establishment — a clear reference to the origin of Spider-Man.
In order to transpose the elements and protagonists of the nerdy and geek cultures into the police genre, it is clear that 'Unknown Origins, ' occasionally slips into a resolution that is too convenient or inserts elements that add nothing to the plot, which may not end satisfying the most discerning fans of police investigation stories. But, leaving that aside, ' Unknown Origins ' is a super fun movie that will please young people who are passionate about villains, superheroes, cosplays and other nerds. Ironic and unpretentious, it is a production that pays a beautiful tribute to the legacy built by the nerdy universe in the hearts of fans.
A Slick Fun Thriller!
