#126: Man-Thing Movie Review

On this episode of the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg welcomes back Paul Eaton to review and discuss the 2005 Marvel movie, Man-Thing.

When a greedy oil baron sets his sights on drilling in a Louisiana swamp, a monstrous creature is awakened. The baron and his associates are killed in the swamp thicket, spurring an investigation led by Sheriff Kyle Williams. Although the Seminoles are initially suspected of the murders, the swamp creature, known as Man-Thing, is the killer. A gruesome creature made of plants and vines, Man-Thing possesses strange and dangerous powers.

Originally intended for a theatrical release in the United States, the film debuted on the Sci Fi Channel under the Sci Fi Pictures label on April 30, 2005. The film was directed by Brett Leonard (Virtuosity, Hideaway), written by Hans Rodionoff, and produced by Avi Arad, Scott Karol, Gimel Everett, and Christopher Petzel.

Man-Thing stars Matthew Le Nevez as Sheriff Kyle Williams, Rachael Taylor as Teri Elizabeth Richards, Jack Thompson as Frederick Schist, Alex O'Loughlin as Deputy Eric Fraser, Steve Bastoni as Rene LaRoque, and John Batchelor as Wayne Thibadeaux. Conan Stevens of Game of Thrones fame portrayed the title character in his first film role.

While IMDb and review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 4/10 and 14% respectively, reviewers on streamers such as Amazon are more forgiving with a 3.8/5 rating. The 97-minute film's budget was between $5-7.5 million and was a loss for Marvel even if it did gross around $1 million in a limited release in international theaters.

The movie was based on the Marvel Comics character by the same name who was created by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Gray Morrow. He first appeared in comics in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971). Since the 2005 movie, Man-Thing has made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the Werewolf by Night TV special in 2022.

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