With a well-delivered, intriguing story combined with multi-layered characters and a tone that makes Gotham City's gargoyles look like singing angels, Sparks is the superhero genre's dirty little secret.

Sparks shows plenty of cinematic muscle. It deserves a place among the legion of superhero movies.

Cashing in on the boom in superhero films is this ... what is it? A Sin City knockoff? Most probably, with a heavy nod to the film noir of the late 1940's/early 1950's, only w/o a connection to any of that. It's like kids dressing up as Mommy and Daddy. One of those films of which description begins with the words: "its sooooo bad that ..."? Yes, all of that.

This old fashioned classic pulp action super hero movie was directed by Todd Burrows and Christopher Folino and they leave no stone unturned in their ode to classic forties comic books. We have characters that smoke big time, masked heroes that used their fists and fell for dames while fighting crime, hard boiled cops, and the like! Well, it was entertaining but flawed as well. The cast is the strongest part of the movie, especially Chase Williamson who gives a very strong performance as Ian Sparks, a young boy who lost his parents to a car wreck that occurred during a high speed getaway by some criminals. The story explains us that during the crash, a top secret chemical named "Red G" doused Ian, allowing him to live, and gave him remarkable powers of regeneration and near immortality. When we are mentioning a brilliant performances we cannot forget Lady Heavenly. Played by Ashley Bell of "The Last Exorcism". She managed to embody the role of Lady Heavenly while providing a very empathetic and charming portrayal as a heroine torn between her duties and her love for Sparks. The mystery and most of the twists very difficult to follow, and probably you will have a tough time figuring out most of what was happening, until the finale. It wasn't a bad watch, especially since it garners a great supporting performance from Clancy Brown. "Sparks" is a very original and unique spin on the superhero film, and I highly suggest it for fans of figures like "The Spirit," and "Green Hornet."