How to thrill movie audiences with superhero action on the cheap

A bad score on Rotten Tomatoes might turn you off when considering which movie to watch, but sometimes reviewers miss the point. This helps explain why Albert Pyun’s 1990 straight-to-video version of “Captain America” has plenty of enthusiasts — especially in France.

Pyun has 53 director credits, according to IMDb, for films that include “Urban Menace” (staring Snoop Dogg), “Adrenalin: Fear the Rush” and “Cool Air” (based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft). Pyun specializes in the impossible: completing a production even after the money runs out. This can include pulling the wool over the eyes of actors, as he did when shooting a scene with no film in the cameras (there was no money left to buy film).

As described in a Wall Street Journal story, Pyun had to hide his money problems in order to keep the actors from giving up. He reshot the scenes later — no doubt improved because of the extra rehearsal — while telling the actors the original film had been damaged through processing errors.

Here’s an example of Pyun’s directing style and his infectious enthusiasm, from the Wall Street Journal story:

‘Your chin’s down. You’re going to intimidate the audience. You have a slight smirk because they have no idea how bad it’s going to be.’