Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Superhero (USA |  2026 |  116 min. |  Bayan Joonam)

Recent transplants may find it hard to believe, but Seattle used to be much, much, weirder. In the early 2010s, a local guy donned a professional-grade superhero suit with the intention of making the city a safer place. Going by the alias “Phoenix Jones” (and later, dramatically unmasked as Benjamin Fodor), he assembled an illustrious crew of would-be superheroes who patrolled the streets looking for trouble. Whether they improved, exacerbated, or induced problems remains an open question.

Bayan Joonam’s documentary revisits those heady times in slick, subject matter appropriate comic book fashion, complete with dramatic shots of the hero by night, new and archival footage of him and his crew in action, and a series of candid interviews with the man himself. He also gets sometimes complimentary, sometimes conflicting perspectives from the likes of members of his crew/cult of personality, cultural critic John Ronson (who embedded with Jones in the early days and wrote a book about him), local celebrity Rainn Wilson (who pitched a MTV show about the local vigilante), members of the Seattle Police Department (who did not appreciate his efforts), and childhood best friend (and Seattle hip-hop artist) Sol Rosenberg with insights into Fodor’s past.

For those of us who lost track of the exploits of Phoenix Jones, the crisply-made documentary provides a pretty entertaining catch-up. The documentary serves up surprises in store for both supporters and skeptics (While appreciating the motivations, having seen the methods and results, I count myself in this camp). It’s not entirely a glossy portrait, especially as it reckons with a series of downfalls, from being witness to tragic gun violence, rustling up complicated situations for screen time, and putting strains on personal relationships. He later re-emerges during the CHAZ era and suffers a further fall from whatever grace via becoming embroiled in drug charges. Although Joonam approaches more than decade of exploits with a breezy optimism without allowing the film to be hypnotized past seeing the complications and complexities of a fascinating character.

• SUNDAY, MAY 17 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 2:00 PM
• Director Bayan Joonam, Producer Claire Chubbuck, Producer/Editor Duncan Dickerson, and Subject Phoenix Jones scheduled to attend.