“Underdog” is one of those movies one watches as one brain ticks off hypothetical questions directed toward the filmmakers as to why in the world they would ever make such a movie in the first place and why, given that they made such a movie, why they made it like they made it.

Why, for instance, make “Underdog” as a live action film instead of an animated film? I suspect the answer to that question has everything to do with cost. Basically, the producers only intended this thing to be a passable, cheap, mildly entertaining crapfest in the first place. Quality was not an issue for the makers of “Underdog”, only profit. And quite frankly, that’s fine as a reason to make a film, but you’d think that “profit” could be synonymous with quality somehow.

Why, again, would a producer decide to make a film written by the same guy who wrote “Zoom”, which was such a monumental piece of garbage that it puzzles the mind to no end how anyone involved in the writing of such a thing could ever be employed again. Now, my guess is that writer Adam Rifkin may very well have had his original script shoved right up some producers ass then had to live with the “revisions” when it emerged, but then again, this resume item makes me wonder if perhaps he’s just not very imaginative.

“Underdog” is basically an excuse to remake “Superman” with dogs and use every possibly dog joke and pun known to man. It is certainly groan-inducing in a way that makes one wish for death. Worse, it’s groan-inducing in a way that makes one realize that after five minutes, every joke has been told and the story has been telegraphed to the point that watching any further is a complete waste of time. If that’s not the definition of bad, I don’t know what is.

Jason Lee is the voice of “Underdog”. Peter Dinklage plays Dr. Barsinister. Patrick Warburton is Cad. Underdog escapes the lab and ends up with Dan Unger (James Belushi) and his son, Jack (Alex Neuberger). From there it’s a painful excretion of power discovery and doggie romance between Underdog and a dog owned by a girl who Jack likes. And incidentally, any movie with Jim Belushi is guaranteed to suck.

An experience like “Underdog” is among the worst movie experiences there is. On one side of the screen is the moviegoer. On the other side of the screen is some money-grubber for whom creativity is a totally alien notion.