Watch Comic Book: The Movie For Free

You won't be disappointed!

Sorry, this movie sucks

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Silly little film shot very cheaply by Mark Hamill and crew about the never-ending battle between Hollywood and the average geek. Skywalker stars as a comic book fan/store owner who is recruited by a group of film producers to talk up positive press for an upcoming big screen adaptation of his favorite character : Commander Courage.There's definitely something left to be desired with this film (shot on DV) given the mockumentary genre, however the humor is pretty much dead on given the comic book/fantasy/sci-fi audience.Many cameo appearances including Bruce Campbell, Greg Nicotero, Ron Perlman, and many more really provide a good level of enjoyment for us geeks. Having been shot mostly at a California Comic Book convention it's a wonder that more passersby didn't recognize Hamill. Maybe many did, however this isn't shown in the film nor in any special features I could find on the DVD edition.Watch for a great Joker and Harley Quinn look-a-like couple at the convention and after party.

I was about 20 minutes into this thing when I realized there was no going up for this movie, that the poor production and shotty acting wasn't just something they were trying, that this mockumentary was really just this bad. I actually felt dumber watching it. You literally have Mark Hammil running around the comic con as Mark Hammil, but calling himself Don, what, like he's acting?? Then, whenever they'd improv something in to move the, I can't believe I'm calling it this but, "plot" along, it was so forced and awkward, I mean the acting, anything else was drivel. I'm not even sure what he was trying to say. what, Hollywood doesn't have the passion for films that we had as kids?? Uh, yah, what planet have you been on?? I mean, if they did something more with it, I dunno, made it meaningful or something, but no. He was just concerned with giving us detail after detail of this fictional comic character, who we don't even care for cuz he's made up by Mark Hammil!! Mark, stick to the voice work and leave the "movie making" to your fighter jet co-star, he's making 20 mil a flick, you're just making an ass atta yourself....

COMIC BOOK: THE MOVIE could have been so much more. It could have uncovered why people love comics to the point of worship, or why so many individuals feel the need to "collect." It could have pushed us into the deep end of the nostalgia pool. It could have been both a loving and cynical look at the world of comic books fandom. And most important of all, it could have been extremely funny.Well, it at least tried to be funny. But it fails miserably in that regard.Let me say, first and foremost, that this is no WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. It tries to be a mockumentary, but it looks like it's filmed on video and appearslike anyone could have done it. (Not that I'm knocking that completely; I like edgy films, I like films that could have been filmed in somebody's basement; my problem here is, the film is otherwise extremely slick. The poor filming quality with the slick editing just doesn't cut it for me. Though, I should state that the fake covers of the COMMANDER COURAGE comic book were extraordinarily well crafted.) I also have a problem with much of the acting. In the Christopher Guest mocks, you always get an idea that these are human beings. Crazed. Outlandish. Sometimes off the wall (i.e. Fred Willard in A MIGHTY WIND). But human nonetheless. Not so here. The people portraying the studio execs are very poor; they are like second-rate community theatre players in search of a laugh line. Some of their mannerisms are way over the top for the stage, let alone a "movie."I thought Mark Hamill had moments that worked as an actor; his passion and mania for COMMANDER COURAGE (his fave superhero) are sometimes touching. His rants about his love of this superhero are at times amusing. But again, where is the human being? I saw a stock character--the comic book fanatic--as opposed to a PERSON who happens to be a comic book fanatic. I enjoy Hamill in other films; but I guess when directing himself, he's not able to guide himself into a plausible character.My favorite actor was the gregarious cameraman, mainly because his impersonations were spot on and he alone provided some of the movie's only laughs. Kevin Smith is fine, as are the other celebrity guests. But they aren't in the film long enough to sustain it. It's Hamill's baby, and he's not charismatic enough or strong enough in this particular performance to carry it. At times you think you might catch a glimpse of a comic-loving Corky St. Clair, or someone like Corky, but that never occurs. Hamill's Donald Swann is annoying to many of the people onscreen, and soon enough, he becomes annoying to the audience watching the film. Not a good sign.The film also felt especially long. SHOAH lasts many hours and I was never bored; this film is only 107 minutes and it felt like an eternity.I guess if you are a comic book fan, you will find some enjoyment in the behind the scenes look at the San Diego Comic Con, where much of this takes place. But if you're not, good luck. Using the comic book grading scale for condition, I give COMIC BOOK: THE MOVIE a very generous rating of FAIR.

As a "lapsed" convention-going comic and s-f fan, I was interested in seeing how fans were portrayed in this film when I picked up the DVD. It turns out that they are portrayed very well, with as much dignity as they bring with them (and keep) at any convention. "Comic Book: The Movie" is a cross between a scripted mockumentary and an actors' workshop, where the players are given their characters and a goal to achieve, then turned loose in an environment to play out their roles. In this case the setting is the 2003 San Diego ComiCon. The general plot is that a Hollywood production company is making a film based on an updated version of the Golden Age comic book hero Commander Courage, and are planning to announce the film at the ComiCon. They've hired schoolteacher/comic expert Don Swan (Hamill) as a "technical consultant," meaning that they need him to lend credibility in the fan world to their travesty of an updated character. Swan immediately begins a campaign to convince the producers to retain as much of the original concept as possible. The true gift of this film is the use of some of the top voice-over talent in the business as principle players, and they more than do justice to their roles. Hamill's direction pulls together this untapped talent with actual fans and celebrity convention attendees to give credibility to the existence of Commander Courage in a series of celebrity "interviews" similar to those in "Zoolander." The only point for me in which the belief system of the film was broken was in the use of well-known actors (Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters, and Hamill himself) to portray characters other than themselves. Hamill seems unaware of his popularity and "recognition factor," though his portrayal of the increasingly frustrated Don Swan helps to restore some of the magic. The movie is good, make no mistake. But for this old cartoon aficionado the DVD bonus material--particularly the long panel session featuring the voice actors--alone made the DVD well worth the price.