Comic Book: The Movie

A haggard-looking Mark Hamill stars in and directs this low-budget lark about an obsessed comic book store owner who leads a one-man fight to prevent his beloved Commander Courage World War II-era comic book figure from being transformed into a Codename Courage ninja-style character for an upcoming film adaptation. Much of the film was shot documentary-style at the celebrated San Diego Comic-Con gathering, which is so thick with genuine comic book super-fanatics (many in either elaborate or shabby costumes emulating their favorite paint-and-ink heroes) that it is a shame the film isn't simply a documentary on comic book fanaticism. In fact, the real-life obsession with comic book heroes and villains is infinitely more fascinating than Hamill's excessively contrived and painfully silly comedy, which too often gets in the way of the amusing antics from the convention. But the film does score points with a skein of fun cameo appearances from the likes of Stan Lee, Hugh Hefner, Kevin Smith, Ray Harryhausen, Bruce Campbell, and even David Prowse (who played Darth Vader to Hamill's Luke Skywalker in a galaxy far, far away). Comic book fanatics may get a gentle laugh from this offering, but for those who either outgrew the genre or never embraced it in the first place, this cheaply-made effort is borderline monotonous. Very optional. [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc set include commentary by Hamill, a featurette on the top voice actors in today's animation, interviews with Bruce Campbell, Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, and Hugh Hefner (the latter focuses on women in comics, naturally), and a “Commander Courage" radio show that recalls the glory days of 1940s superhero radio serials. Bottom line: the generous helping of extras is actually more entertaining than the film itself.] (P. Hall)