I love this movie so much

Redundant and unnecessary.

A different way of telling a story

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I was very excited to see this and sat patiently for two years while it spent months collecting dust on the Miramax shelves, finally being released direct-to-video. I'm in it--kinda. Since I was at the Comic-Con that year--I can see about a fourth of my face in one of the crowd shots--this added to the excitement. And I'm a comic fan, and a Mark Hamill fan and a fan of cartoon voices. So what could go wrong?So I watched it, finally, and desperately wanted to like it. I mean, it was about comic fans! But...after the first five minutes or so the novelty wore off and I was stuck with a draggy, boring movie. The cast is game, but without much going on it gets a-mighty tedious. Still, it was nice to revisit a great con that I've not been to since two years after it happened.For a much more entertaining evening, go to the second disk on the DVD package for "Behind the Voices," the hysterical symposium fans sat through to get themselves on film. They cut out most of it, (the guys doing the Animaniacs singing the Country song from memory, Billy West singing "Happy Happy Joy Joy) but it's still great. The movie: C+ The Other Stuff: B+

POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD My wife and I have been to San Diego Comic Con quite a few times, including the year this movie was "filmed". We were, in fact, in the audience for the final scenes. So we were particularly interested in finally seeing this movie.Mark Hamill, an avowed comic book fan, has been a constant presence at SDCC for years. We met him there when he was promoting the release of his own comic book, and have heard him speak several times. His love of the genre is obviously genuine.And he intended this "mockumentary" to be "a love letter to all this" (his words). Whether he succeeded is arguable; looking at the other comments, it is clear people are sharply divided. I will say this does not strike me as a movie you will enjoy unless you are in on the joke, can recognize the players, and have some insight into the comics world. (In one scene, Mark's character asks if he can take a seat at a table already occupied by 3 people. One of them refuses, saying, "Move along, son." The scene would be meaningless unless you recognize the man speaking as David Prowse, who played Hamill's father in the Star Wars movies. And the 2 others at the table are also actors from the series.)Perhaps it would have been better if Mark had not played the lead himself -- even with a beard and eye-magnifying nerd glasses, it proved impossible (for us at least) to disassociate Don Swan from Mark Hamill. When Swan is interacting with the celebs making cameo appearances, we always thought, "These people are hanging out with Mark Hamill, who is pretending to be a nerd." (To Mr. Hamill's credit, he obviously considers himself a nerd as great as any other. He does not poke mean fun at comic book fans; he certainly presents types, but I'm here to tell ya those types exist...) Because of this, it is hard to feel for Don Swan as a character.Something else which served to keep me distanced from the film was the camera work. Mark's Swan character is being followed about by a camera crew throughout the film. But the camera crew is also being filmed... The POV shifts abruptly between the two cameras. The first time it happens it is quite jarring; after that it is merely dizzying. This directorial/editing decision made it very difficult for me to ever become immersed in the film.For anyone who has ever attended a comic book convention there is certainly a familiarity factor at work. This is especially strong for those who have been to the Comic Con: "Hey -- I've shopped at that booth, talked to that person, sat by that pillar..." (Though the film never gives a true impression of just how big the Con is, nor how crowded it becomes -- most of the scenes were obviously done early on in the con when relatively few people are in attendance. Later on the scenes would have been impossible to shoot, with 50,000 people about.)Mark gathered together some friends who just happen to be some of the greatest voice talent in the business. Everybody tries hard, but excellence in voice talent does not necessarily translate into screen presence, and all too often we found ourselves watching past the actors to see if anyone we knew was walking past.So appreciation of the movie itself is a matter of personal taste, and how it impacts upon you. The extras, however, are a gem which can be appreciated by anyone!Mr. Hamill has sometimes been the target of criticism for, after early screen success, having to "stoop to voice-over work" on cartoons. I have heard him speak on this subject, and he is not defensive but rather amazed that anyone could hold such a view. When doing voice-overs, you don't have to do makeup, go on location, answer 5 a.m. calls, worry about your appearance -- as one of the voice talents says, "they can't see you get old or fat!", a valuable thing in age-ist, image-conscious Hollywood.And however we may feel about the movie itself, Mark will always have a special place in our hearts for drawing together an amazing group of voice actors to appear in it. As mentioned above, we were there on hand for the filming of the final scenes -- the Con let Mark schedule one of the rooms for filming, and the production needed crowd extras. So we were there until early in the morning (condensing inward as the crowded room slowly emptied over the course of the shoot).To keep us in place, entertained, and rewarded for the long hours, Mark got the actors from the film to do a panel on, well, themselves. And a grand collection of talent they were -- dozens of memorable cartoon voices, represented by the people on that stage. They had great fun, and shared it with us. Though many of them had worked together, it was the first time this group had been together in one place, and they were obviously having a wonderful time simply being there, and being in the presence of their idol Gary Owens (who made it all look easy, and gave a cold reading which proved again why he is considered the Grand Old Man of voice talent.) Quite a bit of this session is on the Bonus disk, though sadly not all -- I recall other wonderful moments as the folks went through their repertoire of voices, as well as trying to do each other's. Still, we are overjoyed to have on disk a record of that night, and that collection of talent.Watch the movie and decide for yourself, but treasure the extra material and share it with anyone who has ever watched a cartoon.

This movie follows the adventures of Don Swan (Mark Hamill) as he desperately tries to maintain the integrity of his favorite comic book character (Commander Courage) before a movie studio destroys the character's good image in favor of a more violent, aggressive one.Commander Courage (a fictional character created by Hamill) was supposedly a patriotic superhero inspired by the bombing of Pearl Harbor to fight against the Axis. His powers were granted by an Indian shaman named the White Wolf. His nephew became his sidekick, Liberty Lad.The movie studio has no interest in Swan's idealistic character. They want the updated, anti-terrorist vigilante portrayed in the current comic series (once again, fictional). This new character never reveals his face, nor does he even have a secret identity. Instead of his nephew, this new hero is accompanied by a sexy young woman with many weapons, Liberty Lass.This movie is a David and Goliath struggle between Swan defending the history behind a great character, while the studio feels that the modern way is the only way to make a profit. I felt that this is a very relevant theme for all of the comic book fans who cringe when they watch as a movie adaptation of their favorite hero is not accurate at all. For example, I remember rumors in the late 1990s about a possible Superman movie in which Superman would be portrayed as a human with a strong desire for justice through vengeance. As a dedicated fan of DC Comics, I would be disappointed if a movie did not portray the Man of Steel as an alien who was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, fights for justice as well as mercy, and (most importantly) never takes the life of another human being. That is what Swan's quest to keep Commander Courage authentic is all about; keeping the icon characters true to their roots is all that studios need to do. There is no need to change the original formula.The movie is filmed similar to a documentary, with Swan and the other characters interacting with other fans at the Comic Con International, which is sure to bring smiles to any fan-boy or fan-girl who has attended a comic convention. The icing on the cake has to be the celebrity appearances by many legendary comic book creators.

Wow, I must say this is one of the more satisfying purchases I have made for my DVD collection. I believe this is a straight-to-video production, because it really is to niche for theaters in the first place. But Hamill and Co. really make this "mockumentary" through the San Diego ComiCon quite a thrill.Hamill is a believable History teacher, who is a huge fan of comics and especially the Commander Courage character (made up character for this show). Commander Courage is basically a take on Captain America. The story is, back in the 40s and 50s, Courage used to take on the Nazis or Communists, etc...He was a hero to all the children who read his books. Now he has been reborn, as Codename Courage, and fights terrorism. Hamill, as Don Swan, is hired by the people who are making the Codename Courage movie and is sent to document the announcement of the movie at the San Diego ComiCon. Swan uses this to promote the Golden Age Commander Courage and hopes to make the original character the basis for the movie. There is a lot of very good acting for something so unscripted. I've seen more errors and gaffes in major motion pictures than in this one. I'm very impressed how seamless the picture was presented. You really start to root for Swan, he really shows his zest and enthusiasm for comics in a very believable way. In my opinion, the movie really seems to get going a little too late. By the time it's over you wish it could continue a little longer. The ending is a bit disappointing (SPOILER ALERT)I would have liked to see what becomes of the movie, if Codename Courage still gets made, or if Commander Courage gets the nod.For any fans of comic books or even collectible hobbies in general, this is a fun movie. If you've ever been to a major collectible show, this is also a fun watch. The DVD also has extras that make the whole Don Swan and Commander Courage even more believable. Check this one out, it's worth it.