Starring: Eileen Brennan, Cary Elwes, Michael Rapaport, Donal Logue, Natasha Lyonne, DJ Qualls
Synopsis: When word hits the street that a nearby elderly gentleman has a cache of old, rare, and very valuable mint condition comic books, rival comic book shop owners Raymond McGillicuddy (Donal Logue) and Norman Link (Michael Rapaport) both set out to be the first to buy them. But when the old man declines to sell, the former friends turn into enemies, and a friendly rivalry becomes tainted with greed and turns to murder.
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Amazon | Amazon.CA | DVD Empire |
| Comic Book Villians (2002) | | | |
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Comic Book Villains Review
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Review: It’s always great to find a title like this at the local DVD store. A solid, not-quite A-list cast of actors like Cary Elwes, Donal Logue, DJ Qualls and Natasha Lyonne in a quirky premise. This time, two comic book rivals fight over a deceased man’s life’s work, 45 years of Marvel and DC comics going back to the Golden Age.
And for the first 45 minutes, the film, for the most part, is on track, dropping names of artists like Alex Ross, characters sporting shirts of Grendel and Fantastic Four…then, it suffers from Film School 101 and begins to ape Tarantino. Honestly. I thought (and Quentin probably hopes) that was a form that had finally gone to the wayside. Comic Book geeks pulling guns, getting in fights and going insane ala Treasure of the Sierra Madre (or for a more modern reference – Bart and Milhouse fighting over Radioactive Man #1).
As the story progresses we have the competing comic book store owners vying for the comic through the new owner, the collector’s mother who refuses to sell them. A short montage illustrates them (illustrates, get it? Whooo comedy!) ruining each other’s lives.
It is right around here that this whole film just falls apart. As a curiosity piece I recommend this only to the comic book geek. As for others, I think they will feel a lot like I did, too much insanity and bad twists that come way too fast. Executions, murder, mayhem all ensue and one just shakes their head at the unbelievability of it all. So much wasted potential and a whole possible sub-plot between Archie (DJ Qualls) and Conan (Danny Masterson) as his Dr. Doom type nemesis never pans out.
As for style, the film is shot so flat that it is hard to believe that the director learned anything from comic books. Look at the Wachowski Brothers with Bound and The Matrix…they have a visual style that truly shows a love of the medium. A shot of Logue losing his temper could have easily paralleled Star Trek – Wrath of Kahn and fit within the tale (although Seinfeld aped that shot more than once so perhaps it was best avoided).
Small irksome point #1: 'The Dabbler' speech by Donal Logue. It seems like a blatant rip-off of Chasing Amy and the whole 'Tracer' argument. Which leads into small irksome point #2...
...really, did Donal Logue really need to have so much saliva flying out of his mouth throughout the film?
Final tally 2 stars out of 5.
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Copyright© Written By: Rob Paul
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DVD Information:
Trailers of Vulgar, Comic Book Villains and the re-make of The Dead Zone.
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Subtitles:
English, Spanish
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The DVD Review:
Review: Truly a paltry DVD here in terms of special features. What is sad is this film could use a director/writer commentary to explain why the film goes off the rails so quickly. An explanation is needed! All you get are a few Lions Gate trailers and some nice cover art in the interactive menus. So much wasted potential, leaving the score for both the film and the DVD at a measly 2 out of 5.
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