Diagonaldi Very well executed

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

euroGary Baseball caps and awful facial hair are very much in evidence in this affectionate look at the San Diego Comic-Con, directed by Morgan Spurlock (himself, of course, no stranger to the dreadful moustache). We meet the owner of Mile High Comics (who has a stock of 8million comics) hoping to sell the first issue of 1940's 'Red Raven Comics' for a cool $500,000; the young woman marshaling her troupe of costume parade participants (as part of which she has created a nifty moving face mask - we tried hard in the early 90s' UK Comic Art Convention, but this is a different league altogether!); there are a couple of wannabe artists - one promising, one whose ambition is perhaps bigger than his ability; and the young man planning to propose to his girlfriend during one of the panels - except she won't leave him alone long enough for him to collect the custom-designed ring he's commissioned. Many professionals are interviewed: Kevin Smith is especially funny ("At Comic-Con now are all these fourteen- and fifteen year-old girls dressed as vampire chicks who in five years' time are going to be so slutty and absolutely perfect...")Comics- and media fans are, of course, an easy target for lampooning, but this film treats everyone with respect and shows how important Comic-Con is for many people who appreciate the chance not to feel embarrassed about their hobby, and who love being able to talk to like-minded people who understand: "It's like having your own country" says one woman, and how right she is.

Contributing Writer Morgan Spurlock's newest "unique documentary" could be split into two entirely different movies: 1. "Movie No. 1" tells different personal stories of people who are putting themselves out there as they travel to San Diego for Comic-Con.2. "Movie No. 2" isn't a movie. It's actually difficult to define. Morgan Spurlock got celebrities and people in costumes to stand in front of a white screen. And they talk about Comic-Con. A LOT.I don't think either of these movies is particularly terrible, and in fact, some of the "Profiles in Comic-Con" from Part 1 were really well done.There was a pathos-ridden piece about Mile-High Comics, and its attempts to sell Red Raven #1 (the most valuable Marvel Comic ever published). And there was the comedic piece that was legitimately funny, where a young dork tries to publicly propose to his young dork girlfriend.The problem was that those story lines (along with at least 3 others) were meshed with random crap from "Movie No. 2" about how celebrities and other fans like Comic-Con.Famous people being funny (like Matt Groening and Joss Whedon) is cool, but it took so much time away from the profiles that were stretched across the whole movie.For instance, when a Navy employee eventually sells some of his art, it felt like I only identified with him because he seemed like a nice guy. The "build-up" from Spurlock was kind of thin, and mostly involved him walking around San Diego and looking up at the sky.Even at 88 minutes, I could've given Spurlock some serious editorial advice. The interlude involving the parade of women in Princess Leia bikinis was just gross and unnecessary. And it was presented with no connection to anything else.The aforementioned wedding proposal was funny, but it devolved into the "Extended Cut" of the "climactic" Kevin Smith panel when he proposes. You should save the video of the guy wandering around, and of Kevin Smith bantering, for the DVD.Not to mention that the movie demonstrates that Comic-Con was facilitating the dork's ability to make his public proposal, and that moment arguably demonstrated an agreement between Spurlock and the "Con". I'm not expecting Edward R. Murrow from Morgan Spurlock, but that just makes me sad.And now that I'm not pulling any punches, the movie had terrible cinematography and visual editing. Having "on the ground" footage of Comic-Con is fine, but Spurlock tried to art it up. He would often float the camera upwards and/or laterally, which makes you think about the camera instead of his "real people protagonists." And I don't want to say his *AWESOME COMIC BOOK PANELS* are seizure inducing, but they definitely challenged my eyes' ability to absorb gaudy colors. And doing them over and over again, such as an announcement that it is now 'Day 3" of a 4 day convention, is just lazy.I decided to give this movie a six star rating because it has a lot of interesting moments, even if they are mostly incredibly shallow stories of happiness or rare sadness. But if you like Morgan Spurlock or nerdy celebrities, then the time will fly by fairly easily.That being said, this feels like a typical live spot for basic cable. And I'm sure some day it will be that, and only that.-- Jason LunaThis review first appeared in Geek Speak Magazine - www.geekspeakmagazine.com

Emma Dinkins For years I have wanted to visit San Diego and experience the Comic-con conventions. The pull was exceedingly strong following the news of the 2008 convention introducing a reset Star Trek, which was supported by some of the cast members. The second installment is my most anticipated sequel for viewing. This film showcases the fanaticism surrounding the convention and the opportunities sought by entrepreneurs, would be artists and designers looking to begin a career within the comic book, science fiction and fantasy industry. The Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope did an excellent job of allowing the audience to get a true feel for what it's like to actually participate as a fan. It may be that the documentary was expressly done to provide understanding but in my case it made me feel completely averse to ever going in person. A multitude of people queued up to attend a venue, was what I would call a hostile environment. If you had nobody with you or no buddy you could not even take a bio break without losing your place. The wait times, the race to a prized toy and the ensuing competition to get a much sought out piece of memorabilia or a collector's item was daunting to say the least and witnessing a triumph did not make it any better. I do not believe I would ever go to the convention as a fan. There were some heartwarming stories that made viewing this film worthwhile, that of the Artist, whose talent was undeniable, as was also the case for the Designer. It was nice to see and hear from some of the sci-fi heavy hitters like Josh Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: TV series, upcoming The Avengers), and Kevin Smith (Dogma, Reaper: TV Series). I have been a fan of both of their works for quite some time. I knew that Kevin Smith was talented, but I never knew that he was so funny. He has a very quick wit which was exhibited when speaking about his eleven year old self and when addressing the couple who became engaged during his Q&A at the convention. This was an interesting documentary, but in the end the effect that it had on me is I will consider myself lucky for never having been to the convention, not sure if that was the desired outcome but that's how it panned out. I give the film an amber light.

Chris_Pandolfi San Diego Comic-Con International began in 1970 as a one-day only convention in which comic book fans gathered in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel and bought and traded magazines. A little over 100 people were in attendance. That, according to original founders Mike Towry and Richard Alf, was considered a successful turnout. Could they have foreseen that it would balloon into an annual pop culture phenomenon that in recent years never had less than 100,000 people in attendance? Although they are still given areas for showcasing, it isn't so much about comic books anymore; major media companies, especially TV networks and movie studios, vie for space to promote their latest productions, with big name Hollywood celebrities and filmmakers serving as hosts for gigantic press panels.I have never attended Comic-Con, and quite frankly, I have no desire to ever attend. One of the reasons I appreciated "Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope," Morgan Spurlock's newest documentary, is that it allows people like me to view the convention from a safe distance – no heartbreak from not getting into sold-out events, no waiting in obscenely long lines, no pushing or shoving through densely packed crowds, no chance of being deafened by cheering throngs, no risk of getting into fights with frothing fanboys over a misunderstanding. We obviously aren't show every nook and cranny of the San Diego Convention Center, but we do get wonderful snapshots of the major events, the most prominent being the celebrity press panels in a 6,500-seat venue known as Hall H."A Fan's Hope," a joint venture between Spurlock and executive producers Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, and Harry Knowles, is an entertaining mixture of convention footage, subject interviews, and fan testimonials. While a few of the latter are given by anonymous attendees, most are given by celebrities, all of whom feel a personal connection to Comic-Con and its community. Whedon, Knowles, and Lee all make statements, but so too do Frank Miller, Seth Green, Seth Rogen, Thomas Jane, Eli Roth, Olivia Wilde, and most amusingly, Kevin Smith. Noticeably absent is Spurlock himself. Indeed, this is the first of his documentaries in which he neither makes an appearance nor provides a narration. This begs the question of why he feels so attracted to Comic-Con. Whether or not you agreed with his previous documentaries, his appearances in them made it clear that he had vested interest in his subjects.Filmed during the 2010 convention, the film documents the lives of six fans, all given nicknames, all of whom hail from different parts of America and have deeply personal reasons for attending. We have Skip Harvey and Eric Henson. The former tends a sci-fi themed bar while the latter currently serves in the U.S. Air Force. Both are talented illustrators who dream of being hired by a major comic book publisher. Armed with portfolios, they wait in long lines to have their work critiqued by trained representatives. We have James Darling and his girlfriend Se Young Kang, who immediately hit it off after first meeting at Comic-Con a few years earlier. James now wants to propose to Se Young in grand fashion, namely during a panel hosted by Kevin Smith. For all his planning and coordination, the one thing James didn't count on was Se Young refusing to leave his side for even a few minutes. This will be a tricky one to pull off.The two most compelling subjects are Holly Conrad and Chuck Rozanski. The former is a young costume/creature designer and seamstress; she, along with a group of friends, participates in Comic-Con's Masquerade Ball dressed as characters from the video game "Mass Effect." Naturally, the costumes were all meticulously hand crafted by herself. One of her friends dresses as an alien creature, one that requires the use of a motorized latex head. The end result could easily rival a theme park animatronic. The latter is the owner of a Mile High Comics store in Denver, one that's struggling to turn a profit. He brings with him his most prized possession: A mint-condition first issue of "Red Raven," one of the rarest comic books ever published. Understandably, he laments the fact that Comic-Con has over the years veered further and further away from its original intended purpose.That doesn't seem to have stopped it from happening, and it certainly hasn't stopped anyone from attending. In fact, the 2010 convention currently holds the record for having the largest attendance –130,000-plus. I grant you that it's a rather bland fact, although I suspect that if we had been given such statistics, "Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope" might have been an even more enlightening documentary. Seeking a layman's explanation for the convention's appeal, I consulted friends and fellow film critics Mike and Joel Massie, who have both attended Comic-Con annually since 2006. Not surprisingly, they see it only from a moviegoer's perspective. "It's really about seeing celebrities," Mike told me, "watching advanced footage and seeing exclusive tidbits about movies that are sometimes years in advance." I, for one, am far more comfortable living with the anticipation.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)