I thought this film was well-made, using an interview format to tell the real story about Comicon. I actually went to the 2010 show that Spurlock used to document SDCC and I was surprised to see myself in the photo pit with others shooting the Mass Effect cosplayers. Maybe I should get a residual.The film follows some fans and their stories, what their goals are for the con and a nice wrap-up with what they actually achieved. I especially liked James and his girlfriend as he prepared to propose marriage to her at the Kevin Smith panel. Very funny, especially when she makes the remark "I hope James doesn't ask any stupid questions." Indeed.The clips from fans and actors was cool as well. The Kevin Smith F-bombs at the end though, I could have done without.I've been following Mile High Comics outspoken owner Chuck Rozanski for some time, since he used to write for the now defunct Comic Buyers' Guide. His insight into the comics business and getting in a free plug for Mile High was a smart business move getting it all on film. Chuck is not totally correct that San Diego is not focused on comics.They are right though that comics have fallen to a secondary status with the A-List stars and Hollywood's impact on the show.To have to show dial down a bit to two shows has been proposed, aka Anaheim and San Diego. Another alternative was for the Hollywood end to go to Los Angeles.Film is recommended and very cheap on Amazon Instant Video, only 99 cents to rent!

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

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)

Besides being a not so subtle nod to Star Wars, Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope is a documentary told through the viewpoints of eight individuals as they descend into the madness that is the San Diego Comic Con. All of them have a purpose to be there, and all have a goal in mind, whether it is to sell a rare comic, win a masquerade or get signed on as an artist for a comic book company. Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary was one of the late entries on my list of films to see at this year's past Toronto International Film Festival, and one I have continued wrestling with over how I felt about it. Packed with dozens of hilarious interview clips with real and internet celebrities, along with actual footage from the floor, Spurlock valiantly tries to capture what it is like entering and navigating through the four day convention that becomes bigger with each passing year. He gets access to some behind the scenes material, and offers a fan's eye view of some of the panels and events that had occurred at the 2010 event. But what holds the film back from being anything but a fun and amusing diversion for the geek and convention crowd, is the fact that it is a film lovingly made almost explicitly just for them. While the interviews are entertaining and downright hilarious, they do not provide any real insight or explanation for what fan culture is or why so many people go to Comic-Con year after year. Even the stories contained within the film do not answer why these people do what they do, simply that they go to obscene lengths to make sure they can pull off their goals. I assume Spurlock's main goal was to tell multiple stories (more on that in a moment), but I cannot help but feel it hinders the film. It seems content at simply existing, as a memento for everyone who experiences this kind of subculture.Then that brings up another point – what is the ultimate goal here? I go to at least one major fan convention per year, so I have experienced the rush of seeing and meeting geek idols, witnessing the detail of some of the costumes, and talking shop with people just like the ones profiled here. But what about people venturing in with no real grasp on geek culture? What are they supposed to take from this? Are they even supposed to venture into this film? It seems a bit elitist in that respect, because there is nothing really to grasp if you do not already have some preconceived knowledge on the topic. In his previous films, Spurlock has tackled tough topics and asked some tough questions. While some segments and films work better than others (the less said about the borderline ridiculous Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, the better), he still made a real attempt at getting the answers. Here, he just seems content without asking the bigger questions, and as a result, the film feels like a much weaker effort.While I do fault Spurlock's lack of analysis here, I must praise the fact that outside of name credits, he does not appear in the film at all. He offers no narration whatsoever and does not appear on-screen at any time. He lets the people being profiled tell their stories, and lets the interviews help guide the film through its less-than-90-minute run time. It is a bit flabbergasting at first, considering how prolific and personal he has made his other documentary films, but I think it helps reflect his maturity both as a documentarian and filmmaker, and as a storyteller. It allows the film to become a more intimate film, and helps reinforce the notion that it is a film made as a kind of memento for the geeks. It is made up of their stories and quips, and Spurlock never interferes or redirects the film to follow him and his thoughts. It makes the film that much more different in that respect, and I think is the key reason why it works at all.Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope was an interesting idea on paper, but I think in practice it comes off as more flawed than it should. While it is entertaining to watch the ups and downs of the people profiled within the film, I cannot help but feel underwhelmed by the general lack of analysis on Spurlock's part. There have been documentaries before on specific fan cultures, but no real works centred around the mother of all conventions. There was plenty of material he could have mined and a wealth of individuals who could have given keen insight on the idea of fan and convention subculture. But in the end, it feels like a whole lot of ideas, and not a lot of actual follow through. As a love letter to the people that come out to San Diego once a year, it succeeds. But as a documentary on fan culture, it fails.6.5/10.