Comic Book Villains (2002)

28% of users liked it
(1,996 ratings)

In a sleepy small town there are two vibrant comic books stores that are rival universes unto themselves. Events spiral absurdly, violently out of control when the owners of the two shops -- nerdy hipster Ray (Donal Logue) and the nebbishy husband and wife team of Norman and Judy (Michael Rapaport… More In a sleepy small town there are two vibrant comic books stores that are rival universes unto themselves. Events spiral absurdly, violently out of control when the owners of the two shops -- nerdy hipster Ray (Donal Logue) and the nebbishy husband and wife team of Norman and Judy (Michael Rapaport and Natasha Lyonne) -- compete for a priceless collection of books left by the dead son of elderly Mrs. Cresswell (Eileen Brennan). Ray's friend, Archie (D.J. Qualls), tries to stop Ray from hiring a sleazy thief (Cary Elwes), but to no avail. Things get very ugly indeed. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: James Robinson
Written By: James Robinson
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Jan 1, 2002
Studio: LionsGate Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Once the ante is upped to violence, about halfway through, the movie becomes entirely unfunny and tiresome.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
If there's one saving grace of Comic Book Villains (and it's a big one), it's the eclectic group of cool indie actors populating the farce.
JoBlo, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
If you're a comic book fan, you definitely have to pick this puppy up.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Melvin W

"Why would you want to leave town? Everything worth having's right here. Raymond's store, Dominoes pizza." Comic Book Villains is an original and dark movie. Although obviously steered toward the comic book fan; I was able to… More
"Why would you want to leave town? Everything worth having's right here. Raymond's store, Dominoes pizza." Comic Book Villains is an original and dark movie. Although obviously steered toward the comic book fan; I was able to enjoy it and I've read only around a dozen or so comic books in my life. What makes this movie so likable for me is the cast; it's pretty amazing. Cary Elwes, Donal Logue, D.J. Qualls, Michael Rapaport, Danny Masterson, Eileen Brennan, and James Duvall(Yeah Frank from Donnie Darko). For an independent film that has absolutely no following this is an all-star cast. The plot is pretty straightforward. There are two rival comic book owners trying to get a huge and priceless collection of comic books from an old lady. To do so they try being nice to her for awhile; fixing stuff around the hous, bringing her groceries, but after awhile they see she's never going to sell. The last 30 minutes get a little too crazy for the movies own good, but I still see it as a diamond in the rough. Obviously, I'm in the minority of the few people that have seen it.
James A

A pretty shitty movie that has a direct message to the stereotypical comic book fan. Silly music and an all around unfunny poor try at entertainment.
Jason S

Excellent for the comic book fans. There are some fun moments in the flick and then it starts to get crazy and dark. I liked it and I thought casting was pretty good here.
Lafe F

Dark comedy, which isn't very funny. The characters aren't too likeable in this one. There isn't enough comic book geekdom shown, so it's not much fun. Not too enjoyable.
Marcus W

Seems to want to be De Palma-lite dark comedy. It isn't funny, the story is predictable and Elwes does not a good villain make. The Qualls subplot is so achingly obvious that it's just silly. And it's final message is evidently "stop reading comic books and get a… More
Seems to want to be De Palma-lite dark comedy. It isn't funny, the story is predictable and Elwes does not a good villain make. The Qualls subplot is so achingly obvious that it's just silly. And it's final message is evidently "stop reading comic books and get a life", which is as preachy as you can get..
Sean S

Perhaps, it is because I have seen the quirky group of losers competitively chasing after the big score formula a few too many times or perhaps it is the insultingly afterschool special moral about comic books not being a substitute for real life but this movie didn't do enough… More
Perhaps, it is because I have seen the quirky group of losers competitively chasing after the big score formula a few too many times or perhaps it is the insultingly afterschool special moral about comic books not being a substitute for real life but this movie didn't do enough for me. The performances by Lyonne, Rapaport and Logue are fantastic and Elwes is good although it doesn't seem like they had enough for the character to do. There are some really good bits but not enough to carry it through to being a good movie just a time waster.