FAN WARS
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review written 2/22/2003

For a long time this was my favorite fan film. Has my opinion of it changed? Or have I changed?

Tough to tell.

Spoofing the TPM Trailer B (a popular activity back in the day) with the theme of geeks trying to get movie tickets with energy if not panache, this film is fun. But something is missing.

The special effects are substandard, but not enough to be funny—it doesn't seem deliberate. The audio is hard to make out. The actors are not so great.

But, like trailers do, things pick up. As the music gets more exciting, the pace quickens. We see more of this theater the fans have taken over (this flick must have been a logistical nightmare). The shot at 1:34 is given the punch and power it deserves, and I think it's great to set it at a candy counter.

Then a few more things. Then the dance at 1:58 (I LOVE this part, and I don't know why.)

But why is the "sold out" sign written in Times New Roman, as is the nonsensical (and not in a good way) tagline "The chaos has already begun"? Were there no better fonts? And why, God, why are the credits nearly half the length (and file size) of the movie?

I am impressed by what it took to make this film. And for its time it was good. But I feel sad revisiting it and realizing it's not as good as I remembered.

A lot like Star Wars sometimes.

Watch this and remember the fun of 1999. But it may not be your favorite. Just like other things in 1999. (No, not Office Space!)