You mentioned in your reblog having seen all MH movies save for the long walk and now I have to ask- in your opinion which one was the worst and which was the best?
This is such a wonderful and evil ask my friend. I wanted to give it my proper attention so had to take a few days to consider.
There are a couple ways to consider this ask—the best and worst MOVIE or the best and worst PERFORMANCE from Mark. They are very different things with different answers, but I decided to take this from the angle of the first and sort of ignore the second, although we can consider that as well some other time? Follow me below the cut!
First, let’s remove the Star Wars oeuvre from consideration, right? Because otherwise I would say Return of the Jedi is his best movie (with The Empire Strikes Back as perhaps his best onscreen performance) and The Last Jedi is his worst movie (but certainly not a bad performance) because I unapologetically feel that Jake Skywalker is so wrong for so many reasons, as well as everything else in that movie, and this post would just become a Disney-bash, so let’s agree no Star Wars in contention :)
I also removed his voice work from this ask, because otherwise it would be too difficult—it’s hard to compare Mask of the Phantasm, for example, to other stuff, even though that movie is fabulous. As is The Killing Joke. So we toss out our beloved Joker (the Skeksis, Chucky, and all the rest!) in addition to Luke...
Similarly, I’m not going to include his TV work (looking at you Earth Angel!), although The Fall of the House of Usher and Alfred Hitchcock presents: Man on the Edge would have gotten honorable mentions for high quality Mark. As for the bad TV... oof. Anyone who has seen Une Image de trop (bless you @jedidryad), I tip my hat and raise a glass.
So... Mark’s “real” cinema.
Now—and I say this with absolute love in my heart—Mark has made some really bad movies. I think he’s a great actor (nobody thinks of Yoda as a puppet while watching their scenes, and a great deal of that realism is due to Mark’s performance, for example, as well as Frank of course) yet his filmography has not often played to his strengths as an actor.
So picking the worst is actually rather difficult. I mean, the second-hand embarrassment and misery I feel every time I am reminded of Cocknocker from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back make me want to bang my head into the wall so I am tempted to go with that one.
sorry for the gif but you see what i mean?
I liked Clerks and wanted to like the sequel, but it tries too hard, it’s ultimately boring, and it really sucks, let’s be honest. Carrie and Mark couldn’t save it. But since it’s a cameo, I think we can disqualify it...
He also has “so bad they’re good” movies, some which are painful to watch but also like... hilarious as well. And Black Magic Woman my beloved, has a special place in my horny for Mark heart (the shower scene is worth the price of admission my friends).
And how can you not love Mark having a conversation with a genius golden retriever in Watchers Reborn?
Keep in mind, he also has a lot of movies that should be better than they are—Slipstream comes to mind. Amazing cast (F. Murray Abraham?! Ben Kingsley?! Bill Paxton!), interesting concept, Mark looks pretty yummy when scruffy, but it just...doesn’t work.
Did I say "pretty yummy"? Let's say very yummy!
Same with Time Runner. Everyone is trying, but it’s missing something. Midnight Ride, he’s acting his ass off, but it doesn’t save the end result... I could go on but this post would be even longer.
So the prize for his worst I think I will give to Silk Degrees. He’s not the lead, but he’s in it enough that I think we can call it a Mark film, and it’s got the distinction of being a bad movie with a stellar ensemble of B-listers, sort of exactly what it says on the tin but also whatever was in the tin expired and rotted long ago... I suffer from the cringe of it all, and although I also have a soft spot in my heart for Michael Des Barres, it’s not enough. Everyone at their worst, basically, in what feels like almost-but-not-quite soft core enough for late night TV in the 90s. In brief, please don’t make me ever watch this movie again. Twice was enough (once because it’s Mark, twice to make sure it really was as bad as I remembered). All his scenes have been compiled by a wonderful person so you don't have to suffer through the whole thing. Apologies in advance.
As for the best... there are good movies he is in, but with pretty minor roles, so they don’t really feel like “Mark Hamill” movies for the purposes of this question (The Big Red One, Brigsby Bear, The Life of Chuck come to mind. Even Village of the Damned had its moments).
But since you asked, I took a hard look at his filmography and decided that his best movie, in my opinion, isn’t just one that he’s good in, but also one that I enjoy watching him in. So I’m going to go with Comic Book: The Movie in first place.
Don't worry if you never heard of it... very limited release and then quickly to DVD, I think. It’s a mockumentary style film that Mark produced, co-wrote, and directed, and is clearly a love letter to geekdom/fandom, so we forgive him the few winks and nods to his own ego.
Mark basically plays himself, a comic book store owner whose fave franchise is about to hit the big screen. There is an earnestness to the script that rings true in a way that shows he believes in the importance of storytelling and heroes in a very satisfying way. There is even a rather prescient monologue Mark has where he talks about what makes a true hero—if this film had been made post-TLJ you would have thought you knew exactly what he was talking about (and what an indictment!).
There is also a moment where is he running around in a superhero costume ala Cocknocker, and I have to say it’s like night and day (or the Dark and the Light, if you will) to see the difference not only in his acting, which is obviously self-aware in this film, but in the reverence that is a part of it. His character is the true hero of the movie and his eventual donning of the costume is a sweet inevitability that I can’t be cynical about.
Also, did I mention he is tied naked (or so it would seem) to a bed in this film?
So what Comic Book: The Movie lacks in polish and Hollywood box office glitz, it makes up for in sincerity. It’s nice to see all Mark’s voice actor friends show up and give him cameos, and there are some genuinely funny moments.
Honorable mention will go to an equally strange choice, I have to say Wing Commander III/IV. I like the story, I feel like his acting is uneven but when he is on, he’s really on (there are some very “this is old jaded Luke” moments that I enjoy).
It’s another Space Opera with him getting to play the hero (looking very good doing it mmhmmm), and everyone in the cutscenes for this video game seemed to be taking it seriously. I played it when it was released cause I am old (MITCHELL! if you know you know), and have rewatched the story a few times thanks to the wonders of youtube. It’s a video game, yes, but Wing Commander knew it was something special when it came out, and it didn’t listen to the haters. It has a special place in my heart, and so let’s say it’s the illogical choice (since I eliminated voice acting and tv series/films). I think Col Christopher Blair was a worthy role for him, and while it's not a film in the strictest sense of the word, it's definitely one of my fave things he's ever done and I probably do prefer it to Comic Book: The Movie just for enjoyment, but put it here since it's technically not a film film. 💛
Maybe time for some Wing Commander fanfic...🤔
So there you have it. Oh and I will mention that as I was reviewing his filmography I realized there is something besides The Long Walk I have not seen: this Hungarian-filmed sci-fi steampunk thing Thelomeris. I believe it was only ever released in Hungary so if someone has this uploaded on a google drive somewhere, pretty please share with me! I am a completist, I need to watch it somehow!
Thank you so much for this wonderful ask @beyond-andromeda. It was lovely to revisit some of Mark's work to answer this, and admittedly not-so-lovely to revisit some of the cringe, but, as my tag says, #he's so silly and i love him.
