6) Howard The Duck (1986)
I may be a forgivable critic, but that’s only when a movie can give me something to forgive. Howard The Duck is not one such movie – despite the involvement of George Lucas, Tim Robbins and Lea Thompson – becoming a truly befuddling mess in every sense of the word.
Contractual obligations forced the film to be live-action instead of animated, one of the main qualms of many critics, while others weren’t impressed by lackluster storytelling and an unavoidably schlocky tone that “wasted” any bits of “comedy” present. What’s there to love about this scuzzy visitor from the planet Duckworld? Well, at least it’s a comic book movie that sticks to its guns.
For how horribly inept a film Howard The Duck is, complete with a cheesy 80s pop theme, you can’t deny that director Willard Huyck and company build a pretty savvy comic book adaptation – as far as the adapting goes. It’s mindless fun, with Howard reading Playduck, and even though Howard looks like a high-budget Halloween costume, moments do arise that seem like the beaked hero jumped right from the pages of Steve Gerber’s source material.
Quite possibly the most ill-advised adaptation in history, give credit where credit is due when discussing building a comic book world on screen – it’s just a shame almost every other aspect comes up lame. Like a duck. A lame duck. Get it? *reaches for whiskey*
