Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD (2014)

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

At the age of 9 I read the very first edition of 2000ad in 1977 and continued to enjoy the dark comic reality show until the late 1990s. This documentary was interesting . It did have several flaws for me. I wanted to hear about the character development more and the story lines. But, and everything that comes after but is usually bullshit, but in this case it is not:-) I see this documentary as a story of artists disenfranchised, and as such it is merely a another dark story, albeit uninspiring and just sad . Apologies if my judgement upsets you mere mortals

I wasn't into 2000AD when I was young, didn't know anyone who really was, which was my loss. Once you read a few of their mags, your eyes are opened and you see the quality and originality of what they have been striving to do.This documentary is a down to earth talking heads history of those who built & fashioned the comic & characters over all these years. We don't get much in the way of comic shots or nasty stories, we have the whole spate of familiar & legendary names giving us their frank opinion on the whole comic.Its place in the annals of comic history is indisputable, and this documentary is recording for posterity those views.There is nothing necessarily special in this doc, it was trying to record lives and history, and it achieves that.If you're interested in comics then this is great, for 2000AD fans it is indispensable. Enjoy and be enlightened. Need to dig out those old Dredd anthology volumes again for a good old read.

1995:Going to the NEC in Birmingham for a comic convention with my dad,I got given £10 and told that I could spend it on anything I want.Looking round,I spotted amongst the comic sellers two huge robots that you could have a photo taken with.Getting on the stage,I was a bit surprised when someone dressed as a futuristic cop joined for the photo.2016:Since learning the futuristic cop is Judge Dredd,I have read the occasional issue of 2000AD, and have also been a big fan of the 2012 Dredd movie (although I've still not seen the 1995 film that was getting hyped up at the NEC!) After reading an excellent review from a fellow IMDber about a doc on 2000AD a while ago,I was happy to find out from another IMDber that the doc was on Channel 4's 4OD service,which led to me getting ready to go back to the year 2000AD.The outline of the doc:Frustrated over the twee nature of boys British comics, Kelvin Gosnell and Pat Mills decided to create a comic inspired by Punk Rock called Action,which would feature explosive action and hard- edge satirical shots.After gaining a little too much controversy,Action comic was closed down.Wanting to find a way to continue the themes that were started in Action,Gosnell & Mills work with John Wagner to plan a Sci-Fi comic. Believing the comic would be short-lived,Gosnell,Mills and Wagner decide to name the comic:2000AD.View on the film:Revealing the foundation from which 200AD came from with news footage and Punk Rock songs,director Paul Goodwin separates the sections of the doc with 3D,slightly animated versions of 200AD artwork,which gives the film a wonderfully pulpy vibe.Whilst the shifts in viewing the history of 2000AD are slightly jarring,Goodwin smooths things over by offering eyefuls of prime cut artwork from 2000AD history.For the interviews,Goodwin covers an impressively wide ground which goes from the creators to those who the comic has inspired (such as film maker Alex Garland,who used 2000AD artist "Jock" to design the main robot in Ex_Machina.) Offering each of the interviewees plenty of breathing space,Goodwin taps into the Punk spirit of the comic,by letting everyone be as blunt as they want on the rise,fall and rise of a comic which has been handing out "justice" for decades.

As the title of this documentary would suggest, FUTURE SHOCK! is an exploration of the British comic publishers 2000 AD, featuring constant talking head footage consisting of interviews with the key personnel over the last thirty years: editors, writers, and of course the artists. It's obviously a labour of love and anybody with an interest in comic books will doubtlessly enjoy it.I admit that I've never read a single 2000 AD publication, but this didn't stop me enjoying the documentary, which has plenty of insight and anecdotal fun to keep it moving along. I particularly enjoyed the way the differences between American and British comics are explored, with the latter proving far more bloodthirsty and cynical; Superman just wouldn't get a look in on these shores. Plus, the documentary briefly looks at the two filmed versions of Judge Dredd. It's good fun throughout.