MOVIE NEWS – In the 2013 Call of Duty parody called Virtually Heroes , two self-absorbed video game characters try to beat the game they’re in.

There is a huge market for parody films, most of which were discovered in the 2000s and early 2010s. The Scary Movie franchise is perhaps the most popular, parodies of iconic horror films such as Scream, The Ring, and The Signs. Then there was Epic Movie, which parodied adventure movies like The Chronicles of Narnia or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The 2013 film Virtually Heroes however, it was not a parody of another film. Instead, it parodied war-themed video games like Call of Duty. The goofy movie has gone one step further and the characters in the movie know they are in a video game.

It obviously wasn’t a blockbuster hit, but it’s fun to watch and has a brief cameo from fan-favorite Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker. His time in the film isn’t long, but he has a big impact on how the film plays out and ends.

Virtually Heroes

Director

G. J. Echternkamp

Screenwriter

Matt Yamashita

Actors

• Robert Baker
• Brent Chase
• Katie Savoy
• Mark Hamill
• Ben Messmer

Executive Producer

Roger Corman

Initial release date

January 18, 2013

Play time

84 minutes

What is Practically Heroes about and who does Mark Hamill play?

Virtually Heroes follows two main characters, Books and Nova, from an untitled video game. They fight Vietnamese soldiers in a fictional war and aim to reach the final boss, Major Merk. Both Books and Nova are aware that they are in a video game, with Books repeatedly mentioning that they are being controlled by a “pimple-faced kid who works at Subway”.

Books falls in love with a photographer named Jennifer Hardaway who keeps getting kidnapped, prompting Books and Nova to try to rescue her. Since they are in a video game, when Books and Nova die, they have to start all over again. Books soon tires of having to start over, while Nova is much more free-spirited and decides to have more fun during the campaign. This eventually separates them after Books finally blows up Nova and they fight. Nova wins and gives up the game, while Books tries to finish the game without her.

Throughout the film, Books keeps seeing a monk character pop up in random places. You will only interact with this character when you are ready to give up on the game. The monk takes off his hood and it’s none other than Mark Hamill, who plays a character named Sheng Long. Long teaches Books to let go of his desire to beat the game so badly and try to enjoy himself while he’s still “alive”, considering that no one knows what happens once he beats the game. He also teaches Books a cheat code, but Books doesn’t know what the code is for until the time comes.

The legendary producer behind Virtually Heroes

It’s unbelievable that Mark Hamill gets a cameo in a low-budget movie. In addition, they even received help from the king of low-budget films, Roger Corman. Corman, 97, has been making films since the 1950s.

Corman began his career with horror films in the 1950s. In the 1960s, he devoted a lot of time to Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, such as the original The House of Usher, The Red mask of death and The Raven. He is best known for playing a major role in the exploitation era of cinema: he made films that took advantage of current world trends and did it all on the lowest possible budget.

His most notable low-budget films include The Horror, starring Boris Karloff and a very young Jack Nicholson; The Wasp Woman; and the Carnasour film series from the 1990s. Corman paved the way for future directors to make movies the way they wanted to. Talents like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan or even Martin Scorsese might not have been given the freedom to make their iconic films if Roger Corman hadn’t set a precedent.

Source: GameRant