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Tropic Thunder (2008)

Director: Ben Stiller

Time Out rating

Average user rating

48 reviews

Synopsis

Five actors sign up for a war movie, only to find themselves fighting in an actual battle. Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and with controversial cameos from Tom Cruise and Owen Wilson.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Don’t be late for ‘Tropic Thunder’, or you’ll miss the second-best bit: the spoof trailers for ‘Scorcher VI’ starring action hero Tugg Speedman, ‘The Fatties 2’ starring gross-out favourite Jeff Portnoy and ‘Satan’s Alley’ starring Oscar-laden thesp Kirk Lazarus. Speedman, Portnoy and Lazarus – played by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr respectively – are the leads in a bombastic Vietnam epic shooting on location in the Golden Triangle. The flailing Brit director (Steve Coogan) sets them loose in the jungle, intending to film their method-fuelled progress on hidden cameras, but they end up facing genuine combat together. Cue machine-guns all round, and then hugs.

The makers of ‘Tropic Thunder’ knew they had a challenge on their hands with the character of Lazarus, who is surgically blacked up to play an African-American soldier, meaning that Downey is too. They did a good job of defusing the issue in the US – they’re parodying Hollywood narcissism, not the black experience, for heaven’s sake! – and were enormously helped by Downey’s terrific, compulsive performance. Equal parts brash, bonkers and perplexed, he’s the film’s best bit. (The mental-health lobby was less than impressed by his bravura monologue about the perils of actors going ‘full retard’ in pursuit of Oscar glory, but that’s another story.)

Certainly, the film works much better as Tinseltown parody than as action flick or character drama; on those terms, which co-writer and director Stiller seems to have taken seriously, it’s pretty ordinary stuff. But its better moments of self-referential snark, such as an ace cameo from Tom Cruise as an obnoxious studio exec, have the feel of a superior end-of-term revue.

Author: Ben Walters 2008-09-16 10:08:45

Time Out London Issue 1987, 17-23 Sept, 2008

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User reviews of this film

vicky said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 22:45 seriously all these people who keep badmouthing this are clearly the most blind and anally retentive people ever!! i found this quite a funny film and i enjoyed it and didnt feel the need to get up and walk out like these people,, seriously grow up and learn to laugh at humour!!!!!!
xxx

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seb said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 21:23 bloody hell!!! most of the bad comments on here are written by people who seem to have far tooomuch time on their hands, depressed people who don't understand what type of film this was meant to be, watching in hope it could make another drab, depressing day bearable. the films hilarious if you like laughing and watching an actual comedy go watch!!!

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ruthie said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 18:38 Oh my God i hav just got back from seeing this film, my mate convinced me to go - it is so stupid and boring - no one in the cinema larfed at all - they cannot all be anal retentives, can they? It is hard to take on board that one of film land's funniest actors (There's Somethink About Mary, Gaylord Focker in Meet the Parents, etc & Emmy Awarded) can fall so flat - Ben do not go here again - it won't help your career ... remember Eddie Murphy oh and Steve Martin.

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Pete said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 18:22 Ben Stiller takes a whole bunch of cash and some of the best acting talent available and manages to cook up a dog of a movie. Even though you've paid your money it's still a major challenge to sit through this tripe; my partner left after 10 minutes for a coffee - but at least I can say I sat through one of the worst films for a decade. The locations, camera work and explosions are just fine but they alone do not rally this irritating lacklustre attempt at humour featuring fake guts, a dead panda and a maniac toddler with a rocket launcher. Try another movie instead - pay heed.

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joe said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 17:53 Don't pay any attention to these people, with their half arse attempts at reviewing a film. As Superhans once said, "People? People put Hitler into power and like Coldplay. You can't trust people" Just go and see it for youself.

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leffer said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 17:35 Please do not waste your money the far by worst film I have seen In my life . I had to walk out as it was so pitfull
To cruise really bad and the humor where was it
BAD BAD BAD SAVE YOUR MONEY

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Mathew said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 10:25 Yet again unsure what movie other people were watching but I found the first 20 minutes very slow, not too funny and was very worried about what i was about to sit through. However once they are dropped into the jungle for real the film really takes off, very funny...

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Charli said...

Posted on Sep 28 2008 01:05 LMBO a guaranteed laugh a minute, I will be honest some scenes are quite cringey but when they all go mad at the end it's very funny. End scene is brilliant. ****

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Djole said...

Posted on Sep 26 2008 14:56 How can people not find this funny ? Biting satire it clearly isn't, but laugh out loud it most certainly is . Go and have a good time and watch this movie, unless you are anally retentive !!

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arin said...

Posted on Sep 26 2008 13:38 the opening 2 minutes are the funniest of the whole movie. It's patchy at best, and slides into being a bit of a mess in the 2nd half. And Jack Black..he ain't no John Candy.

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The Whelk said...

Posted on Sep 25 2008 13:09 Come on guys, this is a funny film! Had a good chuckle all the way through.

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angie said...

Posted on Sep 25 2008 08:43 oh come on! this film was what it was supposed to be, a complete mickey take! admittedly i didn't laugh all the way through and at times it was incredibly cringe worthy(nearly put borat to shame at certain bits!) but it's worth seeing even if it's just to see tom cruise and his amazing dancing at the end of the film. was in bits laughing!!
if you've got an open mind, a couple of hours of your life to fill and you just want some mindless entertainment...go see.

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Justin Berkovi said...

Posted on Sep 25 2008 06:54 This is the worst film I've ever seen. It's not funny, not well written or acted. It is so bad that we walked out after 20 minutes. A total disaster.

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Paul Robson said...

Posted on Sep 25 2008 06:23 Sorry, this is a bad film, made me laugh just once when steve coogan makes a rapid exit from the film, like the other revives gags get repetaive, direction poor and terrible jokes and script, about as entertaining as a poke in the eyes.

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Andrew said...

Posted on Sep 21 2008 12:16 I'm not sure if we all saw the same movie? Did you expect a serious depiction of the vietnamese conflict starring Jack Black and Ben Stiller??? It's a comedy!! I started laughing at the trailers in the beginning and stopped laughing as the credits rolled. It's bad-taste, it's silly, it's hilarious!! I cannot remember the last time I've laughed so hard at an American blockbuster (doesn't hurt having Ethan Cohen co-writing). Don't expect an expose of Hollywood movie making!! Did you think Anchorman was a documentary on journalism?? Go. Eat popcorn. Be entertained and offended.

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