Tropic Thunder – A Movie Review
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film. But after ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.
Genres: Comedy; Running Time: 1 hr. 47 min.; Release Date: August 13th, 2008 (wide); MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, Nick Nolte
Directed by: Ben Stiller
We watched this on DVD. the “R” rating was well deserved for the pervasive language. We let Lay’s nephews watch, but half way through, I had wished we hadn’t. But they got laughs out of it, and I guess they hear a lot of the same in real life.
It was a lot like Ben Stiller’s career in general. This appeared to a great potential vehicle for Stiller to what he can do well (spoofs of a genre and the Hollywood film industry), and as noted, there are some very funny moments. Jack Black was, as is often the case, pretty good in his part, as was Robert Downey, Jr. The rest of the cast played their parts well also.
Overall though, I’d have to say it was merely a mediocre effort. It started strong, but by the end it was all wearing a little thin and became fairly predictable.