Tropic Thunder

Stiller knows very well that making a parody doesn’t mean making one-to-one copies of one scene after another, but rather about well scattered nods and making sure that the movie works as a whole. You need to be skilled enough to shoot it at least as well as the original. This “anti" Hollywood Tropic Thunder was no disappointment in that respect. But, as hard as it tries, it just isn’t funny. It simply tries too hard and turns out unnatural. It’s like Stiller missed his fellow Frat Packers and their chemistry and interplay. Maybe it should have set out on the journey to absolute absurdity that we know from Zoolander or Dodgeball rather than this rather vulgar normality. (18/09/2008)

Jack Black’s comedic potential is completely unused here; his character could have been played by any unknown comedian and the film would not have suffered for it. Ben Stiller is funny only when he plays “the guy he played in another movie”. Robert Downey is cool only thanks to his black accent. For every one good joke in 20 minutes, there are ten forced or downright unfunny ones. The only thing that stands out and hits the bull’s eye here is Tom Cruise. I like crazy comedies, parodies, war movies and criticisms of Hollywood, but sorry, I like my steaks done right. (21/09/2008)

Big American bullshit crammed with star names and wannabe cool catchphrases, barely half of which manage to entertain as originally intended. As for the actors, there really are no complaints, Stiller enjoys his role, Downey as a black man (sorry, as a nigger) is a treat in itself, and it's all topped off by Tom Cruise in his best role since Collateral. Unfortunately, as dynamic as the film is plot-wise – and even the action is good – it's awfully flat, with nowhere to latch on tightly, and the over-engineered humour bores rather than entertains. Tropic Thunder was supposed to be an unbeatable hit, but it's only a mediocre and unnecessarily bloated parody that plays at being more than it really is. 55% (04/03/2013)

I wasn't expecting this film to be anything special, and it wasn’t, but I had fun. The cast was great, except for Jack Black of course, I’m not a huge fan of his. Those who stood out in particular were Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus/Sgt. Osiris and surprisingly Tom Cruise, whose hairy Les Grossman with lumberjack arms was probably the funniest role I've ever seen Cruise play. The story had momentum, it was funny, which isn’t a given with comedies, and there were plenty of one-liners, so I have nothing to complain about. (18/02/2018)

Very wacky and with a bold humour that is very close to my heart. On the plus side, the casting is great, some of the actors were unrecognizable (Tom Cruise wtf? ! I also had a problem with the black Robert Downey Jr.), the plot is fine and fresh, the lines are crazy and Ben Stiller steals the whole movie for himself, after all, he directs it. I believe it was incredibly fun to make. Great line from the movie: “I'll cradle the balls, stroke the shaft, work the pipe, and swallow the gravy. Get it over here, buddy. Let's do this.” (17/06/2015)