Tropic Thunder Movie Review

I was really on the fence about whether or not I was going to see this movie. I had seen some of the trailers and I knew Ben Stiller was behind it so it would definitely have his fingerprints all over it. Which is something I really want to stress in this review. If you love Ben Stiller comedies, you will love this movie. If not you should probably not bother. Thats really going to be the mantra through out this review. Tropic Thunder is a product of Ben Stiller and that is obvious from the very beginning of the movie with some of the fake commercials and trailers.

The film itself can be pretty complicating to explain. The premise is that a Vietnam vet wrote a novel Tropic Thunder and this movie is bascially the telling of the making of that movie. While on the set of the film the producer, played brilliantly by Tom Cruise (I will get to that later), comes down hard on the director to get to work. So with the help of the explosive cordinator he decides to make the actors live the action and shoot the movie guerilla style. Little does he know that the section of the forest he brings them to is actually populated with Heroin smugglers. Of course the actors don't know this and think it is all part of the show. From there the madness ensues.

I have to say that this movie is not nearly as funny as it tries to be but honestly some of the times it doesn't really matter. The action sequences which surround the comedy generally make-up for a botched delivery or a line that just doesn't hit the mark. This movie was really a hard film to sell because its not really a comedy but not really an action film either. It's almost a parody in a way of Hollywood. Lots of scenes are used from real TV shows like E! News, Extra and The Tyra Banks show.

What is truly odd about this movie is that not Jack Black, not Ben Stiller, not Robert Downey Jr. but Tom Cruise in a somewhat small role steals the show. Every scene that he was in he owns. Every line they had him deliver he really nails and comes off as the funniest guy in the movie. I really had no idea Tom Cruise had it in him. Honestly I had written the guy off as crazy. I don't know maybe he honed that crazy into his comedy but he really worked in this film.

Another aspect of this movie that I really ended up liking was the score. The music in the film is really amazing and you are constantly hearing songs that you have heard several times before. It almost felt like it was being directed by a musician because the music was so spot on. It was one thing in this movie that never missed a beat.

As with any Ben Stiller movie there is a TON of cameos from big Hollywood celebs. The difference in this movie is that for the most part they were all playing themselves in Hollywood which really works to his adavntage in this film. It didn't feel out of place and actually helped sell quite a few of the scenes in the movie.

The one thing about this movie that many people will criticize this movie for is that it really isn't a laugh out loud kind of movie. In fact several lines just fall flat. In my mind this movie would have been an easier sell had they amped up the action sequences in the trailers. I think that audiences are going to expect more laughs then what they are going to get. I know I did. But then again it comes back to Ben Stiller. In my opinion the guy can be funny and then he can just be totally off point.. Zoolander anyone?

But overall I have to say the production values on this movie are insane. It looks like it was a very expensive movie to make which really surprised me for an R-Rated comedy starring Robert Downey Jr as a black man. This is definitely a ballsy picture and I think it worth checking out.