Tropic Thunder, a review by Jon
Tropic Thunder
3 out of 5A Vietnam war film is fast becoming a liability. In a last ditch attempt at realism, the director (Steve Coogan) takes his principal cast of five into the jungle and leaves them. Unfortunately a local drug lord sees them as real soldiers while they think it's all part of the production.This for the most part is good fun, especially if you enjoy the classic Vietnam movies like Platoon and Apocalypse Now, because when it frequently rips off those movies and the conventions of so many more, it does so in the best way possible: always with respect. The story is overall badly plotted. An old idea (Three Amigos, Galaxy Quest), yet it simply isn't focused enough. The first 30 minutes or so is fantastic though with several very funny gags all firing at the same time in a sequence that sees the idiot director napalm the jungle without the cameras rolling. The image of Jack Black dangling from a helicopter while this goes on (or off?) will stick with me for a long time!
The film only falls apart completely in the middle section, just after a particularly high point when Coogan leaves his cast to fend for themselves. Ironically this is where many of the war films it takes as inspiration also collapse. Those bits between the battles, when it's soldiers just wandering through talky scenes. It doesn't help that a couple of plot points are really overplayed while it forgets the basic appeal of actors not realising it's real; I couldn't tell if any aside from Stiller were deluded or when they realised they weren't. One problem is frustratingly Black's drug addict actor. An obvious joke that he can't seem to find anything funny to latch onto, so we end up with a strangely neutered Jack Black until he can get back to more physical stuff (which he is very good at). Another issue is Stiller's Simple Jack character that caused some offence on the films release. While unfounded, it becomes really over-used and a major plot point when Stiller is captured by the drug-lord. Who, by the way, is about 12. Very annoying, and... why? Why not a normal middle aged drug lord?
Although the henchman in drag and the stabby toddler are great!
However, all this prevaricating does lead to a jump start for the final act and it finishes as it began. Funny gags and massive explosions!
What really enriches the film are the performances. Aside from poor plotting, the cast are really on form. Nick Nolte and Danny McBride form a bit a double-act that's simple, but works, while Stiller came in for criticism for doing the same endearingly stupid characters he always does, except, this is what he's good at and the story suits it. Black, when given the room, is always worth watching. Jay Baruchel is a good straight man for almost the whole squad and Brandon T Jackson as the only real black actor has some great dialogue with Robert Downey Jr., who's pretending. But then, everyone has great dialogue with him, because his performance is incredible. Very funny, all of the time, because his whole persona is so absurd and so much deeper than "Black face". That was another point that invited controversy by people who really missed the point. RDJ is not caught slacking on this performance for a single second and he brought almost everyone up a notch.
I say almost everyone because he didn't do any scenes with Matthew McConaughey and I thought he did a great job in a small role. He really needs to move away from rom-coms. He has so much more to offer. That he held is own in scenes with Tom Cruise is not too shabby, because if anyone could steal this movie from RDJ, it's Cruise. His extended cameo is wonderful!
It's obvious that Stiller had a gem of an idea that inspired the cast to work very well together in an environment so gorgeous it could photograph itself, so why was I left with the feeling it could have been much better? Just the plot let it down. Everything else was in place.
(From Jon's Random Reviews)
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