OldBoy

Last big one of the summer.

Movie:
"Tropic Thunder" (Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise)

Release Date:
8/13/2008

Rating:
R

Rotten Tomatoes Reviews:
Fresh:134 Rotten:27 (83% as of 8/26/08)
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tropic_thunder/

Info:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942385/

Trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3958898969/

Poster Art:

Ronnie Dobbs

Since I already saw it I can say, don't miss the first five or ten minutes. The fake trailers are the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

RD, Jr. was great as well, he pretty much stayed in character the whole time.

mdc3000

Saw this a month ago and will be there on Wednesday! The funniest movie of the year, hands down. Can't wait until everyone else gets to see it - just pure awesome! Here's my mini-review from the previous 'hype' thread:

Tropic Thunder really delivers. I should say that I am a huge fan of Zoolander and saw it theatrically a few times, so I'm predisposed to Stiller's brand of humour, but so far for my money, Tropic Thunder is one of the most satisfying movies of 2008 and certainly the best comedy.

Tropic Thunder is a politically incorrect, in your face, balls out action comedy. It's filled with hilarious razor sharp satire, cameos galore and of course, the performance everyone will be talking about, Robert Downey Jr. evoking memories of C. Thomas Howell, as an Australian actor who dyes his skin to play an African American role.

The movie opens brilliantly with a series of fake trailers that introduces us to the main characters and gets things rolling. Stiller is in fine form here as well, and even though Downey Jr. gets a lot of memorable lines, Stiller really goes for it as idiotic action star Tugg Speedman... Jack Black doesn't have much to do for the first half of the flick but eventually gets a few really funny moments and some filthy lines that people will be quoting in the future for sure. Tom Cruise is hilarious as the trash talking head of the studio. He has a few lines that blew the roof off the place...love the bit with the Key Grip.

In a summer that has given us one of the worst comedies ever in The Love Guru (I hope Mike Myers sees this and weeps), it's a relief that this one lives up to expectations. It moves at a quick pace, the ridiculous plot actually works really well and the movie is loaded with jokes that never feel too cheap.

Right now Tropic Thunder is at the top of my list as best comedy of the year (followed by Forgetting Sarah Marshall). If you like war movies, action comedies and Stiller's brand of humour, you will not be disappointed. AWESOME. I just hope it doesn't take Stiller another 7 years to write/direct his next movie! 5/5 stars.

Yavin

Agreed. The Booty Juice ad really hits you since you're completely not expecting it. I saw the movie at an advanced screening last month, where there were no (real) ads/trailers before the film, and I kept thinking to myself how can I possibly be seeing this ad in a theater .. didn't remember they were fake trailers until the second fake trailer rolled around. Priceless.

OldBoy

reviews at RT are getting better by the minute: Fresh:31 Rotten:10 (76% as of 8/12/08)

Cardiac161

Just saw it last night. As mentioned, it was the best comedy of the year. Lots of unexpected cameos and the fake trailers in the beginning were hilarious, and certainly a great sarcastic view on Hollywood blockbusters and sequels.

Robert Downey Jr, as expected, steals the show and Tom Cruise's studio boss character reminded me of his character in Magnolia, this time with unbelievable laughs. Glad to see that Ben Stiller didn't resort to his usual comedic "over-acting".

As mdc3000 said, this film is so un-PC and it's what make this film works. Felt that the moment the film started, there was no pulling back and you start wondering how far Tropic Thunder will go...it went quite far.

OldBoy

anyone see a matinee?

Rypro 525

seeing this tonight at 7:10 w/ the gf.

OldBoy

reviews keep going up which is nice to see. look forward to seeing this in the coming days, but perhaps next Monday i will have to wait for.

mdc3000

Saw it again this afternoon, still just as good as the first time. Not very many people in the audience though...I'm hoping for a packed house for tonight's early show that I'm going to.

Also, I'm sure lots of dvdtalkers will get a kick out of Jay Baruchel's HD DVD/Blu-ray format war speech...

toxie321

That had me cracking up. I don't think anyone else in the theater really knew what he was talking about though lol.

Mordred

Went to a midnight showing of this last night. I was pretty tired yesterday and worried that I would start to doze/have trouble paying attention. No idea what I was so worried about. I was laughing so hard through the whole thing that I didn't have a chance to feel tired. I didn't know about all the cameos or the fake trailers so each one was a nice surprise. It didn't feel long at 2 hours, but it probably could have been tightened up in a few spots. Overall it worked very well.

I'd give it 4.5/5 stars.

RyoHazuki

Great movie and the best comedy of the summer. I'm glad this one didn't disappoint like Step-Brothers.

Quake1028

I've seen this 4 times for work already, and haven't gotten tired of it. 5 stars for me. I still think Pineapple is a bit better, but that could change at any moment.

maxpower

any post credit scenes?

mdc3000

Nope.

TheMovieman

Saw it this morning, 10:10am, about 6 people in the theater including myself.

Funny comedy that had me laughing throughout. I can't quite call it one of the best I've seen in a while, but I got my money's worth for this one. Yeah, I loved the little BD/HD DVD speech.

**** / *****

Superboy

I liked it, but I think it's going to have trouble in the box office. The trailer doesn't look funny the way most comedies are advertised - usually the best comedies are the ones where all the jokes aren't in the trailer. Also, I think the concept is going to turn a lot of people off. I wonder if TDK can do 5 for 5
.

JPRaup

Just got back from this, it was funny, but disappointing, I laughed alot, but the beginning was pretty slow for me. There were way too many unfunny scenes sprinkled throughout the film and many lines that just weren't funny. The cameo is getting ridiculously overrated as well. Those were my only negatives. Other than that Downey is perfect. Stiller is really not the main focus of the film at all. Black is good, but his subplot is pretty stupid. Still there were lots of laughs and would recommend seeing it. For the sake of comparing it to the other two big comedies this summer: Step Brothers (laughed the most, but worst movie story/directing wise out of the 3) Pineapple Express (best film in all aspects). I still recommend seeing Tropic Thunder, but don't expect to be blown away.

8/10

JumpCutz

Wow... you were disappointed but still gave it an 8/10.

JPRaup

Yeah, it was a solid comedy. I expected it to be a 10/10 classic from the way people were talking about it. Damn myself and getting so hyped for movies

cdollaz

It had some funny parts and was worth seeing, but not something that deserves repeat viewings. I thought the sight gags were usually the funniest parts as I didn't think most of the characters were very funny. Jack Black wasn't funny at all and Cruise was OK, but his character got old. Downey was easily the best part of the movie.

Mercury&Solace

Agreed.
I just got back from it and I agree on most of these points. Jack Black was definitely the worse character in this, RDJ definitely stole the show. I really didn't think the Ben Stiller movie "Special Jack" or whatever it was, was not funny at all. Overall I enjoyed it though, some parts were absolutely hilarious though.

I highly agree on this. My audience was very, very light, and I got a vibe that some people didn't like the content. Especially what Jack Black says when tied to the tree, not a good reaction from the crowd.

Layziebones

I just felt kind of bored throughout the whole movie. I am a big Stiller and RDJ fan but I just couldn't really get into it. I don't know if I really laughed at all during the movie but It was ok.

NoirFan

I think that by now everyone knows is in this film. His cameo is certainly getting a massive amount of hype - people are just so used to seeing him as a bland, humorless stiff that any deviation from that formula is seen as major news.