We saw the comedy Tropic Thunder this weekend. It’s the latest movie starring Ben Stiller (who also directed). It also stars Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black and a host of other noted personalities.
The basic storyline revolves around a movie shoot that focuses on trying to get the very best performances from some difficult movie stars by dropping them into a truly violent territory and filming the results. The catch is that the stars don’t know it’s real.
The fun starts “before” the movie begins. I won’t ruin the joke here but it’s quite novel and solidifies the feeling that you’re in for a fun ride right from the start.
The main concern I had was that the concept might not hold up for a full movie. As if on cue, after the initial opening scenes the movie started to dull. Thankfully it then picked up again and pretty much kept up the intensity.
The acting is decent and Robert Downey Jr’s role is notably hilarious. The cameos are surprising and plentiful throughout.
It’s far from a perfect movie but it is a wonderfully funny experience.
