Tropic Thunder (2008) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA, UK, Germany 2008
Director: Ben Stiller
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Stiller, Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel, Jack Black, Tom Cruise
Rating: R
Release Date: 13 August 2008
Running Time: 2 hours 1 minute

The Movie Review

Tropic Thunder film still 1


TROPIC THUNDER
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

In the comedy realm, it is always a pleasure to see something or someone is brought up side down, literally and figuratively. I personally am a fan of a comedy which transforms seriousness into hilarity, from something very frigid and stiff into any possible flexible things that are only limited by the creativity of the filmmakers. But upon sitting comfortably to watch Tropic Thunder, I never expected that I would be amused right from the start. Tropic Thunder gave that amusement, from when? From the very first second! Yes, fellow moviegoers, not from the very first minute but from the very first second, "someone" just pops out and strikes my funny bones out of the blue, and it doesn't slow down until a couple of minutes. And this slowing down is not a downfall, it's necessary and an integral part of the story. Which is good.

Tropic Thunder is a story about a bunch of spoiled actors who have to do a war movie. The cast is made up of the rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), the wear off action star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), the chubby man who has previously done slapstick and exploitative movies Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), the newbie Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) and the very-talented-to-the-everyday-life-that-he-carries-his-character-off-screen Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.). Now, these actors are actually very annoying that their poor director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) almost gives up on them, until the war veteran himself--whose book inspires the war movie--Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte) suggests (well agitates actually) that Damien ought to take their boys to the real war, and he means the real deal.

Afterwards Damien takes the boys to a remote jungle and crushes their cell phones. No one believes Cockburn, especially Tugg who seems eager to get his glory days back. However the more-matured Kirk begins to suspect that this is not a built up set for the movie, instead they are left stranded in the real jungle. What makes it worse for those "cute" actors are the presence of the Flaming Dragon soldiers who control the narcotics distribution in the golden triangle. Will our "actors" come up alive?

Tropic Thunder is no doubt a highly big-budgeted comedy movie. Just by reading the cast you'll know that the filmmakers were drop dead serious in making a heckuva great comedy. And I'm glad to say, they are absolutely success in doing so. In viewing Tropic Thunder, I never felt even a bit of bore or something unpleasant coming from a comedy. It never ceases to amuse its audience since this film is filled with hilarious scenes and effective dialogue. No Forced jokes, the constant flow of comedy even though silly but it's hilarious. So I'm just going to point Tropic Thunder's thundering positive aspects.

Life is too short to spend your time on seeing something boring (except for a reviewer of course), so once again I was just excited that from the beginning, the jokes are already on. Then the performances of the cast, they are brilliant, they don't overdo stuff and absolutely far from being wooden. Even Jack Black could contain his regular uplifting gusto, so his character could mingle well with the rest. But the one that shines the most is Robert Downey Jr., every time he's on screen, it's hilarious and every time he's out, we'll miss him. His performance as the black dude who endures pigment operation is very amusing, which is even more entertaining when his words and attitude irritates the real black dude Alpa Chino. And the supporting cast is solid as well, there's Matthew McConaughey and see if you can spot the furious Tom Cruise. Plus a whole bunch of other famous actors making cameos.

However, there is a scene where I truly consider as a sad attempt of advertising. The scene where Tom Cruise is yelling at Matthew, if it's advertising, then it's a very obvious ad-showing (other movies do have ads too, but this one is so unconcealed) and a big shame to show the audience who weren't spending our money to see that sad ad attempt. And if it's not an ad, then it's a one big embarrassing blooper.

Even though at first glance, Tropic Thunder may seem like a slapstick comedy with many physical acts of amusement, don't let that inhibit your ears from listening to their smart choices of words that are full of idioms and stuff. Yes, this is a hilarious brainy movie that acts like it's not, which makes it more entertaining. Wait until you hear the dialogue between Robert Downey and Ben Stiller in the camp which they utter a complete paragraph of line filled with "Dude" word creatively. It's like hearing the comedy version of "V paragraph" from V for Vendetta.

The cinematography is beautiful and exotic. The soundtracks are absolutely powerful with singers and bands such as Brandon T. Jackson himself, The Rolling Stones, Mc Hammer, Enigma and The Crystal Method, among others. They fit the scenes and they arouse the emotion. The editing is also very enjoyable and Tropic Thunder still has some shock value as its arsenal. Guess what? No, not nudity, but a bit of gore that we usually encounter in those low-budget slasher movies out there.

It's been quite a long time since I could laugh out loud like this, what a good time to spend. You will not only get entertained by the jokes and the funny scenes but this movie as a whole with elements what constitute a motion picture is a satisfying piece as well.

Tropic Thunder is a blast, full of explosions, the real ones and the entertainment ones. Yes, this comedy movie is packed full with entertainment ranging from action, comedy, drama and even horror. See this comedy flick and you won't regret it. Tropic Thunder definitely worth your time and money. Once the video is released, it will surefire be on my Video Shelf! Top Notch!