A few years ago, Ben Stiller wrote and directed Zoolander: a spoof of the fashion industry which met with indifference in cinemas, but became required viewing on DVD. That's reason enough to get excited about Stiller's new effort, Tropic Thunder - a spoof of Hollywood and its action heroes. Sadly, Tropic Thunder falls very firmly in the shadow of its predecessor. If Zoolander was Stiller's comedy Oscar, this is very much his comedy TV Quick Award - funny and enjoyable enough, but not destined to become a classic. Tropic Thunder's basic plot certainly sees plenty of opportunity for some top-notch spoof comedy. A group of soldiers shooting a true-life ...  Read the complete review

Just when you think Ben Stiller's sense of humour couldn't get any more 'out there', along he comes with Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr and a whole host of familiar names and faces to give us quite possibly the most random and enjoyably stupid war film since Hot Shots Part Deux made a mockery of everything war-like in the 1990s. Tropic Thunder is the latest in the offering from director, writer and actor Stiller, using his twisted talents in writing this mockery with Justin Theroux. The films start off in cinematic fashion, giving us trailers of future releases. However, these turn out to be hilarious trailers of make-believe films, from Stiller's character Tugg ...  Read the complete review

Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American comedy film, which was produced and directed by Ben Stiller, who also stars in the movie as Tugg Speedman. Alongside Stiller, Jack Black portrays Jeff Portnoy, and Robert Downey Jr plays Kirk Lazarus. PLOT The basic plot is that three well known actors, and chosen to act in a Vietnam War film. However, the filming begins, and things aren't going quite as planned. The filming is far behind schedule, and the frustrated director loses patience with the actors. So, as a result, the director decides to send the actors out into the middle of the jungle, without the film crew or set, and continue to play their roles. The ...  Read the complete review

I was in mixed thoughts about Tropic Thunder when I first saw the trailer. For one thing I had no idea what it was about. It seemed like something more like a comedy version of the Condemned or Battle Royale or something. I didn't see it in the cinema, because I had better things to watch, but then I borrowed my friend's DVD of it, and was really quite surprised. The plot follows a group of actors headed by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr as they try to create a film adaptation of war hero Sergeant Four Leaf Tayback's (played by Nick Nolte) novel Tropic Thunder, but with the production way behind time and looking awful director Steve ...  Read the complete review

Tropic Thunder was filmed in 2007 on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, and funnelled more than $60 million to the local economy as a result. Sadly, this is really the only positive thing at all that I can say about this film. The trouble with openly disliking Tropic Thunder is that you lay yourself open to accusations of being humourless, of being too PC... of really taking yourself too seriously. But the fact remains - it is a long way from being a good film. Apart from the mumbling dialogue, the lacklustre script, the lack of any continuity in the action, and the really poor acting - my main issues with the film were about taste. Ben Stiller ...  Read the complete review