Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Tropic Thunder
2008
***½
Director: Ben Stiller
Cast: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Tom Cruise, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte

The director of an ambitious Vietnam War film drops his cast in the jungle and hopes to capture some gritty, award-worthy footage through hidden cameras. However, the oblivious stars end up in a real combat with the local drug dealers. Ben Stiller's outrageous Hollywood parody is bold and subversive but not always as funny or clever as it thinks it is. The performances are a mixed bag. While Robert Downey Jr. is fabulous as a method actor who always stays in character, Jack Black is rather exhausting as a gross-out comedy star with a drug addiction. Tom Cruise is almost unrecognisable in his amusing cameo.