i just read the critic's summary on wikipedia and they trashed this movie, and i fell for it, thinking it wasn't worth my time. i just watched it on FX and was shocked -- what was wrong with this movie?? i thought it was great fun.
honestly, what's not to like?
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You are both very wise
I must add that the version on FX is different than what they showed on HBO's various channels many times for about a year. At first I thought FX was adding in the DVD extras (which may be the case), but FX didn't seem to be presenting it that way. Now I'm wondering which version of the movie is on the DVD.
On FX they showed more details about April's wedding and June's wedding present to April and her new husband. FX showed Fitzgerald meeting with Roy shortly after the train incident, but that wasn't covered on HBO. I don't know what else is different though, since I missed the first 30 minutes or so of FX's version. The differences aren't really that drastic, but there is a little bit of a different 'feel' from one version to the next. HBO's version basically keeps the action going more than the FX one...but I digress...
I actually didn't finish the Fox version. I ended up popping in the DVD to watch it from there, but the few things I noticed were different at the beginning was some of the conversation parts and on the first car chase, when he jumps from one vehicle to the one's Diaz is trying to drive, he hits an ice cream or some type of bread truck and ends up in a convertible. It takes his second try to jump onto the vehicle. I laughed so hard at this part because seeing the DVD version first, wasn't expecting it.
shareNow I can't wait to see that part. I started watching right after that. Thanks for the info! I wanted to watch the Fox version from the beginning tonight, but missed it again, lol. It's on again tomorrow and a couple of more times on Sunday. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013743/tvschedule
FX showed that part with the bread truck and the convertible a few minutes ago and I'm still laughing. I noticed a few other things that were different in this version. Even the music is different in some spots. It kind of is a different movie. I like that because I practically had the other version memorized.
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Same here...I thought it was brilliant fun - what the Americans would call a real popcorn movie. I have watched it so many times and his critics completely missed the point slating it for being unrealistic - it was meant to be a silly spy film. I made my niece who is 16 watch it and she thought it was great - hehe I have been introducing her to all TC's films (apart from EWS obviously) to carry on the legend!
Remember this was back in 2010 when Tom was still 'uncool' - Tropic Thunder has thawed the ice after the PR nightmare back in 2006 and after Ghost Protocol it has got better.
People just want to find fault with everything he does - also IMDB reviews can't bve trusted - A Few Good Men got 7.6?!
I'm with you. Baffled as to why I hadn't heard of it before, and why the reviews are so mediocre. TC was hot and chemistry with Diaz was great. Funny stuff, very entertaining, despite a lot of stunt-type-stuff being absurd. :)
shareI guess some people find the film confusing but I think it was pretty interesting to watch.
shareare you guys having a laugh? This film sucked. I think you would watch any movie with tom cruise in it grinning all way through it like an idiot and say you enjoyed it.
shareYou could think that... Or you could try to fathom that there are people who have a different opinion than you. No need to insult people just because they enjoyed a film that you didn't. Do you even know these people, and how many Tom Cruise movies they like?
shareReading this thread, Mamba is the first voice of reason I come across. It was utterly, utterly lame. I was so bored by about quarter way through the only reason I didn't switch off was I was too tired to move. Being that tired was the reason for choosing it too - I was totally up for a bit of brainless action, but this was beyond the brainless, it was more like brain death.
I'm no fan of Tom Cruise but nor am I a hater. Some of what he's done is great, if that's what you're after and there are times I'm totally up for this sort of thing. This just doesn't hit the spot though, doesn't work. This was limp in just about every area. That's the best I can say for it. Limp
Nothing to see here, move along...
You have said absolutely nothing of substance about this film, just threw dirt at it and expected it all to stick.
When you can write an articulate review, your opinion might be worth hearing but you have not done that.
Always have to have something to complain about.
There was nothing of substance to the film, so I didn't feel the need to be too substantive in commentary on it. All I offered was my opinion on it as a viewing experience, a personal view, not a critique. I'm entitled to my opinion as much as you are yours. Delighted for you if you liked this, really I am. I didn't. Don't have to be a critic to have an opinion. Sorry I offended you, but honestly... I've moved on from that evening and can barely remember a thing about it, it was so forgettable. So take care, and have fun with what you watch tonight. xxx
shareThat's how I felt the first time I watched it. It was hard to feel like there was a point to it and I didn't see myself watching it again. Since they kept showing it on HBO I watched it again and discovered that because I already knew how it ended, it was helping me to enjoy the whole movie a lot more.
It's weird how it works like that with some movies and visa versa. Some movies I love the first time I watch them, then realize there really isn't any point in seeing them again.
I know what you mean. I thought it was quite entertaining and it had some moments, but I couldn't possibly recommend it to anyone I actually cared about.
As for TC, I used to loathe him for some unfathomable reason. I used to get a kick out of seeing him out-acted on screen by the Hoffmans and Fannings of the world. But then he changed (or maybe I did). MI3 was acres better than MI1 & MI2. Les Grossman was hilarious. And his acting seemed to improve, and his annoying mannerisms seemed less smug. He's definitely improved with age.
See, there's the thing, I'm not a Cruise fan. One of the reasons I liked this movie is because Cruise actually seems to be having fun, acting and working well with his costar.
Hmmm, makes me wonder if it's possible for you to be more wrong.
I thought the movie was tons of fun. The dislike for it is just strange to me because it seems misplaced.
shareI agree. I love this movie. I love how it focus's on Cameron Diaz instead of Tom Cruise. She is an underrated actress. I don't understand why it tanked at the theaters.
The version they show on FX seems to be the extended cut according to the link in the FAQ. Interesting since movies shown on most television channels are cut back, this one has extra scenes.
I understand. Thank you for telling me. -The masked bandit
I enjoy it because Tom doesn't take himself so seriously in this one. The problem I have is Diaz's screaming. I hate movies where the girl is such a ditz that she can't figure out something as simple as "screaming makes you a target." Get a clue!
Yes, I could have used a little less hysterics and a little sooner getting a clue. She saved that till the last half hour and her sudden maturation was a tad too abrupt; a longer learning slope would have made me a little happier.
That said, this is a charming movie. The stunts are clever (yes, I had a huge laugh over the bread truck thing too) and the plot is as well. So much is cute and fun. Like June's motor-mouth running out of control while Roy picks off the turkeys from the back of the line ("Sergeant York" reference), and one by one they get disappeared, hah!
Motorcycle chase with a Ducati Diavel, who can sneer at that? Okay, I know, some crabby people will. They don't count, HAH!
How about the absurd scene with superher) Roy walking across the machine gun fire to kiss June? You can blow your stack over how unrealistic that was, or you can just laugh for the funny scene it was meant to be.
Fitz pulls the car over to set up to shoot Roy in the back, and gets rolled by a thundering herd of bulls? Not the least bit unexpected, but executed quite brilliantly. The battery deteriorating and wrapping up the movie? Fantastic. June breaking Roy out of hospital in her mini-gown and boots? Quite the capper. But even better was the final scene, the tickets!
I do understand the people who bash this movie. Complaining and griping and bashing make you so superior to everything, doesn't it.
Hint: no. And most people see through you when you do it.
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The kiddies always gotta have something to complain about.
I agree. I'm not really plugged into mainstream media and I generally don't keep up with Hollywood, reason why, I figured, I hadn't heard anything about this movie until I'D recently stumbled upon a DVD version... yet I always seem to hear about all the crap that gets the least bit of hype. Anyhow, caught a few overly-negative reviews and many sour comments post-viewing and I was equally surprised, growing increasingly annoyed the more I read (things like: "This movie sucks. Gave it a 3 because I hated that weird foreign music throughout, specially during that fight scene on the plane. Rap or hard rock is more appropriate to a fight scene. I could get into that, but not that weird *beep* Killed it for me."
That's just one of many examples which, in the end, say more about the reviewer and the sad state of culture than about the movie.
What comes across, strongly, in many comments is some sort of ungrounded bias (which is hard to pin) filtered through specific complaints that demonstrate both naivete and "having missed the point"--it really ought to not be viewed as an action thriller (lotsa "realism" complaints seem to come from die-hard action fans), but as a comedy, a parody targeting the ridiculousness in Hollywood's favoured action-film tropes. In this sense, it is an absolutely brilliant, hilarious film, and one that also delivers plenty of well-choreographed action, all delivered in a tongue-in-cheek manner that manages, for people like me I suppose, to poke fun at the John Woo-types' absurdity. And yet, ironically, this film is what's good about Hollywood; this is the kind of brain-bubble-gum Hollywood actually gets right and needs to do more of, IMO.
The escape scene as seen from Diaz' semi-conscious character: genius!
And the Argentinian Tango music, though more electronic than I like, was a wonderful, judicious choice... People need to step outside of their mental enclosures and preconceptions. This film is guaranteed fun for anyone able to do so.
Ignorance is bliss... 'til it posts on the Internet; then, it's annoying.
This movie wasn't marketed very well. It was kind of sold as something it wasn't and it pissed a lot of people off when it came out. I myself was like, erm... pass. But I ended up loving it when it came out on dvd.
"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"