Special Correspondents (2016) Reviews

• Way better than most comedies..

  DrWilliamWonk2016-06-06

  In all likelihood it went over many people's heads, considering how inundated we are with pointless comedies that often receive a far higher rating on IMDb or higher ticket sales at the box office. Great to see Eric Bana killing it again, but this time figuratively in a role as a self-confident, rogue reporter at a local news station. So too is the rest of the hilarious character gallery, along with their quirky foibles, from the manipulative money-grubbing sociopath played by Vera Farmiga to the over-emotional America Ferrera. Not to mention Gervais in the leading actor playing a fumbling doofus technician with low self-esteem, but with the redeemable quality of being kindhearted and well-meaning. Until he snorts coke, that is.. The film has a fair amount of subtle humor baked into the dialogue and contains a broader societal satire e.g. on the superficiality of news media, on the obsession with fame in today's docusoap infested society, and on the callous amorality of the drug gangs of Latin America, etc. It's also a feelgood movie you leave with a smile, but that nonetheless doesn't suffer from being syrupy and maudlin which is so typical for the genre. The low-budget remake of the original French film feels like a fresh take in a world where Hollywood constantly churns out focus group-tested flavorless rom-coms.

• Not as bad as some reviews say

  charlieinmanci2016-05-02

  Granted, it's not a movie you got out of your way to see. But, it is just a nice film to watch. I would regard it as casual, it's one of them movies you go , well i have a couple hours to kill might as well see that. Great movie to have on in the background. It's slow paced relatively predictable, i do think it contains more English humor then American, but i don't think it's meant to do real big laugh out loud moments. Not every movie should have you on the edge of your seat. Happily watch it again

• Ignore the harsh reviews...really enjoyable movie!

  ste_201079-760-3899132016-04-29

  I wasn't sure what I was expecting to be fair, I love Ricky Gervais and I own everything he has done. A lot of negativity had come from various reviews I'd read and I thought - Well I'll be the judge, jury and executioner! Admittedly the film has a slow start but does build, as the film continued I got more into it and was eventually gripped even though it was quite predictable the direction it was heading in. For me Ricky's on-screen presence makes it automatically feel-good, especially for me as I'm a fan of his work. Occasionally throwing some funny one-liners in, occasionally sounding like his character of Andy Millman from Extras which for me helped keep the Ricky we know and love current. Eric Bana was a great choice to play the main reporter, at first I thought it would be like sticking Arnie with David Jason kind of combo but they play well off each other and have great chemistry, Eric as we know is Australian so a convincing American accent was spot on. Overall, ignore the harsh reviews, I know it's opinion but let's face it, they ain't got a clue what a genius Ricky is, it's not always about the comedy, the film isn't hilarious but is quite funny in places, Ricky has tried his hand here at something else and I believe pulled it off well. Highly recommended if you love Ricky's work and want to see him try something different then go for it, 9/10 is a deserved rating!

• Decent but not special

  Cazdaraz2016-04-29

  Special Correspondents is funny but not anything spectacular. It's another one of those comedies where people make bad decisions and semi- funny things happens. I was eager to see this movie due to the cast and the story, and I expected to be entertained after seeing the first trailer. But unfortunately, it fell a little flat. It's the perfect movie for those times you just want to watch something, be mildly entertained but not forced to really pay attention to the story. If you are easily entertained by stupid things, this movie is for you. But if you are tired of cheap jokes, clichés and stupidity, then this movie might not be for you. My rating is based on the fact that in the end I did not feel like I had wasted a few hours watching it, it made me silently laugh a few times and it was decent. Decent but not special.

• More than enough laugh out loud moments

  danjonezz-418642016-05-05

  Pretty ridiculous storyline. It waivers towards the end as well. But more than enough laugh out loud moments to go around. Good escapism at 10pm last night. I wasn't really expecting a tour de force in witty, edgy comedy. It is difficult because other genres you can always take critics opinions seriously. They can look at the film as a whole rather than rating it on the gags. What I find funny will not be what others will find funny, so how much should we care about some person I will never meet totally panning the film?. A good offering from Netflix. It will have an audience regardless of how many people are criticising it. It is what it is.