The Watch - Nachbarn der 3. Art

If a lot of you already know, "The Watch" was originally given the title, "Neighborhood Watch", but then the title was changed due to a controversy involving the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a member of a neighborhood watch group. Now, although I was really looking forward to see this movie, and although this movie's Rotten Tomatoes rating of 15% is quite not agreeable, "The Watch", although at it's consistent funny moments, isn't that perfect or quite memorable for an R-rated comedy. With an all-star cast, Ben Stiller delivers the same, usual, and uninspired performance as Evan, he's a kind and "by-the-book" nerd, working as a general manager for a local Costco, who then forms a neighborhood watch after his friend was murdered. He teams up Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoyade to help keep the neighborhood safe…or it's just a lame excuse to hang out with the guys! But then, an alien invasion starts to appear out of nowhere, and now it's up to the watch to keep everyone safe. Now, "The Watch" is not a terrible movie like everyone says it is, but it is a disappointing comedy that shares a few consistent laughs throughout. Even with a cool soundtrack and a likable cast, "The Watch" sadly doesn't live up to the hype for me! But, there are a few consistent moments, almost throughout the movie, that were undeniably funny, while some other moments either made me chuckle or cringe. Some members of the cast have their funny moments, especially Richard Ayoyade's scene-stealing performance. But overall, this movie just didn't quite impress me, and I really didn't get into the comedy in this one. As for the cast, each and every character is completely stereotypical, from Vaughn's man-child overprotective father, Hill's bad-ass speaking mamma's boy, Ayoyade's comic relief dude with a funny accent, and Stiller's awkward man with relationship problems involving having children. The plot holes are completely excruciating, the dialogue is badly forced, the pacing is a little too quick, the amount of "f-bombs" are considered unnecessary, and the whole alien subplot is a little too goofy. There's also a lot of predictable clichés from here and there, the action scenes are tensionless, and Will Forte delivers one of the most annoying performances in the history of film, as a bumbling cop against the watch. Everything was just all over the place, nothing really went appropriately planned here. Although "The Watch" is a disappointing paper-thin gimmick, it's still pretty entertaining for the most part, and again, I laughed at a couple of parts. But overall, "The Watch" is a forgettable and disappointing movie that still has it's moments. "The Watch", in my review, "occasionally funny, but sadly unimpressive".

Ok so I probably enjoyed it more than I should have but I honestly don't think it deserves the 1-2 star ratings.

I really liked that the trailer did not reveal too much of the "story" behind this movie. But I still get if people are disappointed in this. It's hard as I have written before to get people behind a comedy. And comedies that go for the "R-rating" are even tougher to sell. I still thought this was funny and different from what I expected (although the German title did give away more of the central story than the mentioned trailer).

Ben Stiller plays it straight and you can see the morality that lies within the movie ... within the first 5 minutes of it. That doesn't take the fun out of it and the main 4 characters are having so much fun, it does translate on the screen. If you don't like the trailer though, do not watch the movie

I see a lot of people bashing this film for some reason. Sure it's not some cinematic masterpiece; when I went to see it I wasn't expecting that. "The Watch" is a funny buddy comedy, filled with crude jokes and the silly shenanigans that you'd expect from Stiller, Vaughn, the rest of the cast, and writer Seth Rogen. Like a delicious onion the film does a good job peeling away at the story. Yes, it is not hard see the plot coming, but it's how the characters deal with the situations they encounter, that makes the film entertaining. Crybaby critics with their stuck up trendy smugness, "See, told you the plot was predictable.." Wow, way to over dramatize the obvious, you're so clever. I bet that "Titanic" ending took you by surprise? For all those critics who whine and cry about "The Watch" maybe they should just stay home and watch one of their Disney classics on VHS. This is a great film to see, escape the chaotic world and have a few laughs.

We found this quite entertaining and the characters were good, but I have to ask who wrote the script - a bunch of schoolboys? Almost every gag was based on d*cks, c*m, big red b*lls, condoms and p*ss. Why? There are plenty of other ways of making gags funny, you know.