Tag

If you seek a fun and funny summer movie, look no further than Tag. Well, as long as you're okay with a movie that possesses zero lasting impact, little substance, and moral, umm, compromises.

Five male friends have been playing the same game of tag for over 30 years, even as they have each moved on to different cities and their adult lives. Each month of May the game resumes and the taggers take great lengths to avoid being "it."

Despite the best efforts of the other four, Jerry (Jeremy Renner) has never been tagged. Not once. In 30 years.

Hoagie (Ed Helms) informs the guys that Jerry is retiring from the game, so this must be the year that they finally tag him. To get things started, Hoagie sets off on one of the best "getting the gang together" movie sequences I've seen in several years.

Of course, Jerry hasn't remained untagged all these years for no reason. When approached, he unveils his heightened senses and powers of observation via internal monologues that the film captures surprisingly well.

Renner's escape sequences truly make him look like a superhero. Actually, his character in this movie is more impressive than his Hawkeye character in Avengers.

This movie is jampacked with action, much of it intentionally over-the-top. The taggers are intense, even diabolical.

Taking this too seriously could have been disastrous, but fortunately the film is self-aware. It never passes up an opportunity to poke fun at itself. Each chase scene makes the taggers appear both heroic and appropriately ridiculous.

In another indication of the film's self-awareness, the filmmakers make clear that the game is more than a game. Unfortunately, they deliver this message in a tactless way. A character literally utters the words, "It's not just about playing tag. The game keeps us together." The line is a bit too blunt, but it's understandable. Subtlety isn't exactly this movie's strong suit.

The film also understands when to deliver a dose of comic relief as things become too intense. Hannibal Buress does most of the heavy lifting in that department.

Despite the movie's frenetic action and breezy pacing, it drags. Even a runtime of an hour and 40 minutes felt too long.

Overall, Tag is inconsistent. It has its funny and tender moments but nothing that will stick with viewers for long. To its credit, the cast and gags make for a fleeting night of fun. For some, that may be enough.

Loved the idea, based on a true story, the advertising was interesting and the cast is a talented one (Jeremy Renner, Isla Fisher and John Hamm particularly have shown themselves to be more than capable in a lot of things). 'Tag' had the potential right off the bat to be a fun and intriguing film, regardless of its mixed critical reception.

'Tag' turned out to be just that, fun and intriguing with some over-the-top excitement and a few tender moments. It is far from perfect and it is not great or one of those unforgettable films of the ages films, with content that is not going to be for all tastes, but it did make me smile and laugh and a lot of effort went into it. Neither one of the best films of the year or the worst, instead it's somewhere in the middle which is not too bad a position to be in.

It looks good, slick, stylish and sometimes clever, never incoherent. The music appeals on the ear and is hardly ill fitting. The direction shows an ease with the material and allows the cast and their chemistry to shine. Much of 'Tag' goes at a lively pace and the cast are stellar mostly, Jeremy Renner and Isla Fisher being particularly good.

A good deal of the film is very funny and often hilarious. Am actually not always a fan of lowbrow comedy, am more a sophisticated, witty and subtle (and also dark and screwball) sort of person myself, but there are times where it's done well thanks to the wit, the sharp timing and the comic timing of the cast and 'Tag' is one of those examples. A few touching tender moments too and it makes the game of tag interesting and exciting.

However, 'Tag' is not perfect. The flimsiness of the story does show in moments of slack pacing in some extraneous scenes (namely the dramatic ones). The film sometimes goes overboard on the sentimentality, the tacked on (or that's how it felt) ending, as well as the over-the-topness.

While most of the cast are fine, Leslie Bibb's overacting does get too much quite badly that it gets tiresome. Didn't see the need for Jake Johnson's character when nothing is done with him, merely an example of a just there stereotype. Do agree that some of the content is distasteful, am not surprised actually at the offense the miscarriage jokes/parts have garnered (can be known to find things found controversial blown out of proportion in film, not this time with it being one of the worst things one can go through).

Summing up, an uneven film but an enjoyable one. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Normally, I go into movies like this skeptically. However, as the movie went on, I found myself laughing. Nothing here was too overdone and the conversations between the guys reminded me of conversations I've had with my friends. It was enjoyable.

I went into this with low expectations. Honestly, an entire film about adults playing the game of tag?

I was pleasantly surprised how funny this film was! I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG time! It is a fast paced comedy that wears its R rating proudly - it is rude, crude and funny!!

This film is all about excellent acting, great direction and wonderful editing. The plot is paper thin but I was never bored..

Don't let the plot dissuade you from seeing this. I actually laughed so hard I missed a lot of the jokes! will probably buy this on bluray so I can catch up with what I missed.

Enjoy. 8/10

I think a lot of people missed the idea of the movie, this is not the usual comedy where you laugh out loud, this is a funny-ish made serious movie about long lasting friendships, about life and its struggles and that family and friends is what you should care about the most