Special Correspondents

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.

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!

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.

I'm basically a really big fan of Ricky Gervais (and if you haven't seen anything he's done before you should know that he's one of those people who you either love or hate – look him and his work up before continuing!). I pretty much watch whatever he's in, so I was quite happy to find this film on Netflix. At first, I was disappointed, but – I'm pleased to say – that it got better.

It's about a couple of radio news reporters who miss their flight to a war-torn country and have to fake their reports from the comfort of a friend's apartment in New York. However, things don't go too well and begin to spiral out of control. As I watched it I wasn't that impressed with the way it began. Basically, there weren't that many jokes in the opening half hour. I guess that they were trying to set up the characters and general plot, but the ratio of laughter to screen time suffered. However, I'm glad I stuck with it – it gets better.

After the half hour mark it does get funnier. If you've seen the promotional material you'll probably see that Ricky Gervais is starring with Eric Bana. Despite the former Incredible Hulk being the more obvious choice for leading man, I never really felt that it was 'his' film. It's like he's a token leading man to Ricky Gervais. I only noticed in the end credits that the film is both written and directed by Gervais. It's almost like he knows he's not leading man material and did his best to give a more 'traditional' star the chance to 'front' the film. However, Eric Bana never really seemed that comfortable in the role and, despite being the front man, is also the straight man. Gervais (or others) get all the best (and by 'best' I mean funniest) lines and by the time the film ends you sort of realise that it's Gervais' character who, despite being set up as 'Robin' to Bana's 'Batman' was the one who had gone on the journey and been through the character arc.

But, like I said, at the end of the day I was glad I watched it. But then I'm a fan of Gervais and, despite what you may think when you sit down to watch it, it's his film and Bana is actually the supporting cast member. I've seen some reviews on the net saying that 'Special Correspondents' is boring. I wouldn't say that, but I also wouldn't say that many people would feel like they got their money's worth if they'd paid full price to see it at the cinema. Netflix is doing wonders making and broadcasting their own stuff. And this is a prime example. It's sort of a made-for-TV movie which you'll probably enjoy because it's part of your package and haven't really had to pay through the nose to watch.

Interesting cast of Ricky Gervais, America Ferrara, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin Pollack, Benjamin Bratt, and Eric Bana. Vera Farmiga is a villain, the unhappy wife of Ricky Gervais.

Kelly Macdonald is the co-worker who falls for the beleagured Ricky Gervais. Gervais plays his usual role of the down-trodden common man who is under-appreciated. No jokes or one-liners here, just humor.

Most of the story is pretty warm-hearted interaction between the characters. America Ferrera steals a few scenes with the warmth and friendliness of her character, who plays the local bar / taco shop owner that helps Gervais and Bana pull off their radio news scam.

Eric Bana is playing the straight man to Gervais, and is a bit of a villain too. This movie reminded me of the old Abbott and Costello films. The chemistry between Bana and Gervais was straight from them. Like most of the old Abbott and Costello films, it was innocent fun with good intentions.