Five 80s Cult Classics Primed for All-Female Reboots

It may have been one of the most negatively anticipated movies of the decade, but Paul Feig’s all-female reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise is now a bona fide fit. Scoring rave reviews and North America’s biggest live action comedy debut of the year, here’s hoping the movie’s success finally proves to those sexist online trolls that, yes, women can do anything their Y chromosome-sporting counterparts can do – even headlining a successful sci-fi comedy.

The success of Ghostbusters even had one twitter user calling for all cult movies from the 80s to be remade with women in the lead roles. While we wouldn’t quite go that far, it did get us thinking: which other 80s classics would benefit from a female touch? Here are five movies we think are perfect for an all-female reboot.

Weird Science

A surprise hit in the summer of 1985, John Hughes’ teen sci-fi comedy saw Anthony Michael Hall and IIan Mitchell-Smith’s nerdy outcasts accidentally creating their perfect dream girl after a misbegotten experiment with a doll and a government computer system. The movie earned cult status for its goofy laughs and enjoyable performances, but let’s be honest, the cameras constant oggling of Kelly Le Brock’s tanned curves just will not do in 2016. It’s time to redress the gender balance and recast the movie with teenage girls recreating their perfect man. Joey King (Independence Day: Resurgence) and Leslie Mann’s eldest sprog Maude Apatow would take the lead roles and who better than Chris Hemsworth to play the girls’ sexy Frankenstein – after all, he’s already proved his comedic chops by damn near stealing the show from Melissa McCarthy and co as handsome-but-dim receptionist Kevin in Ghostbusters.

Teenwolf

This fantasy comedy, about a high school student who discovers his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself transforming into a werewolf, helped to cement Michael J Fox’s status as a rising star in 1985. Centring on an average boy who notices his body suddenly changing in unexpected ways, Teenwolf is a fun allegory for the onset of puberty. That’s why it’s a perfect fit for an all-female reboot. With our increasing awareness of how stick-thin models and unrealistic depictions of women in the media are exacerbating young women’s body confidence issues, how great would it be to see a movie showing the world that there’s no reason to be ashamed of how you look? An all-female Teenwolf could be that movie – because god knows Teen Witch wasn’t.

Back to the Future

Much like the movie that inspired this list, Back to the Future is an untouchable classic, which is why we should revisit it as an all-female homage set in the exact same world. Our update could even see Miss McFly travelling back to the 1985 setting of the original to bask in the era of glam rock, mix tapes and hideous hairstyles – since we seem to be enjoying an 80s-tinged revival at the moment. The plot would see a modern day McFly escape a mother who’s stuck in a dead-end job and a father who’s a useless oaf by travelling back in time to the day her parents first met. In the same way the original saw Marty teaching his dad to stick up for himself, our version would see McFly help her mom follow her dreams. It would undoubtedly spark fresh outrage among those sexist online trolls, which is all the more reason to make it happen.

Indiana Jones

Ever since Harrison Ford last donned the iconic fedora and bullwhip combo in 2005’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, there’s been much talk of further sequels or possible reboots with a younger man cast in the title role. Such gossip has predictably come to nought so far, largely because the idea of replacing an actor such as Ford is a near impossible challenge – as Alden Ehrenreich is soon to discover. That’s why reimagining the character as a woman – our pick would be fellow Star Wars alum Daisy Ridely, natch – is the best way forward. Not only would this sidestep any pesky comparisons with Ford’s performance, but by casting a woman in the role of a cool, resourceful archaeologist, we could inspire a generation of girls to take an interest in science. Plus, with an Alicia Vikander-starring Tomb Raider reboot on the way, women would have the archaeology-action genre all sewn up.

Mad Max

Remember when Mad Max came roaring back onto our screens in a cacophony of heavy metal and off-the-wall carnage in last year’s Fury Road? That long-awaited sequel was celebrated by critics, audiences and awards judges alike; not, as you might have expected, for Tom Hardy’s debut as the titular taciturn hero, but for the introduction of Charlize Theron’s unhinged warrior Imperator Furiosa. As a strong-willed, steely avenger who rebels against her master to rescue a quintet of sex slaves – not to mention somehow managing to wrangle the powerful-looking War Rig despite having a mechanical left arm – Theron thoroughly deserved the critical recapture she received. It’s why news that a potential sequel featuring her character has been scrapped was met with disappointment. But we say a bit part in a sequel wasn’t good enough, anyway: Furiosa deserves a movie in her own right. So make it happen George Miller. Please.

Wasted – TV Review

The stupid things twenty-somethings get up to when there’s nothing to do has inspired countless slacker comedies over the years.The likes of Bottom, Spaced and Peep Show have all traded on pop-culture nods, gross-out gags and aimless characters you unexpectedly warm towards to strike a chord with 90s audiences. It’s that nostalgic vibe which is once again being channeled in Wasted, E4’s newest comedy about four friends who pass their time getting drunk and up to no good in a West Country village – only this time there’s a surreal 21st century twist.

Written by BAFTA winners James Lamont and Jon Foster, the show centres around four mates: Danny Kirrane’s Morpheus, a serial fantasist who manages bong shop Stoned Henge; his wayward sister Sarah (Rosie Reynolds); cynical tattoo artist Alison (Gwyneth Keyworth); and Dylan Edwards’ beanie-sporting slacker Kent, who has just returned from Bristol after failing to make it as a DJ. These characters may not sound like much – indeed, they have very little in the way of defining characteristics – but as friends they feel deeply connected, especially Morpheus and Kent, lifelong best friends who need each other more than they would perhaps care to admit.

Many of the jokes are admittedly juvenile, crude and thuddingly obvious (one disgusting gag in episode two will put you off naan bread for life). But alongside all this grossness runs a rich seam of playful absurdity which is hard to resist. None more so than a cameoing Sean Bean, who frequently pops up as Morpheus’s spirit guide to help him navigate the tumultuous path from childhood to wasting your twenties. Channeling his Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings characters in full medieval garb, Bean sportingly sends up his entire career in his trademark northern deadpan style and is guaranteed to have you grinning from ear to ear.

Wasted is far from a perfect comedy, and is possibly a bit too obsessed with aping its influences, but with its daft, nostalgic and occasionally sweet depiction of pleasure-seeking youth there’s plenty to enjoy in this latest slice of slacker comedy.

Star Trek Beyond – Film Review

Has a movie ever suffered such a remarkable reverse of opinion as Star Trek Into Darkness? Critically lauded upon release in 2013, the first sequel in the JJ Abrams-rebooted franchise brought a new legion of fans to the Trek universe but left purists underwhelmed. They even voted it the worst Trek movie ever, such was their disappointment with its dour tone, illogical plotting and heavy leaning on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Arriving slap bang in the middle of the franchise’s 50th anniversary year, Star Trek Beyond feels like a mostly-successful bid to finally win over those diehard fans. Combining blockbuster scale and popcorn spectacle with the fun and optimistic tone of the original series, the Starship Enterprise’s latest space adventure often feels like the best of both worlds.

The story itself has the air of a classic episode from the ‘60s TV show as it largely centres around one sprawling, previously undiscovered location and an overreaching theme of togetherness. Even the sets look like they’ve been made out of paper-mâché, just like the shonky production work of the original series.

We rejoin the crew past the halfway mark of their five-year mission with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) starting to feel the mental strain of endless days spent exploring the vast emptiness of space. After a brief pit stop at the Federation’s shinny new outpost (picture Elysium trapped in a giant floating snow globe), the crew is dispatched to rescue a spaceship stranded in an uncharted corner of the cosmos. That distress call turns out to be a trap orchestrated by Idris Elba’s gravel-faced baddie Krall, who unleashes a hive of spiky fighter-ships to destroy the Enterprise and send it plummeting into a deserted planet.

That dramatic crash-landing is actually the set-up for many of Beyond’s funniest moments as it splits the crew into unexpected odd-couple pairings. Kirk lands alongside Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin); Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Sulu (John Chu) find themselves in Krall’s clutches; Scotty (Simon Pegg) is rescued by native survivalist Jaylah (Sofia Boutella, an excellent addition to the core line-up); while Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Bones (Karl Urban) try to evade capture after a particularly bumpy ride. It’s this latter pairing which proves to be most uproarious with Spock’s grating rationalism providing the perfect foil for the pessimistic sarcasm of Bones, who gets the lion’s share of the funny lines as a consequence.

With so many characters in play it’s inevitable that few of them are served with fulfilling narrative arcs. While each crewmember gets an opportunity to showcase their action hero credentials, there’s very little meat on the bones of their individual stories. As a result, the action often lacks the necessary sense of peril.

It’s a problem symptomatic of a script which sticks too close to sci-fi epic formula. Few surprises await here as you will instantly predict how each conflict will resolve the moment it is posed. This predictability is most keenly felt during a final act which hinges heavily on Into Darkness’ climatic scenes with yet another futuristic city threatened with annihilation and Kirk once again risking his life to save everyone else’s. Screenwriters Pegg and Doug Jung admittedly had little time to fine-tune the script after parachuting in for a complete re-write mere months before shooting began, but the run-of-the-mill plotting nevertheless saps much of the energy out of the movie.

Though best-known for his outlandish work on the Fast and Furious franchise, director Justin Lin – taking over the reins after Abrams boarded a certain other space epic – keeps a tight leash on the action beats, making them bold and energetic without feeling overblown. The disintegration of the Enterprise is a particularly breathless and arresting spectacle.

It’s not all expensive explosions and witty repartee, of course; Beyond is more than willing to show-off its cerebral side. Be it Kirk’s deep-space malaise, Spock’s grief or Krall’s disregard for the Federation’s core principles, there are many thought-provoking themes that are sure to resonate with a modern-day audience. Kirk’s existential wrangling over his father’s legacy feels especially poignant with Pine giving his best performance yet in the role, adding a gritty world-weariness to the Captain’s swaggering charm.

Less impressive is Elba as Beyond’s chief antagonist Krall. After making a suitably bombastic entrance, the character’s natural menace is never built upon. Throughout his motivation remains unclear and the point of his grand scheme frustratingly hard to grasp. Unfortunately for Elba, despite his nightmarish look and actions, Krall is a rather forgettable foe in the mold of Eric Bana’s placeholder villain Nero rather than a seething scene-stealer like Benedict Cumberbatch’s John Harrison.

Regardless, by refining the formula to blend blockbuster-style adventure with the light-hearted, thought-provoking tone of the original TV series, Star Trek Beyond succeeds as a movie of which Trekkies both old and new can find something to be proud.

Runtime: 120 mins; Genre: Sci-Fi; Released: 22 July 2016;

Director: Justin Lin; Writers: Simon Pegg, Doug Jung;

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana

Fleabag – TV Review

Female sex comedies have come a long way in the last twenty years. It started with Sex and the City in the 90s, challenging perceptions with open conversations about sex and relationships while remaining fairly traditional with its stars’ need to find the ‘right man’ and settle down. That seminal series inspired a new generation of female writers and performers like Lena Dunham, whose HBO hit Girls added frank confessions, awkward sex and post-millennium navel-gazing to the mix.

Fleabag (BBC3), written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, feels like the next bold leap in that evolution. Plunging us back into the confessional world of Bridget Jones, the show follows Waller-Bridge’s insecure 30-something as she navigates life as a single woman in the city. But rather than simply moaning about boyfriends and mean mothers, this comedy fearlessly tackles darker, more complex taboos that affect everyone. Almost as if women are just normal people too.

Opening with a scathing takedown of the late-night booty call, the script takes an angry, outrageous and often hilarious peak into the mind of a grief-stricken woman. In the vain of Girls and Channel 4’s Catastrophe, Fleabag is not a likeable lead – at least not a first. In her own words she’s a “greedy, perverted, selfish, apathetic, cynical, depraved, morally bankrupt woman” who, at one point in the first episode, attempts to flash her bra at a bank manager (played by Hugh Dennis) just to get a small business loan.

But the brilliance of Fleabag is the way it reveals the heart and sorrow behind the gross comedy. As the series progresses, we learn how Fleabag has suffered multiple tragic losses throughout her life and slowly come to understand her crude, often downright bizarre behaviour (masturbating to a YouTube video of Barack Obama, anyone?) for what it truly is: the self-destructive act of a broken women desperate not to feel the loss of another loved-one. It becomes impossible not to warm to her.

We’re helped along by Fleabag’s charmingly cynical narration – a reminder of the show’s genesis as a fringe play at Edinburgh. The theatrical device not only acts as mean for Fleabag to make dry-witted asides, but also creates an air of intimacy. When Fleabag makes sideways glances down the camera lens you can almost see her heart-breaking, which is as much a testament to Waller-Bridge’s expressive, powerful performance as anything else.

And, in a wonderful piece of counter-casting, Fleabag’s passive-aggressive step-mum is played by the lovely Olivia Coleman. Despite its main character’s best efforts, there really is very little not to like about this funny, filthy and heartbreaking comedy.

Click here to watch the first epidote of Fleabag on BBC iPlayer

Ghostbusters – Film Review

No comedy has faced more advanced scrutiny than Paul Feig’s female-driven Ghostbusters reboot. Even by the poisonous standards of internet comment sections, the reaction has been uncomfortably hostile – the first teaser even has the dubious honour of being the most disliked trailer on YouTube. And seemingly all because the comedy stars four funny women. It is still 2016, right?

That’s why it’s pleasing to report that the new Ghostbusters is good. Really good. Fun, foamy and imaginative, not only will it silence those pathetic online trolls, but it will also make you forget it’s even a reboot at all. The movie feels like it’s tailor-made for its quartet of stars. Considering the considerable legacy it follows, that’s quite the compliment.

Bridesmaid’s alum Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy naturally take centre stage and give good value as paranormal investigators Erin and Abby, best friends who split after their book on the existence of ghosts is ridiculed by their peers. But it’s Kate McKinnon’s unhinged engineer Jillian who adds a pleasingly off-beat edge to the team. Channeling the eccentric, live-wire style she honed over several years as a Saturday Night Live performer, McKinnon can always be relied upon to inject fresh energy into the group’s lengthy improv scenes. Only fellow SNL member Leslie Jones disappoints – largely because she’s lumped with an incredibly reductive role as sassy, uneducated subway worker Paddy. For a movie often praised for its progressive approach, Paddy’s characterisation feels surprisingly tone-deaf.

The humour is predominantly light and frothy with Chris Hemsworth’s delightfully dumb receptionist Kevin getting the pick of the funniest moments whether it’s wearing lensless glasses because they kept getting dirty or referring to an aquarium as a submarine for fish. But there are still signs of a sharp satirical wit at times with pointed barbs directed at the online vitriol (“Ain’t no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts”) and misogyny that has tormented the movie. That the big bad is ultimately defeated by a proton blast to the croch is no coincidence.

If this Ghostbusters has a flaw it’s that is can be too reverent to the 1980 classic. Cameos from the original cast, among many others, feel clunky and unnecessary while the story itself follows the first movie’s formula too closely for comfort. No awards will be handed out for guessing who the villain is or what his evil scheme entails (hint: it’s the creepy loner who keeps muttering to himself about cleansing the world). Feig just about gets away with it here, simply because his four stars are such a joy to watch, but let’s hope he feels able to take a few more risks if this movie earns its expected sequel.

Though directing his first effects-heavy blockbuster, Feig rises to the challenge with his handling of the ghost-busting beats. Shoddy CGI ghosts aside, Feig manages to elicit some genuine frights and even finds some innovative twists on the use of the iconic proton blasters – Jillian’s Travis Bickle-esque pistols are a particular favourite. But the movie is at its best when it’s just Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones (and Hemsworth) sat in a room riffing off each other. Together they have delivered a comedy that, against impossible odds, is funny, moving and uproariously entertaining. Not bad for a bunch of girls, eh?

Runtime: 116 mins; Genre: Sci-fi/Comedy; Released: 11 July 2016;

Director: Paul Feig; Writers: Paul Feig, Katie Dippold;

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones

Stranger Things – TV Review

Steven Spielberg’s BFG may have just slumped at the box office, but our appetite for a fresh shot of ‘80s nostalgia shows no sign of abating. With The Americans, Midnight Special and the new, all-female Ghostbusters to name but a few, screens both big and small are set on channeling that mystical vision of America where aliens exist, government agents should not be trusted and things really do go bump in the night. Stranger Things, Netflix’s latest binge-worthy offering courtesy of the Duffer Brothers, is one of the better efforts, superbly recapturing the vibe of the ’80s for a tense, charming, if slightly hackneyed, eight-part mystery thriller.

Set in one of those Anywhere American suburbs where the worst thing that every happened was an elderly resident being attacked by an owl – and that was because her hair looked like a nest – Stranger Things tells the tale of Will (Noah Schnapp), a boy who vanishes one evening while cycling home from a friend’s house. With no clues as to where he’s gone, the police, led by David Harbour’s surly Chief Hopper, are stumped by the disappearance while his mother (Winona Ryder) is being driven to her wits end as she starts getting phone calls she’s sure are from Will.

His friends, on the other hand, set out on their own rescue mission but instead stumble across a strange, short-haired girl with telekinetic powers. They name her Elle – short for the number 11 which is tattooed on her arm – and try to hide her in one of their parents’ basements. Meanwhile, a deliberately hidden-from-view monster escapes from a secret government facility and appears to be responsible for a spate of town-wide power surges and the disappearance of several minor supporting characters.

The Duffer Brothers – previously best known for writing a few episodes for Fox’s Wayward Pines – make no attempt to hide the type of era they are paying homage to here. The influence of filmmakers and authors like Spielberg, John Carpenter and Stephen King are all over this lovingly-crafted series. The Poltergeist is name-checked early on, The Thing is referenced on numerous occasions and the central trio of schools friends act like they’ve jumped straight out of an Amblin movie. They ride around town on bikes, play Dungeons and Dragons and talk via CB radios.

While this approach certainly has its charms, it causes problems when the call backs become less about setting a tone and more about lifting entire plotlines from its forebears. One subplot, which sees Elle hiding from her new friends’ parents, follows the structure of ET so closely it’s baffling that she doesn’t sprout an over-long index finger and start crowing about going home. And that’s not only time you will feel a sense of déjà vu. The likes of Alien and Sixteen Candles are all poached for story ideas with some scenes being lifted wholesale from the originals. It spoils the surprises too as the shocks and scares the Duffer Brothers spent so long constructing feel a tad too predictable to be effective.

The lack of originality impacts on the impressive cast, who all do fine work but are saddled with unimaginative characters. Harbour is your typical pill poppin’, chain smokin’, heavy drinkin’ cop with a troubled past. Matthew Modine plays a scheming Bad Guy who’s only role seems to be arriving on set moments after Elle and looking pretty darn annoyed about it. And Natalia Dyer’s Nancy is simply another innocent model student who just can’t resist the dimpled charms are her high school heartthrob. The only one who’s really allowed to shine here is Ryder, justifying her most high-profile role since that unfortunate payment mishap in a Fifth Avenue department store. As Will’s distraught, overwhelmed mother, Ryder wrings heartbreaking emotion out of every single seen in what feels like her most raw performance since Girl, Interrupted.

Stranger Things is still an engaging eight-episode watch, though, with plenty of dark mysteries, teen dramas and nostalgia-themed shenanigans to keep you hooked for the next instalment. The only drawback is that all its stranger things have happened before and if the Duffer Brothers want it to be more than just a fun but forgettable mystery thriller to while away the summer months, then they need really need to start thinking up their own ideas.

The Legend of Tarzan – Film Review

He might be one of the best-known literary creations of the 20th century, but poor old Tarzan has had a ropey transition to the big screen. Johnny Weissmuller’s authentically-awkward era is fondly remembered but hasn’t aged well. 1984’s Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes was an interminable bore. And the less said about Disney’s Phil Collins-infused animation, the better. The question of how to modernise Edgar Rice Burrough’s classic, which hides many uncomfortable world views behind its formulaic plots and stale characters, is one to which even this latest glossy-but-tame adaptation can’t muster an answer.

The early signs are promising. Scrapping the typical origin story formula, we find our one-time Lord of the Apes living the high life in Victorian London as John Clayton (True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgård), having already met and married Jane (Margot Robbie). The cracks quickly appear, however, when he is persuaded to return home to the Congo under the auspices of a diplomatic mission to open trade negotiations with King Leopold’s Belgium. This reconnecting with his African roots is really just a convenient excuse to invite a wave of relentless, soapy flashbacks charting Tarzan’s past as a human raised by apes.

Screenwriters Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer at least have enough awareness to thinly address the less palatable aspects of Burrough’s creation, inserting several sub-par subplots focusing on racism, the class-system and some bobbins about the King of Belgium assembling a giant army to enslave the continent. But for the most part, these are forgettable sidelines to a ponderous chase movie as Jane is kidnapped by Christoph Waltz’s moustache-twirling villain as part of a ploy to trap our chest-beating hero.

What ensues is an overly talky, turgid adventure particularly during the opening two-thirds as Tarzan spends far too much time moping around his old haunts across the Savannah wondering if he should give in to his wild nature. When your story primarily focuses on a feral child who swings from vines and talks to ostriches, moody introspection is not the kind of modernisation required. And while the pace picks up considerably in the closing moments, it’s all unleashed far too late to enliven this tedious tale.

It’s not all bad. The actions scenes, when they do finally swing into view, are stylish and exhilarating. Director David Yates (making his first film since Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows double whammy) infuses the fight sequences with the pulse racing intensity of a war movie. The standout moment plays out like a Batman movie set in the amazon, as Tarzan and a gang of apes emerge from the shadows to lay the smackdown on a large group of Belgian mercenaries.

The visuals, too, are masterfully realised. The layered and immersive jungle setting bristles with vibrancy and life while the computer-generated menagerie of creatures are able to convey more emotion with just a look than the entire human cast are able to muster through their stilted dialogue.

The talented cast do at least try to make the most of the material. Samuel L Jackson is a light-hearted treat as America’s crack-shot ambassador George Washington Williams, Waltz is always good value when playing a sophisticated schemer and Robbie brings plenty of vigour to Jane – even though it’s frustrating to see a character so determined not to be a damsel spend almost all her screen time waiting to be saved.

As for Skarsgård, he certainly looks to part thanks to a brutal training regime and perfectly captures his character’s otherworldly edginess. But he’s also a painfully bland human being who, much like the film he carries, spends far too much time restraining his wild instincts instead of allowing them to burst forth with ferocious, colourful life.

Runtime: 110 mins; Genre: Adventure; Released: 6 July 2016;

Director: David Yates; Writers: Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer;

Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Margot Robbie

Central Intelligence – Film Review

Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson. With such a clever, cheeky tagline, the big screen pairing of a snack-sized Kevin Hart with man-mountain Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson held a huge amount of promise. Sadly, the ingenuity ended with the poster for this ropey, incoherent action-comedy. The mis-matched pairing of its two leads may make for a delightful, surprisingly charming double act, but Central Intelligence just doesn’t have the wit to match their infectious chemistry.

Which is a shame because there’s a great idea behind this movie. Twenty years after Johnson’s chubby dork is humiliated by high school bullies, he returns for a class reunion as a new man, having swapped the fat for muscles and landed a job as a rogue CIA agent. For Hart’s homecoming king, life hasn’t turned out quite so well. Having peaked in a senior year, he now finds himself trapped in a childless, professionally unfulfilling existence as a forensic accountant. But when the Rock bursts back into his life in need of help, it kicks off a whirlwind of spy nonsense that has something to do with a dark-web version of e-bay and satellite codes.

Central Intelligence works best when it focuses on the cool kid/fat kid dynamic of high school playing out in adult life. There’s something irresistibly amusing about The Rock acting like a nerdy, unicorn-loving chump despite looking like, well, The Rock. Hart, too, is much more appealing when playing the straight man as it forces him to dial back his usual high-pitched antics to allow his co-star to take centre stage.

But there’s only so much the unlikely double act can do when they’re working from a script as tired and lifeless as this one. Though it has its heart-warming moments – particularly as Johnson’s character faces his childhood insecurities – there’s nothing groundbreaking here. The action, while busy and well choreographed, feels bloodless and perfunctory while the jokes offer plenty of profanity and silliness but are hardly inspired. It doesn’t help that gags about Twilight and friend request etiquette are about five years out of date. The script would have benefited from a final polish to sharpen its focus, but instead the writers try to coast on the considerable charisma of their two leads without offering them enough material to make it work.

They may be enough to save the world, but it would take more than a little Hart and a big Johnson to save this shoddy action comedy.

Runtime: 107 mins; Genre: Action/Comedy; Released: 29 June 2016;

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber; Writers: Rawson Marshall Thurber, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen;

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet