The Interview is a movie I'm sure everyone of you has heard of. It's arguably one of the most controversial movies of all time. There were death threats towards Sony, a hacking, a 9/11 type attack threatened etc. Then the film was pulled. Left behind. No longer. Gone. Then, on one sunny Christmas Eve (or Christmas day here in Australia) the film unexpectedly appeared online, legally of course. By the 26th December I'd seen it. That's when this review should have been up, but no. I got sick, the end of the year came around and I had to make a tonne of lists, but here we are. My review for The Interview is finally here, so enjoy.
The Interview follows the story of Dave Skylark (James Franco), a talk show host who covers such topics as Nicki Minaj's vagina flopping out at the Grammys. Dave's backstage man is Aaron Rappaport (Seth Rogen). Aaron is approached by a member of North Korea who informs him that their leader, Kim Jong-Un (Randall Park), is willing to do an interview with Dave Skylark as he is a rather big fan of the show. They accept, claiming that it will get them higher ratings. Shortly before leaving, Dave and Aaron are approached by the CIA, who request that they kill Kim Jong-Un. And so begins the controversy.
The Interview follows the story of Dave Skylark (James Franco), a talk show host who covers such topics as Nicki Minaj's vagina flopping out at the Grammys. Dave's backstage man is Aaron Rappaport (Seth Rogen). Aaron is approached by a member of North Korea who informs him that their leader, Kim Jong-Un (Randall Park), is willing to do an interview with Dave Skylark as he is a rather big fan of the show. They accept, claiming that it will get them higher ratings. Shortly before leaving, Dave and Aaron are approached by the CIA, who request that they kill Kim Jong-Un. And so begins the controversy.
While the controversy surrounding this movie is a tad excessive, the film itself is well worth it. It's not a movie worth dying over, but boy is it entertaining. The 112 minute runtime may sound rather lengthy for a comedy, but I was never once not entertained. It's an outrageous satire, but it doesn't try to hide this. Don't go into this film expecting it to hold back. It's a balls to the walls crazy experience, but also one of the funniest movies of 2014. The plot itself is rather ludicrous, but when cut between plenty of anal sex jokes, people putting things up their butt and an abundance of Lord of the Rings references, The Interview's plot works.
Even if you're not a fan of Rogen or Franco, although I don't see why you're not, The Interview is still a film worth checking out. But seriously, with a film that has this much controversy surrounding it, how could you not want to see it? It's the James Bond film we never got, and it's arguably better than a fair few of the actual James Bond movies. Franco and Rogen bounce off of each other flawlessly, which seems to be becoming a common thing with their films, but hey, I'm not complaining.
Even if you're not a fan of Rogen or Franco, although I don't see why you're not, The Interview is still a film worth checking out. But seriously, with a film that has this much controversy surrounding it, how could you not want to see it? It's the James Bond film we never got, and it's arguably better than a fair few of the actual James Bond movies. Franco and Rogen bounce off of each other flawlessly, which seems to be becoming a common thing with their films, but hey, I'm not complaining.
While it may not be as funny, nor quotable, as 2013's This is the End, The Interview is still brilliant, largely thanks to Randall Park's portrayal of Kim Jong-Un. He's the best thing about the movie, portraying him in a fun loving, yet still diabolical way. He's a master manipulator, but in the best way possible. After all, who didn't love seeing Kim and Dave riding around in a tank, shooting things to Katy Perry's Fireworks? It's a scene that's impossible not to love.
What came as the biggest surprise with this movie was how thrilling it was. While the first two acts are a lot of fun, the third act is when the thrills really kick in. It's fast in pace, full of bloody violence and had my heart pounding. The advertising gives away practically everything that happens during this third act, and a scene that was leaked online prior to this film's online release didn't help either, but if you go in forgetting the advertising, then it's a damn good time. I probably shouldn't award this film 4 stars, but it's a controversial movie so I'm going to give it a controversial rating.
What came as the biggest surprise with this movie was how thrilling it was. While the first two acts are a lot of fun, the third act is when the thrills really kick in. It's fast in pace, full of bloody violence and had my heart pounding. The advertising gives away practically everything that happens during this third act, and a scene that was leaked online prior to this film's online release didn't help either, but if you go in forgetting the advertising, then it's a damn good time. I probably shouldn't award this film 4 stars, but it's a controversial movie so I'm going to give it a controversial rating.
To sum up, The Interview is a controversial movie with a controversial rating from me. Playing off the bromance between Rogen and Franco, and the brilliant performance from Park, The Interview is a hilarious, shockingly violent and rather thrilling movie that you need to see no matter what.
4 Stars
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