I’m old enough to remember when the idea of making a satirical movie about the Vietnam War would have been considered to be the height of bad taste. Times have definitely changed. The Vietnam War seems to be in the rearview mirror of many filmmakers, while others aren’t old enough to have any first hand knowledge of the event. I was only two years old when the conflict officially ended on April 30, 1975; I remember the strong feelings talk of the war evoked in the adults around me.
By the late 1970’s, some in Hollywood seemed to make it their personal mission to bring the horrors of Vietnam to the big screen. Anybody who has seen the Apocalypse Now documentary Heart of Darkness about Francis Ford Coppola’s attempts to make his Vietnam War epic amidst studio money problems and a leading man having a coronary, will know that actors and directors can often take their craft far too seriously. Many watching Heart of Darkness can’t be blamed for thinking that Coppola and his crew actually seemed to think they were fighting a real war– “we had too much money and too much equipment and slowly we went mad”. Perhaps Ben Stiller was thinking about Heart of Darkness when he wrote and directed Tropic Thunder, about a bunch of egotistical actors trying to make a ‘Nam’ movie in the jungle with a British director, in way over his head.
In Southeast Asia to star in the projected blockbuster war epic Tropic Thunder, action titan (at least he was a decade ago,) Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), comedic mess Jeff “Fats” Portnoy (Jack Black), and method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) find the picture a total mess, leaving director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) at wit’s end. After prodding by the writer (Nick Nolte), Cockburn decides to shoot the film with hidden cameras, taking his cast to the deepest parts of the jungle to breathe a sense of reality into the project. Once on the ground, the cast finds the desired authenticity perhaps too intense, stumbling upon a heroin farm staffed with vicious soldiers. Speedman himself is captured by the drug smuggling ring, led by a 12-year old, Tran (Brandon Soo Hoo). While the rest of the platoon attempts to rescue Speedman, there is the producer, Les Grossman (Tom Cruise), the megalomaniacal, profanity-spewing studio chief that Stiller seems to use to throw mud on the Hollywood studio system (most notably in the way he seems to suggest that the studio execs really couldn’t care less about the welfare of their actors as long as it doesn’t affect the bottom line).
Jack Black probably has the weakest role in the film. He doesn’t deliver a bunch of laughs and has a fairly weak character to work with. More importantly, there is one almost disturbing flaw in the script–in a conversation between Speedman and Lazarus about how to act out a handicapped person, the word “retard” is used in a negative fashion. This scene and a few others drew criticism from handicapped advocacy groups. While I understand what the filmmakers were going for, using potentially offensive words seems like a cheap way out. I’ve always thought of Ben Stiller as an intelligent guy who didn’t need to stoop to degrading depths to get a laugh.
Despite the stumbles, Tropic Thunder shows that Ben Stiller has keen insight into the vanities of Hollywood. Tropic Thunder feels like it represents everything he and Downey and Black have learned in their years of making movies — and it shows that they’re self-aware enough to realize how silly and unrealistic the whole profession is.
The video is a high quality 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. The film’s visuals are stunning from beginning to end, that transfer an all-encompassing marriage of fabulous color rendition, attention to detail, and a film-like look that makes this a first-rate visual Blu-ray. The bright greens of the jungle foliage (these scenes shot in Hawaii), the darker army greens of the uniforms and helicopters, and the dirt, grime, and caked-on filth that coats faces and uniforms makes for a great look in every frame. Many of the scenes that take place outside of the jungles of Vietnam are rich and colorful with a myriad of hues that jump right off the screen. Likewise, the jungle sequences are equally impressive, though with a more limited color palette. Darker, nighttime scenes exhibit good blacks and the film’s grainier sequences. The disc features razor-sharp clarity, little-to-no softness, and well-rendered flesh tones.
Tropic Thunder features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The sounds of gunfire come from all corners of the room and the immersive soundtrack really puts viewers in the middle of the action. The big explosions that occur in several places through the film will really give a system’s subwoofer a good workout too.
The problem with a lot of movies, especially action films, is that once the battles and big budget-eating scenes are finished the soundtrack basically collapses into a stereo mix. That’s not the case here. Even while the cast is just walking through the jungle the room is filled with ambient sounds. Everything from sticks cracking to bugs chirping comes through clearly, but never overpowers the dialog. Add to this some great songs including “Sympathy for the Devil” and “For What it’s Worth” that are pitch-perfect and you’ve got an outstanding sounding film.
The disc also offers up a good set of special features. First off are two commentary tracks. Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Stuart Cornfeld, Jeff Mann, John Toll and Greg Hayden are present for the “Filmmakers Commentary” where the nuts and bolts of the film are discussed. The second alternate audio track features Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr.
As for video extras, the disc includes the following (all in HD unless noted):
Before the Thunder (5 minutes): looks at the genesis of the project and features interviews with Stiller and his co-writer who discuss how they worked on the script for nearly a decade.
The Hot LZ (7 minutes): A look at filming the opening sequence.
Blowing Shit Up (6 minutes): an interview with the special effects person in charge of the pyrotechnics.
Designing the Thunder (7 minutes): a look at the set designs.
The Cast of Tropic Thunder (22 minutes): Most of the actors involved with the film get a few minutes to talk about their characters.
Rain of Madness (30 minutes – HD): This is a mockumentary on the creation of the film that was being made in the movie. A parody of Heart of Darkness which chronicled the creation of Apocalypse Now.
Make-Up Test with Tom Cruise (2 minutes): Early test footage of Cruise. While he’s in front of the camera he starts dancing and it was so funny they worked it into the film.
Deleted Scenes / Extended Sequences / Alternate Ending (19 minutes): four extra scenes and an alternate ending.
Full Mags (11 minutes) is a film magazine worth of raw footage showing the actors improvising on the set.
MTV Movie Awards – Tropic Thunder (4 minutes, SD) a wonderfully amusing video that the three main actors created to promote the film during the MTV Music Awards.
