Dry, over-the-top, in your face parody.

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2008)

I watched this on DVD last night. Immediately after the movie, I watched the DVD extras, which are normally boring but in this case, you get a lot of extras. And they are great. You get to go along with the director and 2 main characters on a media junket through the U.S. Don't miss this trip. It's great, in some ways better than the movie.
After that, I got on IMDb to give the movie an 8. But I realized that an 8 would be based on the combined movie and DVD extras. Many will only see the movie so I settled on a 7.
The movie starts a bit slow, working at the humor. It's actually more of a drama at this point. But once Nick (Simon Pegg) gets to his new assignment, things get better and funnier.
I'm not going to do a review of specifics, others have given you plenty. I will only say that the movie is fun. The writing is excellent, and was hard thought. This movie was not thrown together in a few weeks. The acting is, well, what can you say... it's a comedy and all the players add their parts well.
But know this... this is a dark comedy. It's not all gross-out, potty humor. It is in your face, but as a parody of big budget action films. There is a lot of subtlety going on here. What "Shaun of the Dead" did for zombie movies, this one does for cop buddy pictures.
I read many of the "hated it" comments here and in almost ALL cases, the complainers admitted to falling asleep or turning it off. Well, no wonder they didn't like it. This is a movie that has to be watched from beginning to end, and you should be paying attention. There's a lot to see and absorb. I watched it with sub-titles on (as I do for many British films) as it helps decipher some of the humor and language quirks. It's also a movie that can be watched more than once. There is real style and effort in this 2 hours and much will be missed the first time through.
So, if you liked "Shaun of the Dead" or "The Full Monty" you should enjoy this send up. And if you like it once, you'll love it more 6 months from now. There is genius in the work. If you're not fond of British humor or dark, edgy comedy, you'll likely not laugh. I actually only remember laughing once or twice, but I had a smile on my face all the way through.
This is an over the top (and under your normal view), in your face (and work your mind) comedy. There's a lot to appreciate. But please pay attention. Otherwise, you will miss the fun and give it a horrible score like those who slept through it. I don't feel anyone should be qualified to vote if they never really saw the movie, do you?
And don't miss the extras on the DVD. Pure fun!