A comedy war film that is a film within a film, Tropic Thunder steps into unchartered territory, where few other films would dare to tread.

But there is no denying that this film is funny - so funny, that before the film has even begun you will laugh at the faux trailers displaying the films the actors have been in.

Click here to view Tropic Thunder trailer

The first shows a bleach blonde Jack Black who is drug-addict Jeff Portnoy, playing every character in his show The Fatties (just like Eddie Murphy in Norbit and the Nutty Professor), where on-screen farts are his forte, and off-screen he is a drug-addled movie star.

Then there is multi award-winning Australian method-actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) shown in his upcoming film of forbidden love where he plays a medieval monk alongside Tobey Maguire (Superman!).

And no trailer sequence would be complete without fading star Tug Speedman (Ben Stiller) staring in a series of films - Scorcher 1,2,3,4,5, and 6, about how despite the odds, he saves the day - again, and again.

And then an advert for rapper-turned-actor Apla Chino (Brandon T Jackson) for Booty Sweat energy drinks and Bust-a-nut protein bars.

Then of course, there is the film, which luckily more than lives up to the humour of the pre-film fake trailers.

The film is about a group of pampered Hollywood actors who go into the jungle to shoot a big-budget Vietnam war film, but don't realise they are in real danger when drug smugglers mistake them for real soldiers and launch an attack.

When the film begins to lose money, the British director (Steve Coogan) decides to send his actors into the real undergrowth alone, in the hope of capturing realistic reactions.

But the whole group get more than they planned as bullets start to fly and Speedman is taken hostage by the Red Dragon Army where he is forced to perform on stage every night for their enjoyment.

Downey Jr is one of the main stars of this film, as he undergoes a
pigment operation for Tropic Thunder to play black African-American Sgt Lincoln Osiris and refuses to go out of character even when the cameras stop rolling.

But this is Ben Stiler's baby.

Stiller wrote it, directed it, produced it, starred in.... There's nothing he didn't do. But the man still can't break free from playing the same character time and time again. It seems his heart lies in directing rather than acting.

There's a few surprises - one massive one involving Steve Coogan, that I won't give away, and Tom Cruise trying to get back in with the 'cool' kids by playing fat, bald studio head Lee Grossman, who you will either find very entertaining or very creepy. (I was the latter).

This is a film you have to take with a pinch of salt. If you are easily offended, then this probably isn't the film for you. But anyone who knows what a Ben Stiller film is like (the legendary Zoolander and Dodgeball to name two of the best) will understand where the humour is coming from.

Mix this with some excellent pyrotechnics and a massive budget, and you get classic Stiller comedy gold.


Click here for Tropic Thunder showtimes at Odeon Silverlink