Coming across like a strange mash-up of The Burbs, Hot Fuzz, and Ghostbusters, The Watch boasts an impressive array of comedy talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Directed by Akiva Scahffer, one third of comedy band The Lonely Island and director of Hot Rod (one of my favourite comedies of the last few years), co-written by Superbad and Pineapple Express scribes Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and headlining old hands Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, who are joined by newer talents Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. It's a shame really that it doesn't fully live up to it's potential.
Evan Trautwig (Ben Stiller) is an active part of the community in the small town of Glenview. When an employee of the supermarket he works in is found horrifically murdered, he sets up a local Neighbourhood watch group to get to the bottom of it. Joined by Bob (Vince Vaughn), who views the group as an excuse to hang out and get drunk, unhinged Franklin (Jonah Hill), and recent divorcee Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade), Evan discovers an extra terrestial threat to his beloved town, and the world.
While the film starts off well enough, and the adult humour is exactly what you expect from Rogen and Goldberg, the alien invasion plot just seems slotted in around the filthy banter between the four leads. It takes a while to get going, and always feels like more could be done with it. Various sub plots surrounding Vaughn and Stiller's home don't really add much and feel like padding, though a side story involving Bill Crudup's creepy neighbour does lead to a humorous pay off, and a hilarious cameo from Schaffer and his band mates Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. Despite being clumsily set up, things do pick up in a surprisingly action packed third act, with some really impressive visual effects, and darkly funny moments. The effects are one part where this movie excels, with the creature designs and final look of the aliens (portrayed by Doug Jones, best known as Abe Sabien in the Hellboy series) stealing the show.
While Vaughn and Stiller play the same roles we have seen them do hundreds of times before, immature but lovable jerk and tightly wound everyman respectively, it is Hill, who feels like a watered down version of Seth Rogen's Observe And Report character, and Ayoade who provide much of the movies laughs. In fact, Ayoade is at the centre of some of the best parts of the movie, his dead pan delivery of the movies filthier lines bringing the big laughs. Also, an all too brief cameo from R. Lee Emery, doing what R. Lee Emery does best, is one of the highlights.
While The Watch delivered more than what I was expecting, it still felt lacking in places. An enjoyable comedy which doesn't quite do justice to the talent involved.
