The Watch - Nachbarn der 3. Art

How do Ben Stiller and his crew stack up against Ferrell and Galifianakis? I got two comedies from people who often work together. Both feature hardship and struggle, but I have to say that The Watch appealed to me a bit more. The concept of a militia is always a bit problematic because it really depends on how far it goes. In the case of The Watch, we don’t have to worry about it going too deep; the issues it tackles are superficial. After all, that’s what it’s about, right? The Watch doesn’t aim to protect the neighborhood from a dangerous person, as it thinks, but from aliens. Boom, what a twist. A militia against aliens, framed as a comedy. But it's not that great of a comedy. It’s kind of like with the film The Campaign. There are a few good lines, a few good scenes, but the rest of the film feels somewhat empty and meaningless. Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Richard Ayoade were a good choice, but the theme feels stale. A much better film was Attack the Block, which essentially dealt with the same concept, only the militia was made up of teenagers and Nick Frost. The Watch is a one-afternoon watch featuring weird characters; you won’t laugh at the odd jokes, and in the end, you’ll realize you’ve just finished watching something that definitely didn’t change your life. Unfortunately, it didn’t even succeed in entertaining you during the time you watched it. Entertainment should be fun, and that has been a major problem with most American films that dare to call themselves comedies for quite a while. (04.03.2013)

Whether it’s Ben Stiller and his gang or Adam Sandler and his gang, I never really know what to expect from their new movies. Sometimes it’s better, other times it’s worse. But even so, the humor remains the same. It’s all about the idea. The idea wasn’t completely bad here, but I thought that it was half-assed. There are only a few good lines and the characters don’t exactly put on a show. For example, someone like Moss from IT Crowd would deserve more lines than just those he delivered in this movie. It’s a movie for a single watching, but definitely nothing memorable. And yet, it would have been so easy to make it good. The boys were so happy about Shaun of the Dead, and how did that turn out? (27.11.2013)

An overly and completely unnecessarily vulgar and desperately unfunny film that didn't deserve Ben Stiller. I chuckled a couple of times, yes, but otherwise it was a parade of cheesy and embarrassing moments. (05.01.2016)

A few decent jokes and a good soundtrack lift this Ben Stiller-driven absurdity from the gutter to at least average. One viewing was enough for me, but I will definitely not include The Watch among my favorite comedies. (50%) (20.05.2020)

An inconspicuous film that got a bit lost in the rich filmography of Ben Stiller, and if my cousin hadn't told me that it's actually a pretty decent comedy, I probably would have forgotten about it too. So, Stiller, Vaughn, Dewitt, and Hill form a pretty decent quartet that doesn't shy away from a simple one-liner. But that's about it; I wasn't a fan of the ordinary small-town locations, although this downside was slightly compensated by the music, which was chosen sensibly and featured quite familiar songs. However, overall, it's definitely nothing spectacular. Yet, the sci-fi genre suits it because without that, it would just be a cheap and likely boring comedy... 62% (12.01.2014)