"Tropic Thunder" Trailer Hits!

By: Adam Quigley Posted: March 18, 2008 Filed under:

After the highly disappointing teaser trailer (which was essentially nothing more than a roll call sheet for the film's characters), the full trailer for Tropic Thunder has now been released and it looks just as hilarious as the premise indicated. Once again, the definite highlight is seeing Robert Downey Jr. playing a black man. About 90% of the trailer's laughs come from his incredibly nuanced parodic portrayal of a tough, gruff African American soldier. (I laughed so hard at the line, "What do you mean, 'you people'?") It's official: this dude can play anything.

So far, I'm also digging the action. Normally, it's almost instantly apparent when a comedy trailer begins with a serious tone that it's just build-up for a gag, but even though Tropic Thunder's trailer opening clearly has a satirical edge, it's put together so well that it looks like it could be used for a genuine war movie.

I'm a little worried about the other lead actors though. Ben Stiller, who's also the director, is given less trailer screentime than Downey Jr., when I'm pretty sure his character is meant to be the lead. But at least he gets a couple funny moments. Plus, holy shit is he ripped! It's good to know that he's dedicated to the part. Jack Black, meanwhile, seems to have toned down the goofiness factor, while upping the annoyingness factor. I generally like the guy, so the fact that even I think he looks unfunny here makes we worry how audiences will respond.

You can find the trailer on YouTube, or a higher quality version at Yahoo!

Tropic Thunder comes out August 15, 2008.

[Source TropicThunder.com]