Movie review: The Watch (+trailer)

It's a dream come true ... Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill fighting aliens.

No, The Watch is not hard-hitting, life-changing drama but it is good fun and you never quite know what mayhem is around the corner.

The three funnymen all offer different styles but their madness weaves together beautifully and provides many great moments.

Department store manager Evan (Stiller) decides the neighbourhood needs better protection after his store security manager is ruthlessly murdered and skinned in a shock late-night attack. With the local police incapable of solving anything, Evan decides to find his own solution.

Seeking community support, Evan only manages to attract the attention of Bob (Vince Vaughn), Franklin (Jonah Hill) and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade) - a motley crew if ever there was one.

But the community watchers are more concerned with having fun and a few beers than solving the murder mystery.

That is until they come eye-to-eye with a gruesome, blood-thirsty alien. The group know they need to get a plan together and fast.

If they want to stop an invasion of the bodysnatchers, they must stop an alien signal getting to its home planet, inviting an armada of aliens to join them.

But The Watch is so much more than an alien adventure. There are side plots about having children, parenting, failure and friends which are handled with the lightness you would expect from a crew of comics like this.

The Watch

(R16), 115 minutes

Rating: 3.5 / 5