795. The Interview (2014)

Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Randall Park

Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

Running Time: 112 mins

The Interview is an American film about a light entertainment TV presenter and his producer who, after learning that the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, is a superfan of their show, are recruited by the CIA to assassinate the dictator in an interview at his private compound.

So, was this film really worth all of the international controversy? In short: hell yeah! Now, it’s not an intelligent satire about the totalitarian regime of North Korea in a way that Team America may have been, but it’s just two hours of constant laughter, insane action, and is just one of the most entertaining films you’ll sit through, despite it just being a vehicle for typical Seth Rogen-ish toilet humour.

When I say that this film was worth the international controversy, it didn’t really deserve it at all. As I said, this isn’t a burning satire of Kim Jong-Un’s regime, and it doesn’t really bring anything worthy of causing international outrage to the table, apart from a few comments on Kim and North Korea that are the general consensus anyway.

However, I don’t think that any of that matters, because this is just a silly comedy. It’s done by the guys who did This Is The End and Bad Neighbours, two films which didn’t bring much attention upon themselves, and that’s why it should too be regarded just like those others, however the media attention has forced some people to expect great things from a film that is otherwise hilariously juvenile.

The most impressive thing about this film apart from its constantly brilliant comedy is the fact that it’s hugely engrossing from start to finish. There are three very distinct acts: the set-up of the characters and the interview itself, which is probably the funniest part of the whole film, but has very little to do with the assassination, followed by a quieter middle period which isn’t so full of laughs, but is still interesting nonetheless.

However, what really shone for me in this whole film was the totally insane final act. You may think that it’s the concept that goes totally insane, but it’s the explosion of mad and hilarious action for about half an hour that’s the best part of it all, making for one of the most entertaining finales I’ve ever seen to a film (genuinely), and topping off this film with a whole extra dosage of mad fun, and that’s why this gets an 8.0 from me.