Stuber - Review Thread

I...don't really know what I expected here. Maybe at least an entertaining buddy movie? But Stuber can't even achieve that status.

You know what this movie reminded me of? Taxi, the 2004 "comedy" starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon. Remember that shit, Neverending?

Both movies are bad action comedies featuring cops having to be driven around by a ride service driver as they try to crack a case, but here's where Stuber gets a slight edge: the chemistry between its leads is actually pretty good. So much so that you wish they were given better jokes and a stronger script. The movie has its moments of inspiration, but those are few and far between. The majority of the jokes are lame, uninspired and just plain unfunny. Every once in a while, a few will unexpectedly land, though. But you have to wade through a lot of nonsense and a lot of just plain awkward line readings from Kumail Nanjiani. Actually, two other things I'll give the movie credit for is how it necessitates Bautista's character needing an Uber -- he just had lasik eye surgery and can't drive himself, but needs to chase down a lead on the criminal who killed Bautista's partner before they get away -- which is kind of clever. Also, the movie is rather unapologetically R-rated when it comes to its violence, which is a little refreshing. The opening sequence is actually pretty decent. And the bad guy is played by Iko Uwais, but he's severely underused. The rest of this movie is pretty bad. If it can maybe lead to a better movie featuring a Bautista/Nanjiani team-up, though, then that's one good thing to come out of it.