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Reviews Counted:128
Fresh:121
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: In the Loop is an uncommonly funny political satire that blends Dr. Strangelove with Spinal Tap for the Iraq war era.
Theatrical Release:Jul 24, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $2,251,324
Synopsis: IN THE LOOP is a fast-paced, lancet-witted ensemble comedy from first-time film director Armando Iannucci, based on his satirical BBC sitcom, THE THICK OF IT. The film tracks the lies,... [More]
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini
Director: Armando Iannucci
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Instead of inspiring geniuses, Iraq war backlash has only resulted in snarky self-righteousness that -- from Charlie Wilson’s War and now British import In the Loop -- has demonstrated the low ebb of modern comedy.
In the Loop is a confusingly plotted satire -- plan on being out of the loop -- that starts off at such a frantic pace and at so high a pitch that it really doesn’t have anywhere to go.
While the cynical concept is amusing, the actors' accents are often so undecipherable that much of the dialogue emerges as unintelligible unless you're attuned to Brit-speak - and profanity reigns.
By the end of the film, you just want to get away from these people.
This – Iannucci’s large-screen lampoon on the corridors of power and PR – is a rabbit version of The Thick of It. It scurries about for two hours with bared but biteless teeth.
British humor that did not travel all that well across the Atlantic.
A complete mystery. How in the world did this lame British comedy bamboozle so many critics? It amounts to "Yes, Minister" with four letter words. You would be better off watching paint dry.
Every movie that clearly tells us how we marched toward the war, through bullying, intimidation, and making opponents seem crazy is worth seeing.
It's fantastic stuff, so over-the-top, so scabrous, so bitterly brilliant that you have to assume that, on some level, it rings true.
Can you remember the last time you saw a topical political satire with rapid-fire obscenity (morally and literally) and character exchanges that would rival the best of the screwball era?
Writer/director Armando Iannucci hits home so brilliantly in what is essentially a big-screen version of TV’s The Thick Of It. The Sneak cannot overuse the word “funny” enough to describe In The Loop. It is funny, funny, funny.
There are at least thirty genuine laugh-out-loud moments and I honestly cannot recall a single other film with that hit rate. In The Loop boasts one of the funniest scripts ever written and some of the strongest performances in a comedy since Spinal Tap.
While In the Loop is a highly disciplined inquiry into a very serious subject, it is also, line by filthy line, scene by chaotic scene, by far the funniest big-screen satire in recent memory.
Top CriticIt's a measure of how apt a title Armando Iannucci has chosen for his directorial debut that this skewering of modern British politics seems to grow more prophetic by the day.
The savage comedy of In The Loop is enough to justify hailing it as a triumph. What takes it to a different level is the way that Iannucci and a great team of writers ultimately manage to make the smile freeze on your face.
Line after line proves infinitely quotable... suggesting cult status as well as critical acclaim beckons.
In the midst of the constant stream of mostly vacuous (and sometimes not) summer blockbusters, In the Loop is the tiniest of releases and one of the best ... maybe the best so far.
It is a rollicking entertainment for some of the time, and a sulphurous study in bare-faced cynicism pretty much all of the time. An achievement of sorts, though I wish I could have liked it more.
Showing how politicians, in all their petty ambition and narrow self-interest, can be every bit as dangerous as Weapons of Mass Destruction, this is Dr Strangelove for the post-9/11 era.
The real standout here is Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker. This is a truly unforgettable character that spouts off insults and profanities as often as one breaths.
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