Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a film I truly wanted to like, its a got a great ensemble cast with the likes of Tina Fey, Martin Freeman, Margot Robbie and Bill Bob Thornton in the film, it has a novel story of making a comedy/drama set in Afghanistan wartime ( cause god knows another serious film on terrorism would have just been too much) so what goes wrong. Well a lot does, but the film does salvage some good comic moments, and good acting, but its just a lot was left to be desired with WTFT. It just feels the film was not researched well enough, like the film was a comedy not a parody on the war on terrorism in AFG. Like the parties that news reporters were having, and the way people walked so freely around AFG in the early 2000's, just didn't give the feeling of a war zone that AGF was then. And this is just the surface for some of the flaws of WTFT, but let me get into a in-depth analysis now.
Story wise in 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dislodged from her comfortable American lifestyle, Barker finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Tanya Vanderpoel, a fellow journalist who takes the shell shocked reporter under her wing. Amid the militants, warlords and nighttime partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.
Acting wise Tina Fey is just a one track actor, and I can never takes her performances seriously and the same happens in WTFT. Whether the film be Sisters or this film she pitches the same act, with the same comic punches. And when she tries to act seriously (in many instances in this film), its unconvincing. She needs to up her game soon, before she starts to get typecast. Martin Freeman is good, but he doesn't get much screen time, all we get see him do is work his new Scottish accent. The same goes for Margot Robbie as mentioned for Freeman instead she uses a British accent. Bill Bob Thornton is the best of the lot, but he has a special appearance of sorts, so there is nothing to gloat about here either. Together however its a nice ensemble to see on screen.
WTFT could have been a great film, its just that so much just went haywire for the film. Makers trying to make a film on journalism or news reporters need to watch Spotlight as reference. I know the film is a comedy drama but still showing news reporters doing cocaine at parties daily after a hard day at work in a war zone, is just stupid. The whole war zone angle of meeting political figures, and terrorists is just to easy for the news reporters in WTFT, real reporters wait for years for a phone call interview of wanted terrorist, and in WTFT your local terrorist is just one phone call away. These are just some of the obvious flaws the film had, its almost as though the makers did no research. Film has no realism for a film that supposed to be.The screenplay and script is muddled ( there is no coherent arc), and there is no character depth or real emotional depth in the characters in the film. The films pace in the 2nd hour is very snail like. The positives though few are enough to salvage some of the film. The films production values are amazing, AFG looked beautiful and the sets/locales accurately depicted a war zone.The film also had some nice action scenes especially the drone attack sequence, which looked very realistic. The comic moments are the films biggest ace as there are many comical moments that had me chuckling. For example the scene when Tina Fey's character realizes that the women keep destroying the water well ( and not terrorists), that the US soldiers keep fixing is hilarious. The films tone of taking war time lightly was very novel, and nice to see.
Overall Whiskey Tango Foxtrot leaves a lot to be desired it a flawed film, but for films runtime ( well for most of the runtime) I was entertained with the comic moments/ idiotic moments, its a serious film to be taken lightly, but this a film you will enjoy more if watched at home, because then you won't complain you didn't get your tickets worth.
3/5* Grade : 62%,C
Story wise in 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dislodged from her comfortable American lifestyle, Barker finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Tanya Vanderpoel, a fellow journalist who takes the shell shocked reporter under her wing. Amid the militants, warlords and nighttime partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.
Acting wise Tina Fey is just a one track actor, and I can never takes her performances seriously and the same happens in WTFT. Whether the film be Sisters or this film she pitches the same act, with the same comic punches. And when she tries to act seriously (in many instances in this film), its unconvincing. She needs to up her game soon, before she starts to get typecast. Martin Freeman is good, but he doesn't get much screen time, all we get see him do is work his new Scottish accent. The same goes for Margot Robbie as mentioned for Freeman instead she uses a British accent. Bill Bob Thornton is the best of the lot, but he has a special appearance of sorts, so there is nothing to gloat about here either. Together however its a nice ensemble to see on screen.
WTFT could have been a great film, its just that so much just went haywire for the film. Makers trying to make a film on journalism or news reporters need to watch Spotlight as reference. I know the film is a comedy drama but still showing news reporters doing cocaine at parties daily after a hard day at work in a war zone, is just stupid. The whole war zone angle of meeting political figures, and terrorists is just to easy for the news reporters in WTFT, real reporters wait for years for a phone call interview of wanted terrorist, and in WTFT your local terrorist is just one phone call away. These are just some of the obvious flaws the film had, its almost as though the makers did no research. Film has no realism for a film that supposed to be.The screenplay and script is muddled ( there is no coherent arc), and there is no character depth or real emotional depth in the characters in the film. The films pace in the 2nd hour is very snail like. The positives though few are enough to salvage some of the film. The films production values are amazing, AFG looked beautiful and the sets/locales accurately depicted a war zone.The film also had some nice action scenes especially the drone attack sequence, which looked very realistic. The comic moments are the films biggest ace as there are many comical moments that had me chuckling. For example the scene when Tina Fey's character realizes that the women keep destroying the water well ( and not terrorists), that the US soldiers keep fixing is hilarious. The films tone of taking war time lightly was very novel, and nice to see.
Overall Whiskey Tango Foxtrot leaves a lot to be desired it a flawed film, but for films runtime ( well for most of the runtime) I was entertained with the comic moments/ idiotic moments, its a serious film to be taken lightly, but this a film you will enjoy more if watched at home, because then you won't complain you didn't get your tickets worth.
3/5* Grade : 62%,C