The Watch

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The Watch

R

2012

1h 41m

Comedy

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

16%

Tomatometer

166 Reviews

39%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

In Glenview, Ohio, four pals, Evan, Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus, form a neighborhood watch group. Armed with flashlights, walkie-talkies and spiffy new jackets, the guys try to take their mission seriously, even if they spend a little time goofing off now and then. But when they discover aliens living among them and no one believes their story, they learn that they have to kick things up a notch to save the world from annihilation.

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Critics Consensus

The Watch uneasily mixes sci-fi elements with gross-out gags and strands its talented cast with a script that favors vulgarity over wit at nearly every turn.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

09/01/2018

This wants to be (I think) Invasion of the Body Snatchers via Ghostbusters and Attack the Block but succeeds in being nothing but its own dreadful, pitiful, tedious self.

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Tim Grierson

Deadspin

02/12/2013

"The Watch" is a Dream Team in which no one's drawn up any plays and nobody passes the ball. Everybody just shoots and hopes for the best.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

08/24/2012

1/5

There's nothing particularly offensive about the piece. But its intergalactic badness does take the breath away.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

May 3

1.5/4

It's been suggested this this flop was the victim of horrible timing, but it would have tanked at any time because it’s frequently terrible.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

10/03/2022

1/4

It might’ve been funny if it wasn’t trying so hard to be funny.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

03/08/2022

1/5

If you're going to give guys as funny as these four stars a story, you need to be more creative than cheesy aliens.

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty 4d

Good lord this is 2010's slop at it's peak. Good for maybe an ironic viewing, but feels about as lame as possible most of the time. Major, major cornball vibes from this.

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Chris S

@Janomi Jul 3

The Watch is a fun sci-fi comedy that quasi-worked largely because of its cast. Director Akiva Schaffer blends an alien invasion movie with an R-rated buddy comedy, creating an entertaining mix of action, science fiction, and crude humor that rarely takes itself too seriously. The story is mostly an excuse to put its characters in ridiculous situations, and that's where the film works best. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade each bring a different comedic style, and their chemistry carries nearly every scene. Vaughn's quick wit, Hill's unpredictable energy, and Ayoade's dry delivery make the group's banter consistently entertaining, even when the plot slows down. The biggest weakness is the screenplay, which follows a fairly predictable alien invasion formula and leans heavily on hit-or-miss improvised humor. Not every joke lands, but enough of them do that The Watch remains an easy, enjoyable comedy if you know exactly what kind of movie you're getting.

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Dylan W.

@RT93321813 Jun 1

Solid comedy, never fails to give a good laugh

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Mike Z

@RT43613120 May 18

What a nice movie, wonderful actors, great story and a lot of laughs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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alan G

@agenser Apr 25

One of the worst films ever made. A mish mash of Ghostbusters,Aliens,Invasion of the body snatchers and others and worse than any of them. With Ben Stillborn, Vince Vain, and Jonah CompostHill what do you expect. Beam me anywhere but here.

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Ded D.

@dead.dweller Feb 25

Wow, I never knew how horribly rated this film was. I’ve watched this film several times throughout the years and it never failed to amuse me and make me laugh. People are over exaggerating and taking this film too seriously

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Akiva Schaffer

Director

Ben Stiller

Evan Troutwig

Vince Vaughn

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Franklin

Richard Ayoade

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Synopsis

In Glenview, Ohio, four pals, Evan, Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus, form a neighborhood watch group. Armed with flashlights, walkie-talkies and spiffy new jackets, the guys try to take their mission seriously, even if they spend a little time goofing off now and then. But when they discover aliens living among them and no one believes their story, they learn that they have to kick things up a notch to save the world from annihilation.

Director: Akiva Schaffer
Producer: Shawn Levy
Screenwriter: Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 21 Laps Entertainment
Rating: R (Sexual References|Pervasive Language|Some Strong Sexual Content|Violent Images)
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.4M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby