The Watch

Play trailer

The Watch

R

2012

1h 41m

Comedy

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Chris S

@Janomi 5d

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.

See more

Dylan W.

@RT93321813 Jun 1

Solid comedy, never fails to give a good laugh

See more

Mike Z

@RT43613120 May 18

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

See more

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.

See more

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

See more

Mariana R

@Bigballz333 Jan 27

Dude holy fuck!how have is it 2026 and ive just seen this movie, I usually follow rotten tomatoe scores but this was one way off, such a funny dumb movie classic 2000 comedy vibe with out it being overly cheesy or stupid, must watch ⌚️ 👏

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Akiva Schaffer

Director

Ben Stiller

Evan Troutwig

Vince Vaughn

Bob

Jonah Hill

Franklin

Richard Ayoade

Jamarcus

Rosemarie DeWitt

Abby

The World's End

89%

72%

The World's End

Watchlist

Idiocracy

71%

61%

Idiocracy

Watchlist

Absolutely Anything

20%

37%

Absolutely Anything

Watchlist

Iron Sky

42%

37%

Iron Sky

Watchlist

Save Yourselves!

89%

60%

Save Yourselves!

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Save Yourselves!

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: The Watch Falls Down On the Job

Vince Vaughn’s 10 Best Movies

View more photos

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