{"id":7584,"date":"2019-07-10T15:44:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T19:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7584"},"modified":"2019-07-11T10:40:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T14:40:30","slug":"review-stuber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7584","title":{"rendered":"Review: STUBER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lackluster script benefits from charismatic star duo.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Known for his large physical presence and droll delivery of dialogue, Dave Bautista rumbles through this unlikely buddy cop comedy like a freight train. And for the most part, it\u2019s entertaining, especially the playful banter he has with comedian Kumail Nanjiani (\u201cThe Big Sick\u201d). But the thin and familiar story gets thinner and thinner as it grinds to its contrived conclusion.

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Bautista has his hands full with much smaller Iko Uwais.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It does start well with a violent, action-packed bang, as rough and tough cop Vic (Bautista) and his partner Sara (Karen Gillan) chase down a dangerous heroin dealer named Teijo (Iko Uwais). The frenetic sequence has the oversized Bautista pitted against the comparatively smaller but ferocious Uwais, whose martial arts skills take center stage. We also learn that once Vic loses his glasses, he\u2019s almost blind. This disability, however, doesn\u2019t stop the brutish officer from recklessly blasting away with his handgun, even when surrounded by innocent civilians.

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Nanjiani and Bautista make an amiable on-screen pairing.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that disastrous encounter, months pass, and Vic\u2019s case against the elusive Teijo is turned over to the Feds. That\u2019s when things get progressively more and more silly when Vic gets a hot tip on Teijo\u2019s latest heroin shipment. Because he\u2019s just had LASIK surgery and can\u2019t drive, Vic commandeers an Uber driven by the meek and mild Stu (Nanjiani). Stu\u2019s modest electric car almost manages to last long enough for the \u201cCollateral\u201d style adventure, as the nearly blind Vic clumsily searches for Teijo.

Saddling action star Bautista with vision problems might have seemed funny and masterful on paper, but it\u2019s really frustrating to watch. The big guy, who is already not too graceful (but I wonder if it\u2019s all just an act), intentionally stumbles and bumbles his way through every scene. To Bautista\u2019s credit, he is completely devoted to the role, which has him falling down and bumping into almost everything within arm\u2019s reach. His real bruises from the endless pratfalls must have been numerous.

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Steve Howey and Amber Chardae Robinson make a good impression.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Talented comedian Nanjiani does what he can with the uneven comedy, the best of which has been spoiled in the trailers, including the red band versions. He has his moments, acting as the voice of reason throughout the film. What works narratively is that both lead characters are pathetic in their own way, and their collective misery make them an amiable on screen team. And it\u2019s good to see \u201cSanta Clarita Diet\u201d actress Natalie Morales playing Vic\u2019s artistic but no nonsense daughter.

\u201cStuber,\u201d with a thankfully short running time, is entertaining despite its derivative genre limitations. The film leaves us wanting to see both actors in vehicles with a lot more horsepower.

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Bautista and Nanjiani make a good team despite silly script.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1629,461,1627,1626,1624,1630,1628,1625],"class_list":["post-7584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-amber-chardae-robinson","tag-dave-bautista","tag-iko-uwais","tag-karen-gillan","tag-kumail-nanjiani","tag-natalie-marales","tag-steve-howey","tag-stuber","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7584"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7594,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7584\/revisions\/7594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}