Mindhorn [Blu-ray] [2017]

Some films made on the Isle of Man show off the island, others don't. This one falls into the former category. From the sea terminal and promenade in Douglas to the iconic Laxey Wheel this is a movie that all lovers of this little island should see. The humour is typically contrived, the story twists and turns, and some recognisable locals find their way in as extras in a dramatic scene in Peel. All-in-all there is enough to keep you viewing until the end.The extras are also good with a 7 minute featurette and music video by Richard Thorncroft the stand out.

One of the funniest films i have seen for a while!

This is one of the worst films I have seen in a very long time. I felt like slashing my wrists.I've grown quite tired of these "self-unaware" characters. We've already had Austin Powers, Zoolander, and Tugg Speedman. We don't need any more. I'm actually giving the movie more credibility than it is due with comparisons to Hollywood fare. This is more like The Keith Lemon Movie.Richard Thorncroft is a has-been actor who once starred in a 1980s regional detective series called Mindhorn, set on the Isle of Man, in which he played a one-eyed sleuth who could "see" the truth. He quits this role, believing that Hollywood is beckoning, and never finds work again. An amusing anticipation of appropriate reality for the rest of Julian Barratt's career, likely.Many years later, and desperate for work, a chance at redemption comes along when a madman thinks that the show is real and demands to talk with the actual Mindhorn character to resolve a murder plot. It is the E-X-A-C-T set-up from the awful Alan Partridge movie from 2013, and it too completely squanders its potential by only ever going for the easiest "comedy" and broadest laughs, and even those are few and far between. The useless talent agent character is even directly plagiarised from Extras.Every. Single. Setup. in this film is wasted on "cringe" humor, which can be very funny in TV shows like The Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm, but it's not here. They could have built the comedy on Thorncroft finding his own moxie and truly becoming Mindhorn, understanding his previous errors, and taking a stand for himself.Nope!At best, at an impossibly lenient push, this is 40-minute TV special fare. There's NOTHING remotely theatrical about this, right down to the ugly "photography". Like the Alan Partridge movie, Mindhorn is shot in a sort of digital Super35 process where they just shoot a 1.78:1 image and chop the top and bottom to fake a scope aspect ratio, which makes every shot look cramped and poorly composed, and the unnaturally boosted saturation is not pleasant to look at. Even without this problem the flat lighting is very televisual.It depresses me that movies this abysmal get funding and distribution. Is this what comedy has become? Is this what the tastes of society have degraded to? I cannot trash this garbage enough, and I predict that the Blu-rays will be stacked floor-to-ceiling in Poundland very soon.Beyond terrible!

I caught the film first time on late night TV and it's parody of 80's cop shows was almost in the realms of This Is Spinal Tap. So late into the night I checked on Amazon to find the Blu-ray was only £5 and also had a load of extras to it. 2 days later it dropped through my letterbox and I have watched it twice since then. I have also found myself hooked on the song and video 'You Can't Handcuff The Wind' Buy it you won't regret it.

This was a great movie, very funny with no filler. All the actors deliver and it’s paced perfectly. Cannot believe I’d never heard of this film before. A hidden gem and highly recommended.

Reading some of the bad reviews I see many of them as a reaction against the sadness of Thorncroft no longer being the stud from his youth. I really think the (needlessly) angry low star reviews are written by middle aged men that don't like the way the film made them confront their own faded virility. Many of the laughs in this film come from mocking the former sex gods buffoonery.The script does a good job of making this seemingly unlikable character lovable by the end. Barratts always superb in both tragedy and comedy. You will laugh more if you are in a cruel mood and cry during another viewing when you have a shred of empathy.

Silly - excellent - ridiculous - excellent - over the top - excellent. Get the drift! I thought it was going to be a duff film but this is a hidden gem. There are a lot of well known actors in this film. They must have had a ball making it. Watch it it is good. RJC.

but it is quite good fun. If you need something reasonably wholesome that you can put your 12 year old and your gran in front of together (and you've watched all the Johnny English, old style Top Gear Specials and David Attenboroughs) then this will probably fit the bill. There is some "language" but that is about all.