The bulk of this movie, alas, comes down to weak sketches held together by ridiculous action, vast explosions and more or less everything else it should be parodying.

Given the incoherence of its satirical aspirations (the film does end with a suggestion that everyone involved still loves this business we call show), and finally too scattershot to really make it as parody, Tropic Thunder is best appreciated as a goof.

The tension between what the film says and what the film does helps support one of a dozen (or so) layers of snarky, self-aware humour.

Gleefully un-PC, Tropic is still one of the most hilarious Hollywood comedies of the 21st Century.