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STUBER
***
Dir: Michael Dowse (15, 105 mins)
A mis-matched buddy action-comedy? Yes, we’ve seen it before, with classics like 48 Hours, Midnight Run and the more recent 21 Jump Street reboot, but also plenty more that have been dreadful and fallen into formula, weak one-liners or were Cop Out. Stuber falls somewhere in the middle: competent enough with two likeable stars in Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjani; saddled with a script with too much air, misfire improv and some nasty violence. Nanjani is Stu, an Uber driver desperate to improve his rating, who picks up cop Vic, in hot pursuit of athletic terrorist Iko Uwais and unable to drive due to recent laser surgery on his eyes. Mayhem ensues. Uber jokes proliferate, as do car chases, flippant sadism and low-level misogyny. The fight scenes with Uwais make use of his martial arts skills but it’s hard to care about anyone as the glib set pieces roll out. Karen Gillan cameos, Natalie Morales has a thankless role as Bautista’s daughter, and though the central duo spark off one another well, we have seen it all before. A lot. There is nothing to really separate Stuber from the likes of any mismatched bland buddy action film of the last two decades. Taxi please.
Opens July 12
words Keiron Self