This is under V because of main character Vic Manning.
Director: Michael Dowse
Writer: Tripper Clancy (Screenplay)
Starring: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Mira Sorvino, Natalie Moraels, Iko Uwais, Betty Gilpin, Karen Gillan
Plot: A detective recruits his Uber driver into an unexpected night of adventure.
Tagline – A little driver with a huge cop.
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Bautista & Nanjiani Are Excellent
Story: Stuber starts as Vic Manning (Bautista) is trying to take down Oka Tedjo (Uwais) a known criminal, which sees him losing his partner, 6 months later Vic needs laser eye surgery and on this day, he receives information on Tedjo whereabouts. Needing an Uber, Vic finds himself being picked up by Stu (Nanjiani) an over friendly nervous uber driver.
The unlikely pair need to travel around the city to locate Tedjo before his latest deal, the one that could finally bring closure for Vic, even if this ends up letting his own daughter Nicole’s (Moraels) big moment.
Thoughts on Stuber
Characters – Vic Manning is a detective that has been tracking criminals for years, he loses his partner which has made him dive into his work more than ever, becoming distant from his daughter, risking his career, he uses his connection to try and take down the man that killed his partner, despite having laser eye surgery the same day. Vic will run into problems head first, use force instead of brains when dealing with criminals, which often leaves him in more trouble than it starts with. Stu is the nervous overly friendly uber driver that is trying to make ends meet, tell the woman he loves how he feels about her and dealing with troublesome passengers. He is reluctant to help Vic, but offers him a chance to become a better man, while learning to stand up for himself during their time together. Oka Tedjo is the criminal that Vic has been tracking, deadly in combat ruthless in his action. We have Stu’s love interest in Becca, who spends most of the film on the phone to him, not sure what she wants in life. Nicole is Vic’s daughter who has always been left disappointed with his actions and not supporting her art projects.
Performances – Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani are excellent together they bring both their comedic chops to the table here and never make a single scene feel awkward. While these two are excellent together, with a villain in Iko Uwais, we barely get to see this ultra-talent martial artist have great scenes, only we don’t get to see enough from him. This also affects the rest of the cast, who simply don’t get enough time to shine.
Story – The story here follows a cop that must turn to an uber driver to crack the case he has been working on for years, one that took his partner’s life, the two are completely different and working together will see them go on a wild adventure around LA to take down the criminal once and for all. This is the old buddy comedy storyline, which does get everything right when it comes to the odd couple, while the villains feel lacklustre. Everything is highly entertaining and told in a way that gets to poke fun at uber and overly masculine men.
Action/Comedy – The action in the film is held up for a couple of notable fight scenes, with the opening one being the best of the lot, showing Iko Uwais full abilities. The comedy comes from the excellent chemistry Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani have to get all the laughs away from the action.
Settings – The film uses LA as the settings, which does take us around the city for different moments of the film.
Scene of the Movie – The opening action sequence, which does highlight Iko Uwais.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not enough Iko Uwais.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun action comedy that has two leads that show excellent chemistry, even if we don’t get enough of the villains, we can still have a lot of fun with this film.
Overall: Highly Enjoyable.
