GRIMSBY

There are moments in this movie that once seen cannot be unseen. Spoiler alert: it involves elephant semen... a lot of elephant semen, and that’s just for starters. The level of humour on display here is not exactly Mensa grade. Sure, there are stabs at Donald Trump (let’s face it, he deserves them), Bill Cosby (so does he), gun violence (yep) and Daniel Radcliffe (not Harry Potter!), but in amongst those are also visual jokes about sucking on testicles, fireworks shoved up bums, poo and cunnilingus with obese women. Oh yeah, in case it’s not clear yet, do not take your children to see this.

I’d like to say that Sacha Baron Cohen is better than this. As a performer: definitely. As a filmmaker: his last decade has left me wanting, with a worry that "better" is no longer an option. Both Mark Strong and Baron Cohen are brilliant performers and clearly relish the physical side to this movie and their on-screen banter, but as a whole you gotta ask, what the hell were they thinking? Director Louis Leterrier, known for ‘The Transporter’, ‘The Incredible Hunk’ and ‘Now You See Me’, was clearly brought in for his action and visual effects prowess and not his comedic sensitivity.

Look, there’s a couple of good laughs and great action sequences, but honestly, I watched most of the film behind my hands, peeking though fingers when I thought it was safe. If you’re familiar with Baron Cohen’s work, you know what to expect - just take those expectations and dumb it down a few (many) notches and you’ll arrive at ‘Grimsby’.