In the Loop (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:128
Fresh:121
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: In the Loop is an uncommonly funny political satire that blends Dr. Strangelove with Spinal Tap for the Iraq war era.
Theatrical Release:17-04-2009
Synopsis: IN THE LOOP is a fast-paced, lancet-witted ensemble comedy from first-time film director Armando Iannucci, based on his satirical BBC sitcom, THE THICK OF IT. The film tracks the lies,... [More]
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini
Director: Armando Iannucci
Reviews for In the Loop
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 3/5 |
In the Loop is a fast and furious farce that looks and feels authentic. Full Review |
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The film attempts to give the impression of documentary reality, but the movie is a series of satirical caricatures that sometimes crosses over into farce. Full Review |
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5/5 |
The savage comedy of In The Loop is enough to justify hailing it as a triumph. What takes it to a different level is the way that Iannucci and a great team of writers ultimately manage to make the smile freeze on your face. Full Review |
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4/5 |
On the surface it sounds like the basis of a TV show but it's brilliant as a movie and you'll laugh throughout. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Iannucci’s triumph is so consummate you may want to go back to media coverage of the era with the added insight it affords. Full Review |
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5/5 |
In The Loop is a furious whirlwind of a comedy, and a swift riposte to the movie star ego massaging of the Coens' similarly-themed Burn After Reading. Hopefully, Malcolm Tucker's first silver screen adventure isn't his last. Full Review |
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5/5 |
Few comedies - least of all political parodies - can hope to match the GPM (gags-per-minutes) success of this glorious sideswipe at international diplomacy. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Spinal Tap meets Strangelove. A satirical demolition of Whitehall and Washington: politically astute, hilarious and terrifyingly real. Full Review |
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5/6 |
It’s a film that is both insanely funny and a desperate cry for sanity. Full Review |
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4/5 |
A devastating insight into the desperate state of functionaries in a technocracy. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The satire steams and fizzes like concentrated sulphuric acid. It is blisteringly offensive. Armando Iannucci’s debut feature film In the Loop is the kind of movie that makes you proud to be British. Full Review |
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5/5 |
The first really satisfying, really fearless dramatic assault on the scandal of Iraq. Full Review |
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3/5 |
It’s a sharper, bawdier version of Yes, Minister. And ultimately just as cosy, colluding in our cynicism about politicians rather than challenging it. Full Review |
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4/5 |
In The Loop may have worked equally well on TV, but no rib is left untickled in a quickfire satire that depresses as much as it amuses. Gets our vote. Full Review |
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3/5 |
In this department, In The Loop commendably resembles a Howard Hawks-style screwball comedy enhanced with the furious profanities of a David Mamet play. Full Review |
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There are at least thirty genuine laugh-out-loud moments and I honestly cannot recall a single other film with that hit rate. In The Loop boasts one of the funniest scripts ever written and some of the strongest performances in a comedy since Spinal Tap. Full Review |
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9/10 |
A fantastic cast, a razor sharp script and an all too realistic story makes this an absolute must see. Full Review |
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4/5 |
It's mercilessly accurate in its analysis of what's most wrong with New Labour, and it made me laugh out loud at least 20 more times than The Boat That Rocked. Full Review |
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3/5 |
The subjects of Iannucci's ire aren't exactly hard targets while the movie has so much fun shooting those barrel-bound fish, it forgets to bring anything terribly revealing to the table. Full Review |
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5/5 |
Writer/director Armando Iannucci hits home so brilliantly in what is essentially a big-screen version of TV’s The Thick Of It. The Sneak cannot overuse the word “funny” enough to describe In The Loop. It is funny, funny, funny. Full Review |
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May 25, 2009:
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