Director Paul Feig reunites with Melissa McCarthy and throws Sandra Bullock into the mix for his latest offering, 'The Heat'.

A film that sees' the oddball duo of an uptight FBI agent and a ruthless Boston cop, teaming up to take down an established drug lord.

As it stands, The Heat is currently the highest grossing comedy of the year, which certainly suggests that if you can manage to put Melissa McCarthy in an unlikeable role and present it as a comedy, then you're onto a winner.

Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan of her last offering, 'Identity Thief', nor have I seen 'Bridesmaids', yet something about 'The Heat' intrigued me. I'm not entirely sure what it was, as I didn't find the trailers to be particularly interesting or funny for that matter, but if I was to put it down to one thing, it would probably be the critical reception. Whilst the film hasn't been garnering the same critical-conscious as Feig's last feature 'Bridesamaids', audience reception has been pretty strong, which to me is rather surprising, because upon watching 'The Heat' at my local multiplex, it's safe to say that there were not many laughs.

Now I don't want to begin this review by saying that I disliked the movie, because whilst it may be lacking in the humour department, I certainly didn't have any trouble sitting through the film. It's just that, it does have a lot of problems.

For instance, as I said, the movie isn't really that funny. Don't get me wrong, there were moments when I did snigger. Occasionally the film presents some innovative gags, but it's just a shame that the actual concept isn't as fresh. What can I say, the film never actually made me laugh out loud, and when you've got two actresses' like Bullock and McCarthy on screen, that really isn't a good sign, as both actresses' posses a brilliant sense of comedic timing, so really, it isn't actually their fault, instead I would personally blame it on the script, because this is a very scripted movie, that features essentially no improvisation whatsoever on the actresses' behalf.

The movie is frustrating at times, because it does have potential. There are good ideas in this movie that have worked in the past, but maybe the sub-genre its self has become slightly flooded? Because as soon as this film was over, all I could think was that I would have preferred to watch the original 'Lethal Weapon' or '21 Jump Street', two movies that the film draws definite inspiration from.

This ultimately leads me onto my next point. There is no originality in this film whatsoever. As audience members we have all seen it before. Sure, like most people, I enjoy buddy-cop films, but this isn't one that I'm going to be watching again, simply because it's not funny and there are a lot better alternatives out there.

However, on a more positive note, I thought during the final act, the movie definitely raised its game. It became a lot more action packed and I eventually began to warm to these characters that I was seeing on screen, mainly because they actually showed some likeability and where not continuously bickering with one another. Yet, the performances are actually really good, forgive me for continuously referencing this aspect of the film, but it's just a real shame that the material isn't up to par.

Although I didn't like the film, I didn't dislike it either. It's the type of movie that you come out of thinking, 'Meh, it was alright', and that's my best way to summarise the film, it's simply alright. But, I feel if the production company and various members behind 'The Heat' do decide to move forward with a sequel, then they've certainly paved the way for a potentially solid second instalment. As there are two good characters in this film and it would be rather interesting to see where their relationship goes next, and hopefully the next one (if it happens) is funny.

5/10

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