The Watch (15)

The talents of Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and the British comedian Richard Ayoade are largely wasted in Akiva Schaffer's crude and charmless comedy about four citizens in Glenview, Ohio, who form a neighbourhood watch.

Soon, they come face-to-face with invading aliens. Stiller brings his usual scowling energy to his role as Evan Trautwig, the manager of the local Costco store who forms the group after a security guard is murdered. Ayoade is charming and offbeat and Hill and Vaughn both have their moments.

However, the attempt at mixing buddy movie and sci-fi conventions simply doesn't work. The plotting is so haphazard and the dialogue so tin-eared that this soon becomes a very painful watch indeed.