Atropia Movie Review

In the style of “Tropical Thunder,” “Atropia” pokes fun at what an actor will do to get a decent role, and what the military will do to make sure their soldiers are ready for war before they get there.​

The overly ambitious narrative mostly follows an actress named Fayruz (Alia Shawkat), who has been in a 24/7 simulation to prepare troops for realistic combat in Iraq. She not only wants to be a great actress, but also to make those around her better. The soldiers’ mission when they go to fight is to stay alive. She’s happy she can help them achieve some success with the endeavor. Pay attention to the announcements heard over a loudspeaker, one reminding the female cast member to remember that “If you have been assigned a fake husband, walk ten paces behind him.” They get that in-depth about who the soldiers will be seeing and dealing with. The actors are very helpful, but the insurgents are actual men returning from battle.

This movie is about a real town, one of about 200 mock villages the United States has erected. Training troops in this manner is a lofty goal, an uncommon way to prepare before deployment, but you can’t have too much of that. They use stunts and special effects to create the atmosphere they’re all going to run into.

The movie becomes an unconventional love story of sorts that centers around Fayruz and a man named Abu Dice, played by Callum Turner, who was in “Eternity” last year. They didn’t set out to fall for one another, but they don’t exactly put the brakes on it either.  

Another good character is a mock journalist named Nancy (Jane Levy), who is under suspicion. Everyone’s told to be careful what they say to her, or it’ll end up on the nightly news. She has a scene in the bathroom where, a little stopped up, she starts reading the walls. Some things she sees are appalling, some are wise, and others are good enough to add to. You’ll favor her response to a question she can’t help but answer. Anyone with a sense of humor couldn’t let that one go.

Channing Tatum makes a surprise appearance, which improves the film, but not enough to say this is a must-see. It’s good for a few laughs, the concept intriguing, but overall, it was all over the place and doesn’t exactly ask for a recommendation. It started off asking that of me, but lost me about 1/3 of the way through. I wanted it to be as good as what the trailer promised, a comedy with a human IPOD should have been, but alas, I’ll be honest, it isn’t worth the investment.