Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger - London, New York, Johannesburg

A long time ago I watched one of Rock's past shows, got irritated and dropped it. Having a newfound appreciation after watching "Everybody hates Chris", decided to give the guy another shot. Not much changed this time either. His stage persona and energy is quite good, it's the jokes that fail, hello General Obvious. His stuff is generic, lacks personality and his dummy friendly repetition in delivery is annoying as hell.

Rock has clearly lost his edge as he's gotten older. That doesn't mean this latest special isn't enjoyable, it is, and there are plenty of good long laughs to be had here. It's just that the material so rarely pushes the envelope the way you've come to expect from Rock. It's a lot of relationship jokes of the "so funny cause they're so true" variety. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's just...I expect more from the man. He's still good, but he's slipping a bit.

Man I was really really really really disapointed by this. I loved every other stand-up special he has done, and this one just didn't work. I hated how it was the same stand-up act in three different places, and how they switched from one place to another throughout. It just made the whole thing choppy. Plus his topics to talk about just weren't stuff that makes me laugh as much. Oh well hope this is just a bump in the road for him.

Spittin' fire. I remember this special as being a step down from his first 2 big HBO specials (Bring the Pain, Bigger & Blacker), but looking back, this puts today's comics to shame.

It was THIS comedy special that made me realize that I have differing taste from others, and how accessibility of humor is NOT solely immediate, but developed over time. Perhaps, now that I haven't tried seeing this in 7 years, having gone this far in the road of life, that I'd like it this time round, who knows. But yes, attempting to force humor on myself that I don't understand at a younger age in an attempt to feel smarter wasn't all worth it.

I love Chris Rock's stand up, and while this isn't quite on a par with Never Scared, it's still an utterly hilarious hour-and-a-quarter. His observations are smart and his delivery is phenomenal. The editing here sometimes works well, sometimes doesn't, but I applaud the attempt to deviate from the standard concert film by splicing three performances together and (occasionally) highlighting cultural adjustments and accommodations made.

Yeah, maybe he's lost his edge. But he's still Chris mothafuckin' Rock. And he still tears the house down.

The editing is as annoying as fuck, and Rock in general reguarly fails to make me laugh out loud. I sniggered in amusement several times, but there is nothing particuarly insightful or revolutionary about Rock's stand-up.

It gets better as time goes by.

Nice editing