Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

UK Release: 20th April 2012

Watched in the Cinema: Thursday 6th December 2012

Rating: 12A

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Runtime: 1hr 47mins

IMDb Plot Synopsis: A visionary sheik believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his representative to turn the dream into reality, an extraordinary feat that will require the involvement of Britain's leading fisheries expert who happens to think the project both absurd and unachievable. That is, until the Prime Minister's overzealous press secretary latches on to it as a 'good will' story. Now, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible. 

My Review: I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. I knew it was an audience-pleaser and had got great reviews but I was certain it couldn’t be that good. And yet it has all the components for an excellent film and ultimately I left the cinema having had a fun time, so I have no complaints! The acting from both Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt was excellent, even if Blunt’s character wasn’t particuarly original. The chemistry between the characters really grew quite gradually and naturally which was quite nice to see as that can be rare in film these days. 

There were some fantastic laugh out loud humour, even if some of it felt aimed toward a more middle-aged audience in places, it was still enjoyably smart. It was also quite tense in places considering the themes of war were involved, but ultimately it was the characters (McGregor’s in particular) that really made the film. They had depth and you completely empathised with them which made the extraordinary - and quite ridiculous! - situations they were going through feel all the more real and that they mattered. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend it as it is full of laughs and keeps you on your toes until the very end - and a very funny end too!

Score: 8.5/10