Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Top 5 is a comedy starring Chris Rock as a comedian turned major celebrity and his attempts to reinvent himself and his career with a serious drama that he believes will help him prove to himself and the world that he's not just another funnyman. If you're sitting around thinking to yourself that this summary sounds strangely similar to the plot of Birdman, well you're right! This happens to be yet another example of Hollywood coming up with similar ideas for films at the same time and I know some of you are thinking, "well if this movie is the same as Birdman and this one stars Chris Rock, who's track record in film is far below stellar, then I'll skip it." Well I'll tell you this, you should definitely reconsider because against all odds, for the first time in many years, Chris Rock delivers! From what I understand, Chris Rock took a different approach to making this movie and it really shows. His previous films showed a lot of signs of a movie made by committee with a lot of pulled punches and soft comedy that seemed much less caustic and biting than Rock's stand-up or anything seen in Rock's 90's sketch comedy in The Chris Rock Show. This movie however, was done with Rock squarely in the driver's seat acting as the writer, director and star and he does a good job in all respects creating a comedy showcase that had me laughing out loud in the theater and overall just out and out thrilled that old school Chris Rock was back and truly better than ever. Perhaps the best thing about the movie is that Rock is not alone in this film. Some pretty big names came out to help carry this movie including Gabrielle Union who plays Rock's fiancé, Rosario Dawson who plays an interviewer trying to get his life story and dozens and dozens of other comedians that drop in here and there to fill out the cast. The comedians really make this movie. Cedric the Entertainer, JB Smoove, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and many other names great and small are here that I can't even begin to tell you about them all and they each do their part to contribute a verse to this kick-ass movie. Another good thing about this movie is the fact that it isn't afraid to tell edgy jokes or show nudity like so many great comedies in the 80s did. Nothing is off limits and nothing is too sacred or taboo to poke fun at. It's comedy with teeth and I loved it from start to finish. If I had to say anything bad about it I would have to say that it does have a bit of a time juggling all the balls it has in the air but by the end, all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty sweet package.On the whole, I really enjoyed this movie and if you're a fan of comedy and stand-up comedians then you'll like this one too. Top Five gets a 4...out of 5.

Top Five is written, directed and stars Chris Rock as Andre Allen. It is a one note idea where he plays a stand up comic, a former drunk who has had box office success with some silly comedy films. He is due to get married to a high profile reality television star and promoting a serious film about Haitian rebels which is heading for flopsville.Allen accepts an interview with the New York Times, Rosario Dawson who plays the junior reporter and they walk and talk about his career from his early hell raising days to the present. It is not helped that the Times main entertainment correspondent hates Allen's movies with a passion.The fact that Rock plays a character called Andre Allen and it seems semi autobiographical brings to mind Woody Allen. Maybe this is Rock's attempt to do Stardust Memories or Annie Hall mixed with Before Midnight as Dawson and Rock just converse and get on well with each other.I just found the film dragged, uneven in tone and not too funny although I did smirk at a few places. There are some star cameos nearer the end of the film as Rock ropes in some old pals.Even when Rock does some stand up at the end of the film, it is made to look so unnatural that you think that Rock should had got someone else in who is more competent to direct this. It is messy and self indulgent which relies too much on guttural humour when Rock hypocritically wants to pass himself off as an artiste.

I am sooooo not in the audience for a Chris Rock film--or so I would have thought. I'm white, in my 60's, liberal but not urban or indeed hip in any sense, and the only five rap artists I could name are those who went on to acting careers.And yet...this was a definitely movie for me. It's observational, mature, witty, good-hearted, mostly a rom-com but also about the battle between external expectations and inner desire, young adulthood and maturity.The plot of the movie, which has everyone but a few good friends wanting poor Andre to keep doing his funny stuff, the talking bear movies, while he wants to do more significant work? That ends up perfectly predicting the audience reaction you see here via the reviews. "Where's the hysterical Chris Rock **** jokes?" people stuck in 1992 want to know.There is some of that in here...and it's exactly the stuff I hated (Cedric and the whores; the tampon thing--ish, edit them both out) and that made me rate this a couple stars lower than I might have otherwise. So as I pity Andre in the film (omg, having "Hammy!" shouted at you 1000 times day!), I pity Rock even more for living out this life, even in the year since this movie's release, even right here on IMDb, with angry comments by old-school fans of his. Man, that's life imitating art imitating life.I hope I see more like this from him.I enjoy that I was able to like all these characters and sympathize with them. I liked the set up for the reveal about Chelsea. I liked how Silk was a stock character you thought you knew, until he wasn't in the final 1/4 of the film. I was tickled. I was moved. I was pressed to think.(and I did sort of like the rap song running over the end credits, so one never knows, eh?)

"Top Five" is an OK film. Not including "New Jack City" it had about the same mediocre luster as any other Chris Rock film. To me it started off a little boring but got kind of interesting as the film led on to what it was really about. Because Chris Rock is the writer of this film and I find some of his stand-up comedy funny there were some parts that did have me laughing at times. For instance when Andre Allen (Chris Rock) and some of his family members were talking about what a very popular rapper would be doing now if he were alive today and Andre Allen (Chris Rock) mentioned that he would probably be playing in a Tyler Perry Movie knocking Jill Scott down a flight of stairs, I thought that was funny being that I'm not a fan of Tyler Perry movies and the scene with his fiancé Erica Long (Gabrielle Union) moved Adam Sandler's seating picture at their wedding to a back row was funny as well because I'm not a fan of his either. Some of the acting in this film was well played out by a wonderful cast which also made it worth watching so if you're looking for a decent film to laugh at a little you won't go wrong with one.