In the Loop

Political satire from Armando Ianucci, starring many of the actors from TV series The Thick Of It, as well as James Gandolfini from The Sopranos. The story follows a hapless government minister (Tom Hollander) sent from Whitehall to Washington to argue the case for a war in the Middle East with a profanity-screeching spin doctor, a war-weary general and a Republican hawk.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:Nev Pierce, Empire: Iraq isn't named, because Iannucci is savvy enough to understand the role of idiocy, ambition and fundamentalism in any conflict, in any age. Politics isn't transitory, it's timeless. And so is great satire. While the rat-tat-tat gag-rate dips a little in the final third - with an angry constituent subplot that proves necessary but never feels essential - In The Loop is still an endlessly quotable, worryingly authentic exploration of how things get done. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard: After last week's shenanigans at Number 10, In the Loop carries more than a whiff of truth about the way we are governed, in the way that good farce should... Bits and pieces of its highly coloured dialogue are destined to be quoted with the greatest affection but you probably won't recall the whole 104 minutes with quite the same enthusiasm. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Wendy Ide, the Times: It's cynical, aggressive and volcanically profane. It features a script that crafts its scabrous insults with the same meticulous care and creativity employed by Michelangelo during the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The satire steams and fizzes like concentrated sulphuric acid. It is blisteringly offensive. Armando Iannucci's debut feature film In the Loop is the kind of movie that makes you proud to be British. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·