Our expectations for studio comedies these days are sadly that they’re going to be awful, and those expectations are based on a huge and consistent heap of evidence. Game Night, by contrast, hugely bucks the trend, delivering a comedy that not only contains a lot of laughs (a comedy making you laugh more than twice is a genuine achievement in these last few years), but has a loaded and high-concept premise that adds more layers and unpredictability to the plot.

The film begins with an introduction to our central duo Annie (Rachel McAdams) and Max (Jason Bateman) as we are taken through a whirlwind montage of their game-night-based romance, after an amusingly quirky meet-cute involving a deep knowledge of Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies. It is not long before we greet most of our ensemble at the film’s first non-montage game night; a host of faces sneak into Annie and Max’s house by various means so as not to alert their neighbor, Gary (a hilariously deadpan, yet sympathetic weirdo played by Jesse Plemons – the new ‘guy who’s in everything’), the ex-husband of their friend who used to be a game night regular, now outcast since the divorce. Soon Max’s brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arrives, the much more successful sibling whose imposing superiority is even sited as a reason for Max’s fertility troubles (in a funny and well-judged scene at the doctors). Soon, Brooks invites all to his rented mansion for a game night, and steps it up several notches. He explains it to be a murder-mystery night, where one of the attendees will be taken, and its up to the rest to solve clues to find them. However, once Brooks gets kidnapped, it is slowly revealed that everything is not what it seems.

After it takes a moment to get going, the laughs are frequent and funny; it is rare that a joke doesn’t land. The film also crafts more intricate gags than the flat-out jokes, and isn’t afraid to get a little meta either – it is clearly self-aware, and that is what gives it its strength. The comedy and thriller are mixed together brilliantly; it is not a case of comedy one moment, thriller the next, instead they are intricately weaved together proving the film to have a strong sense of self. It feels like an ensemble comedy version of The Game, thus the nature of its plot may feel a tad familiar to those who have seen Fincher’s head-scratcher, but it manages flips the premise into its own thing. You know the twists are coming, but the film is good at concealing what and when so that when they do happen, they add to the plot and propel it forward.

The witty script is buoyed by an extremely talented cast. As the central duo, McAdams (often very underrated) and Bateman make for a brilliant pair, crafting a chemistry and comedic, yet believable, relationship that ensures an investment in the story. Whilst they may have the most to do, the film doesn’t forget about its supporting players, giving each of them their own storylines within the film which makes it altogether more interesting. Billy Magnussen gives charm to his character’s stupidity, whilst Sharon Horgan works excellently as his sharp, no-nonsense date. The married couple of Kylie Bunbury and Lamorne Morris are also hilarious, plagued by a tension surrounding which celebrity she slept with whilst they were on a break (a thread that continues throughout the film from an initial game of ‘Never Have I Ever’). Chandler also plays the role of Brooks brilliantly combining the brazen with the likeable, and Plemons is hilarious as a character who flits between the offensive and the sympathetic. It is the strength of the ensemble as a whole (plus a few other faces who pop up) that brings the script to life and makes it as enjoyable as it is.

It may not be the most memorable, but in comparison to its peers, Game Night is a successful comedy that combines laughs with twists and turns, and has a cast that delivers performances that you’ll be more than happy to spend an hour and a half with.