Making a sci-fi comedy, as opposed to its lesser relative the comedy sci-fi, requires certain key elements, of which the first has to be, to be a sci-fi fan. The second, like the rules of Fight Club, is to be a sci-fi fan. The third is the ability to be funny. The importance of being a fan of the genre is in understanding the tropes, and secondly, is to not make fun of it. To laugh with it, not at it. In recent years it has been the British that have been the most successful in this sub-genre, with the likes of Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish at the forefront. Not only are they great comedy writers and directors, but also massive geeks. Unfortunately, a lot of their British humour doesn't travel that well, unlike the homogenised American stuff. In fact, it would be safe to say that The Watch is what happens when Hollywood makes a version of Attack the Block, set in suburban, middle-America.

OK. It's not really Hollywood Hollywood as it is directed by Akiva Schaffer, from Lonely Island (of Jizz in my Pants fame), was co-written by Seth Rogen and stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade (to give it some real geek cred). With that sort of pedigree you should get a pretty good idea of where it is aimed. Essentially it is a bromantic comedy, with aliens, as four man-boys try to bolster their unfulfilled lives with a community project that no one else in the town is interested in, not even when they discover an alien invasion.

Most of the humour comes from the standard slacker, drugs and sex comedy, with Stiller doing his usual schtick. Vince Vaughn gets the most laughs, while Ayoade sticks to his outsider naif that made Moss so great in IT Crowd. However, like Prometheus, it's as if there are two stories going on, where, every now and again, they remember they have to have some alien action.

With a lot of "serious" sci-fi hitting the cinemas in this and the coming weeks, The Watch does serve as some comic relief, but if you are looking for laughs, you are much better off seeing Ted, which is funnier and has much better pop-culture references.

The Watch is in cinemas now.