Perversely pleasurable, it works on its own self-conscious terms, though not all audiences will appreciate its English brand of sad-sack humour.

Some viewers may be surprised by how good Bana is doing comedy. Same with Farmiga, but that allows Gervais to leave some of the heavier lifting as far as acting to his co-stars. Gervais has again done a solid job writing and directing his own material.

The more Special Correspondents skirts bad taste — by having the heroes record an ISIS-inspired ransom tape, for instance — the closer it gets to having something to say about mass media and geopolitics.

What Gervais may have previously turned into a pointed satire of the news media instead becomes a flimsy farce that’s surprisingly low on laughs.

[Gervais] abandons all sharp edges and serves up a bland, toothless picture that isn’t particularly scathing and doesn’t have anything much to say, even though the basic premise might have allowed for some satirical jabs at journalism and politics.