Saddled with plot holes, tonal and practical inconsistencies, shallow characters and an uneven, intermittently funny script, “MacGruber” is not a good film.  But it does feature a surprisingly nuanced love interest (Kristen Wiig) and an aging, slightly plump Val Kilmer as super-villain, Dieter Von Cunth — yes, Cunth — which almost make up for the film’s myriad shortcomings.

Will Forte is the legendary MacGruber, a retired special forces guru decorated with 16 Purple Hearts, 7 Presidential Medals of Bravery and 3 Congressional Medals of Honor. And he’s the only soldier ever to achieve the ranks of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger. After years in self-imposed exile after the murder of his wife (Maya Rudolph) by Cunth, MacGruber is provoked by his former superior into taking on one last mission — get revenge on Cunth and stop him from detonating a stolen nuclear warhead in Washington, D.C.

The most immediately apparent inconsistency is the mythical stature of MacGruber.  After only minutes of interaction with the supposed combat sage nobody is fooled.  He’s as inept as any SNL character we’ve ever seen.  In fact, he’s never even handled a gun.  So is he actually as decorated as his legend holds?  If not, wouldn’t his superior officer be aware of that?  And if he was aware, as he should be, why would he travel to the far reaches of the world seeking MacGruber’s help?  The writing is so inconsistent that it’s hard to tell, but it seems a small attempt was made to address this issue with the assemblage of MacGruber’s first task force team, which consists of a group of large, intimidating, ostensibly capable soldiers (played by an impressive array of WWE wrestlers).  The implication is that MacGruber’s success can be entirely attributed to the talent that surrounds him.  That would make sense if the narrative held to that premise, but that theory is obliterated by the sudden spurts of competence and actual skill displayed by MacGruber, including ninja-style backflips and his extremely effective throat-rip technique that he uses to decimate opponents with his bare hands.

So which is it?  Is MacGruber a completely incompetent dunderhead who gets by on the skill of his comrades or does he really possess the qualities that his legend claims?  But for better or worse, this is the type of thing that “MacGruber” doesn’t concern itself with.  Instead, director Jorma Taccone’s philosophy seems to be the less coherence the better.  And for a film based on a two minute sketch based on a 1980s television show that’s basically already a parody in its own right, that may not be an entirely ill-conceived philosophy.  In fact, it’s that absurd sensibility that allows the film to occasionally dip its toes into the realm of intelligent 1980s action movie parody, even if those brilliant moments are few and far between.

As far as SNL movies go “MacGruber” isn’t a total failure.  It’s handicapped by crude toilet humor and an over-reliance on shock value, but the film does manage to land some laugh-out-loud gags and keeps things at least mildly entertaining throughout its swift 90 minute run time.  And Kristen Wiig’s shy, nervous characterization of MacGruber’s love interest, Vicki St. Elmo, gives the script something a little more substantive than the inanity going on around her, while providing some of the funnier moments in the film.

But the question remains:  “MacGyver,” the famed 1980s Richard Dean Anderson television series that is the basis for “MacGruber” is already funny enough as it is.  Does the show that’s already essentially a parody of itself really need to be parodied by a feature film?