Once again, Chris Rock doesn't disappoint. His hard-edged comedy hits the mark. This show has just enough truth, at least from a male point of view, to make it relevant and just enough raunch to make it fun.

As for the editing style of interweaving elements from various shows, it tends detracts from the comedy. It's a gimmick — a gimmick the show doesn't need. When the switch from one show to the other takes place, sometimes in mid sentence, I find myself wondering what just happened instead of listening to Chris. Plus, it tends to ruin one of the basic illusions of stand-up comedy. When I watch a stand-up comic, I know that the material is scripted, but I still like to get into the show and maintain the illusion that it is improv. The editing style shows that various different shows were basically the same word for word. It destroys that illusion.

I recommend the show for the material, but be forewarned about the editing style. It can be a bit unsettling.

The editor of this special was so consumed with splicing footage and seamlessly meshing shows that he or she, in my opinion, got in the way of the act.

Chris Rock deserves a special focused on Chris Rock the way George Carlin's specials focused only on George Carlin.

This special had too much going on. The editing tangled feet with the punchlines. The outfit changes were jarring, as I found myself missing the jokes because I was too busy saying, "Now he's wearing a shiny jacket," or, "Now he's in Brooklyn." Not to mention the sound quality was noticeably different, especially when jokes were spliced together.

It was all just so unnecessary.

I would like to see Kill The Message from one stage, with one audience. But don't take my word for it. Watch it yourself.

At first I thought the poster was like a chart of where Chris Rock had been performing, two of the three places for the first time (London, New York, South Africa... HBO). As it turns out, this is actually the method to the shoot of the show: edited together from three concerts in each of the areas listed, Rock goes through his material and sometimes a bit is inter-cut within an actual sentence (for example, Rock says the point of view from London, then New York, and maybe South Africa here and there). This technique is a little jarring, but only for a short while. Once it becomes part of the actual gig filmed, it's a successfully unique presentation by way of a special that tries something different.

But the real reason to check out Kill the Messenger is because after four HBO specials (there may have been one half hour one I can't recall from the early 90s), Rock hasn't lost it in his timing or killer deconstructive language or point of view that remains barbed and ready to attack just about anyone: white or black, republican or democrat, male and female, job or career, everything is up for grabs and everything he presents is sharp and hysterically funny. And unlike Never Scared, his previous special, his bits on racism here aren't possibly watered down or not quite as sharp; if anything there is a particular bit on the "N" word that is an excellent dozen-years-later companion piece to "Black People Vs N*****", with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear when a white person can actually say it! It's loaded with insight and wit, from John McCain to Flava Flav to when to use properly contexted words, to just what goes on in a relationship and how difficult it pretty much always is. Bottom line, don't miss it, if you're a fan you're in for a welcome treat, and newbies will get knocked out.