Review of Central Intelligence (2016) by Chris A — 29 Aug 2016

First Hit: Silly, irreverent and definately fun to watch.

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, separately, have both shown their comedic skills in films. Together they are even better. The physical size differences between them only adds to the dynamics of their dialogue. The story is rather silly and without a lot of merit, however it makes little difference because the film is enjoyable by their interaction and the palpable fun they had working together. Basically, Calvin Joyner (Hart) was the high school star and most likely to succeed. Marrying his high school sweetheart Maggie (Danielle Nicolet), he settled into a life of being an accountant. He's disappointed in that he failed to succeed the way he had envisioned. Bob Stone was the fat kid whom everyone picked on in high school and when he's embarrassed by kids at a school function, it is Calvin that has his back. Many years later Bob has lost the weight and has become, well, The Rock (Johnson's WWE wrestling name). He also works for the CIA and enrolls Calvin to help him solve a case. They are hilarious together.

Johnson is fabulously funny. He's got a great persona and knows how to leverage his size, personality, and the wink to make it all work incredibly well. Hart is his maniac hyper active self, spewing out comedic twists of dialogue. He's fun to watch and its better when he's paired up like this. Nicolet was good as Calvin's strong supportive wife. Amy Ryan was very good as the CIA boss who was after Stone and Joyner. Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen, and Rawson Marshall Thurber wrote a strong comedic script. Thurber did a wonderful job directing these two dynamic characters.

Overall: If you want to sit back and enjoy some irreverent humor, then see this film.