Review of Central Intelligence (2016) by Reviewsbychris — 11 Jul 2016

Central Intelligence visits the world of Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart)- the most-popular-guy-in-school turned accountant who is struggling to cope with the regrets he adopted since high school, especially since his reunion is coming up. But all that changes when he reunites with Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson), a bullied boy he helped once during high school and who still admires Calvin. By no choice of his own, Calvin is thrown into a world of espionage and danger to help Bob save the world and stop the bad guys, all while being hunted by the CIA. But is Bob really the good guy? Hilarity ensues as friendships are tested, people are put in danger, and Calvin has the most exhilarating experience of his life as the world learns what happens when you bully someone...

Alright, raise your hand if you DON'T want to see a comedy movie starring Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. Yeah, I didn't think so. After seeing the trailer, I couldn't wait for this movie! What a pairing! And they, of course, performed to standard with fantastic chemistry between them! Their main source of comedy was Hart's character explicitly expressing several dozen times during the movie that he does NOT want to be a part of Johnson's character's secret mission, with Johnson's character just ignoring him and getting him involved anyway. I probably don't do it justice, but they are a great comedy duo. For some, the humour will fall below par, but that's a personal preference. That's definitely the best part of the movie. You probably see most of the highlights in the trailers if you watched them, but there is still some new humour to be found. But don't be fooled, this is also a spy/mystery movie.

The audience, like Hart's character, is unsure of how much trust should be placed in Johnson's character. Is he CIA? Is he bad? Why is he wanted? And without any spoilers, evidence for both sides pop up which makes Bob Stone an enigma! This was an element that I really enjoyed. This movie had its downfalls in its plot conveniences and use of cliches. Sure, the actual storyline is original, but the formatting and style with which its executed has been done to death. And do you really expect us to believe that a small black man completely overwhelmed by the situation he is in can fight trained gunmen and handle firearms himself with his only experience being from limited observation? No. And Dwayne Johnson is a big target, he cannot dodge every bullet.

The cast includes Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Jason Bateman, Aaron Paul, Ryan Hansen, and Tim Griffin. Some impressive comedic stars here, but make no mistake, its the Hart-Johnson duo that's front and centre here, and as I've already said, their relationship is great! The other characters are barely more than extras and they weren't at all memorable. The themes include friendship, karma, revenge, trauma, and sacrifice among others. The special effects could be mediocre at times, but I was kept engaged through the balanced blend of comedy, action, adventure, and the intriguing characters. The atmosphere fluctuated along with Johnson's character's tone- serious to weirdly excited and cavalier. I'm not sure how much I liked this, but it only widened the demographics of this movie so that more people can enjoy it.

Director Marshall Thurber has had plenty of experience with Comedy films- through the likes of Dodgeball and We're the Millers, he delivers up to standard. You can trust this guy's credibility. To improve however, he could've strayed from the cliches and poor plot conveniences, and maybe varied the humour a little more. Did I mention this whole storyline was finished within a day?

To conclude, this movie did well as a buddy cop movie. It definitely isn't the best movie I've ever seen, but the combination of humour and action will engage. It's another guilty pleasure movie and so the rewatchability level is HIGH.

Rating: 6.