Review of This Means War (2012) by James Z — 23 Apr 2013

Strengths: The thing that originally drew me to this film is the same aspect that turned out to be the highlight. The main cast is comprised of three fine actors. Reese Witherspoon (Lauren) was her charming self, while Tom Hardy (Tuck) and Chris Pine (Franklin) brought charisma to their roles. The scenes involving Hardy were usually the best of the bunch. Chelsea Handler (Trish) is a fine source of comedy in her small role.

Weaknesses: There are plenty of inconsistencies throughout. Lauren seems unsure of herself early, then seems overly confident in the next. It's also not good for this kind of film for the two male leads to have more chemistry together than they do with the object of their affection. Also, too many scenes make no sense. How can these CIA agents just use up tons of resources to spy on each other? Why would other agents go along with this? When she eventually finds out, why is Lauren not more furious? She was mad about the bet, but not that these guys were CIA agents who seemingly knew everything about her. Also, the movie portrays Tuck as the good guy, yet Lauren chooses Franklin. If that was how it would be, they should've made Franklin more likable and done more to establish Tuck's relationship with his ex.

Overall: With leads like this, you'd want and expect more. Despite the talent and charm of the trio, this is flat out illogical. It doesn't help that the love stories mostly suffer due to a lack of chemistry.