Central Intelligence

It's quite possible that they cast Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson just to make "Little Hart, Big Johnson" pun. As far as buddy cop goes, this contrasting nature can provide some chuckles, however the espionage them might not hit all the marks. Still, there are significant amount of scenes where laughter is secured by sheer timely body language and jokes alone.

Dwayne Johnson plays as Bob, a CIA agent who tries to reach out to his old friend. This escalates into a chase for secret files and national security. The way Bob is presented relies heavily on juvenile gag and demeanor despite his imposing physique, this is fun at first but it hampers the credibility as an agent. The movie wants to add some bullying subplot which is commendable, although it doesn't have the depth to accommodate it.

Kevin Hart is excellent in creating reactions and gestures. He's surprisingly identifiable with high school nostalgia and occasional self-doubt. Many of the good moments come from his outbursts and babbling. The script has a few nifty pop references and sometimes even witty gags, so the comedy is not just slapstick throughout and undermines the "intelligence" in the title.

There are serious undertones of adult life or self-acceptance even though they are not fully fleshed out. Action is pretty light, it's passable without being too demanding. The most important thing is it's enjoyable. Sure, there are a few awkward moments, yet they make the best out of it to present a light humorous spectacle, a better buddy cop gimmick than expected.

Forget about the formulaic spies plot and its flaws, the film does not look silly for the wise decision of making it into a comedy and it sparks thanks to the strong rapport between Johnson and Hart. The thriller may seems to be dumb and lack of inventiveness in all the right ways but it is also a bit smarter than what audiences could have expected. The hilarious but not nonsense actions, sweet high- school buddies friendships, comedy about bullies and inspiration to transform a better oneself however are all blended well into this lack-of-originality thriller; though insufficient to generate big humors, it is still able to keep your smile till the end. The film centralises on the delightful chemistry between the two actors, both Hart and Johnson deliver a cheerful bromantic, especially the latter who takes his character and silliness seriously other than just knowing to flex muscles. It might lack in depth to explain about the quest of the mission but it is overall entertaining due to the commitment of the cast to bring us laughter.

Central Intelligence is the kind of fun, theatrically released action comedy that has unfortunately disappeared now that streaming services have made it their mission to fail miserably at making these competently. The film's attempt to be twisty doesn't work because it's always obvious what's actually going on and there are major luls between laughs but the strong comedic double act works overtime to counterbalance those issues.

Mileage will vary depending on how comfortable you are with Kevin Hart doing his usual high pitched, highly erratic shtick and if it's not a deal breaker he's a fun lead who can constantly acknowledge how absurd it all is. Dwayne Johnson actually changes his persona as he plays an overly excited, generally kind person who is still a trained killer and his arc involving overcoming his high school bully is great. It's easy to see why these two keep teaming up based on their chemistry here.

Rawson Marshall Thurber's direction is a lot more comfortable with the comedy than the action and thankfully it does commit to its strengths more than the weaknesses. The action is a little too choppy and clumsy in a way that only an action comedy that puts the comedy first can get away with. Putting the outtakes in end credits never backfires and it's a wonderful inclusion here as it gives the film some of its biggest and most consistent laughs.

Central Intelligence stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and is about them teaming up to save the world. I'd like to say that I had zero expectations going into this but was still looking forward to it. This movie is HILARIOUS! The Rock and Kevin Hart are fantastic together and have some of the funniest jokes I've heard all year. Watching them both on screen is the best part of this movie and it was extremely funny.

The story follows both of them having reunited 20 years after high school in order to save the world. The main plot is the weakest part of this movie since there's not much emphasis put on it. I will say that there are some pretty sweet cameos in here that are awesome. The action is mostly good even though it got a bit shaky in some places.

Overall, Central Intelligence is a pleasant surprise this summer. This movie is honestly battling Deadpool for funniest movie of the year; I can't believe I just said that. This is definitely one of the better buddy-cop action comedies we've gotten in the past few years.

Central Intelligence gets a B.

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Recently a lot of Kevin Hart's movies have been pretty lack luster. The Ride Along movies and Get Hard were shredded by critics. When I saw the trailer for Central Intelligence, I thought this would be just another one of those flicks. Thankfully, I was very wrong! The page here lists the film as an "action, comedy, crime" movie but really it is more of a "action, comedy, drama" flick. Dwayne Johnson plays the gentle giant Bob Stone/Robby Weirdicht (haha pun) who works for the CIA while Kevin Hart plays the everyday joe Calvin Joyner (a nice change of pace in my opinion). These two are the reason this film works as pure entertainment. They have great chemistry together and they play rather interesting characters. Robby is on the same level as Jason Bourne when it comes to hand to hand combat and other spy stuff like that but he has the sensitivity and the tastes of a fourteen year old girl. I don't care who you are, you have to admit that's hilarious. Calvin was the favorite student of his high school but now he is just a washed up accountant upset with where his life has gone. Hart and Johnson bring some real comedy to their roles as well as true conviction. You can believe that these two are dealing with some real emotional problems. I never thought of either of them as good actors but they do a splendid job here. The stunts they pull also look so very realistic. They are very thrilling and pretty creative too. Now the movie isn't without problems-what movie is? The spy portion of the plot is pretty straight forward and shallow. It's obviously just an excuse to get these two together but is that really such a bad thing when what they are offering is so good? Central Intelligence is kind of like that movie Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito. Two popular actors play as comic foils to one another as well as provide great drama with some cool stunts thrown in. What more could you want?