Central Intelligence (2016)

Review

108min

Genre:     Action, Comedy

Director:  Rawson Marshall Thurber

Cast:       Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan…and more

Writers:   Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen & Rawson Marshall Thurber

-Synopsis-

Two former high school friends; one now a mild-mannered accountant and the other a CIA super agent, are reunited and thrown together into a web of international espionage with hilarious consequences in this odd-couple comedy starring two of America’s biggest current stars.

Diminutive American comic and entertainment machine Kevin Hart teams up with universally beloved man-mountain and current king of the blockbuster Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; in a “buddy-cop”, action/comedy crowd-pleasing summer spy romp.

‘Central Intelligence’ flips the script somewhat with Hart playing the straight man of the piece, as the former high-school hero turned white collar working stiff. While Johnson plays the unpredictable former overweight and mercilessly bullied school outcast turned super-spy, who still bears the psychological marks of his childhood while unflappably kicking a whole lotta ass.

You can expect plenty of shootouts, explosions and bad-guy butts being rocktastically whipped all over the place in some decent but not too spectacular action sequences to enjoy.

With a 12a rating, ‘Central Intelligence’ may not be blessed with too many belly-laughs or much irreverent humour, but the comedy is well spread out, with Hart’s fish-out-of-water character providing some laughs and solid physical comedy. But it’s Johnson’s turn that steals the show, with many of the best lines and a performance with surprising range for a film of this kind, seducing the audience with a character which keeps us guessing and laughing throughout.

The film wraps itself tightly around serious themes of bullying and identity, but like most films of this type it’s at its weakest when trying to convey some sort of moral message among the action and comedic carnage.

Look, there’s not much here you haven’t seen before in any number of spy comedies, including Melissa McCarthy’s ‘Spy’ last year. Most of the characters are completely one-note and the narrative is silly, predictable and extremely derivative.

But the combined charms of the two leads and the solid chemistry between them makes this familiar summer blockbuster slightly more than the sum of its parts. An enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours without making you think too much, and leaving little doubt that a sequel is on the cards… if not a whole franchise.

The Bottom Line…

Two of Hollywood’s most popular current stars just about manage to make a an implausibly connected series of action sequences and comedy sketches into an enjoyable popcorn movie; ‘Central Intelligence’ doesn’t exactly shake up a sub-genre but will make you forget your troubles for a bit and certainly help Dwayne Johnson’s beloved superstar reputation.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Spy (2015)

Melissa McCarthy stars as a bumbling CIA analyst “Desk Jockey” turned unlikely best hope of stopping an International Arms dealer, hilarity ensues as she is transformed into an undercover field agent in this Spy-comedy action blockbuster from the makers of ‘Bridesmaids’.

Directed by Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law and Rose Byrne among others.

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