Movie Review: Central Intelligence

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Decent story, fun action, good acting

Cons: Too awkward for me to really enjoy

The Bottom Line:

Two old high school friends

Reunite for laughs, spy games

Too awkward for me

“Spoiler Alert: I’m in the CIA.”

I had been intrigued by Central Intelligence, but I hadn’t gotten around to seeing it.  However, after a friend raved about it, I found it on TV and decided to give it a try.  I’m glad I didn’t pay money for it because I didn’t wind up enjoying it.

The movie tells the story of Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart).  Twenty years ago, he was the most popular guy in his high school with his entire life seemingly before him.  Now, he’s an accountant who has just gotten passed over for a promotion facing his twenty-year high school reunion.  He just can’t summon the enthusiasm to go.

Then he gets a Facebook request from Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson).  He doesn’t recognize the name, but he doesn’t want to seem rude, so he accepts it.  Turns out that Bob is a friend from high school who was abused by some of the other students.  Calvin agrees to meet Bob for drinks, but that quickly spirals out of control, culminating in the CIA showing up at Calvin’s house looking for Bob, claiming that Bob is a CIA agent on the run.  What is going on?

Quite obviously, with these two leads, this is a comedy.  Oh, it has action and a spy plot, but the emphasis in on the comedy.  However, that is where the movie failed for me since I spent more time cringing then I did laughing at the antics taking place on the screen.  Bob is awkward, and I just don’t find that funny.  I did find Calvin’s reactions to things fun, but I was still cringing more than I was laughing.

The action and overall plot did help to save the movie.  The action scenes were creative and in keeping with the overall tone of the movie.  Yes, they were over the top, but they were intentionally over the top and plenty of fun.  And the plot holds together.  Oh, I saw some things coming, but I was still intrigued enough to keep watching.

And I’m not blaming the actors.  Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson are great at bringing their characters to life, and I bought their performances completely.  It was just the script that I didn’t like.  As a Veronica Mars fan, I found it fun to see Ryan Hansen in one of the supporting roles playing his usual character.

So Central Intelligence wasn’t for me.  I can see why some people, including my friend, find it funny.  As long as you can find the comedy in awkward people and situations, you’ll be fine with this film.