Back in 1996, Calvin Joyner (Hart) was the bee's knees. Student President multiple times and the leader of numerous bodies, upon the final days of high school he's gifted the prestigious "Most Likely to Succeed" award by the principal. Midway through his celebratory speech, however, a bunch of bullies throws the naked overweight loser Robbie Weirdicht (Johnson's face on Sione Kelepi's body) right into the middle of the ceremony. Being the perfect snowflake he is, Joyner is the only one to help Weirdicht in the situation, who skulks away and is never heard from again. 20 years later, and Joyner is now stuck in a dead-end job and slight marital problems to his high-school sweetheart (Danielle Nicolet), with no desire to attend the high school reunion planned for the coming Friday. And when he receives a Facebook friend request from a 'Bob Stone', he's surprised to discover upon meeting that Weirdicht has turned from flabby failure to a living Hercules (with a penchant for unicorns and Sixteen Candles). But following a surprise run-in with the CIA, Joyner discovers that not only is Stone an agent but that he's wormed his sole high school ally into helping him unearth a conspiracy that's against the agency's wishes.
Let's get one thing clear here – despite a fairly simple set-up which comes across with ease, the film takes a bit of a nose-dive by attempting to build numerous twists and turns which instead hinder the film into becoming something rather incoherent. Considering the pedigree of those being the screenwriting and directing processes, it may have been a wiser move to tell a straight-forward story around the basic idea of Hart and Johnson being a kick-ass double act instead of the conspiracy angle. Granted, it would leave a barely-existent movie which, while funnier and much more tolerable than its closest comparison Grimsby, only would have the one big joke, but with the mystery angle being so unnecessarily convoluted and filled with double and triple crosses it loses its comedic footing and decides it wants to take itself seriously for a little while – which in turn turns into the film's biggest stumbling point. The story can either simple and rely on the chemistry between its two leads or a seriously dull mystery about allegiances. Not both.
As for the comedy itself, it's very standard stuff. While there's much less of the typical Hart screaming than one would expect from the trailers (thank god), the jokes mostly stem from Dwayne Johnson's wide-eyed performance and delivery of his lines – a brief deviation from the main story involving the duo at a couple's therapy garners the most laughs because of Johnson – and the standard reactions to the regular joe not wanting any part of it. For the most part, it does work; the jokes are consistent, and while they didn't make me personally laugh they were at least appreciated for some of the effort placed. But then it turns into some of the more immature fare which is when one would be turned off from it.
But yes, onto Hart and Johnson themselves – the two of them do work really well together. Despite the conflicting personalities present and the obvious height differences, it's strongly evident the duo are enjoying every moment of being together with each scene. Obviously, The Rock himself is the better of the two thanks largely to his childish but endearing performance – a big muscular teddy bear, if you will – but Kevin Hart does surprisingly well too, even if his character can be a tad irritating with his constant allegiance changes. Nicolet as his other half is your typical loving wife character but she does a fine enough performance; Amy Ryan makes for an intimidating if not bland CIA Agent, as does Timothy John Smith; Aaron Paul as Bob's former partner is a mixed bag throughout the film; and surprise appearances from the likes of Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, and Kumail Nanjiani are nothing new for any of them (side note: can we stop casting Nanjiani in partially racist roles? Because this and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates show signs that he needs a new agent).
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber isn't exactly new to the comedy genre, so by now he has a good idea of how to go about with his actors and crew. And his direction for his actors is fine enough to warrant a 'Good Job' sticker. With action, on the other hand, he starts to lose his grip on it all as he falls for the incoherent shaky cam technique. An extensive shootout in both Joyner's office building and within the CIA premises leads to some shots being hard to see properly, and in turn difficult to digest the 12A-rated violence.
Central Intelligence may be lacking in its screenplay, some of its comedy, and in its generic 12A-rated action, but at least it has a promising comedic duo at the heart of it in the form of Johnson and Hart. If the film was a little bolder in its approach and aimed for a 15 certificate, maybe it would have drawn out better delivery in these fields, but for what it is, it's a slightly funny comedy with slightly-fun action and a rather sloppy screenplay. 4/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment