Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Central Intelligence (2016) Movie Review




Buddy Comedies are easy to do. Directors and writers, before you get your panties all twisted in a bunch, allow me to elaborate. Buddy comedies stem from a formula that has a long track record of success. You've got the Lethal Weapon series. Beverly Hills Cop. 48 Hrs. Rush Hour. The Nice Guys. The Other Guys. 21 Jump Street. You put all these movies together and one successful central theme holds true in them all: Putting a very unlikely duo together to accomplish some task that drives the movie. You do this and, nine times out of ten, you'll have a hit on your hands. It's those buddy comedies that do a little something extra that really stand out to me. Central Intelligence follows that buddy comedy formula wonderfully and succeeds in being a good movie, however, doesn't do much in the way of standing out as one of the better ones.

Twenty years ago, Rob Weirdicht (Dwayne Johnson) was the laughing stock of his school as his heavy weight made him an easy target. Calvin "The Jet" Joyner (Kevin Hart) was the only one that came to his aid during a particularly embarrassing time. Fast forward to the present and Weirdicht is back with a new name (Bob Stone)  and The Rock's physique. He connects with Calvin out of the blue which ends up taking them both down a path of espionage, tracking down government codes, and running from both bad and good guys alike.

The plot is a bit murky in some places. There are parts in the movie where I found myself asking, "Wait. what happened to who?" Completely normal for a spy movie, but this is supposed to be a comedy and I'd really prefer to check my brain at the door. While it didn't ruin the overall experience of the movie, it was a bit of a blip.

This comedy definitely accomplishes its main goal of being funny. It's always the unexpected moments catching me off guard that make me laugh the most and this movie will give you a few of those. Hart and Johnson pull this movie off largely in part due to their great chemistry. Hart is in the middle of a mid-life crisis still chasing after the life he promised his wife they would have while Johnson is trying to run away from his past and be someone completely different than the fat kid in high school.

While Hart's character was pretty one-dimensional, I thought Johnson's character was developed extremely well and added value to the overall story. Not only does your heart go out to Rob Weirdicht for the pain of his past, but you find yourself rooting for him to find that one true friend. Rob is a geek by accident, someone who is a nerd and doesn't know it. It's hard to imagine finding a 6'4" mass of muscle endearing but you do.

Some of the jokes were a miss for me, but you can't expect them all to be funny. I love Kevin Hart's standup, but, as an actor, you're predominately seeing him in niche roles. It's a role he does well, but leaves you thinking, again? Even as a black man, I feel beat over the head at times with the constant black jokes so I can only imagine the lack of inclusion other races must be feeling when they hear that repeatedly. On the one had, I get it. It's a direct reflection of the society we still live in and trying to take those stereotypes, talk about them, and make them funny. Then again, how can we ever hope to fully unify as a society if it's black this and white that? It's definitely a fine line.

If you go see Central Intelligence in theaters, you will have a great time for sure. I give it an 86.

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