Central Intelligence Review

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
Rated: PG-13 (for crude and suggestive humor, some nudity, action violence and brief strong language)
Running time: 107 minutes
Released thru: Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema
Theatrical Release Date: June 17, 2016

“Central Intelligence” is one of those movies where you just sit back and enjoy the ride, and I actually will admit that I liked it more that I was planning on. Sure, it’s a long way off from being an original comedy as this concept has been done before, but it does offer its own fresh spin on the genre. Plus, the on-screen combo of Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson really clicked. It does deliver a lot more slapstick than the trailers led to believe.
Hart and Johnson play former high school buddies Calvin Joyner and Bob Stone, respectively, who get together after twenty years to reminisce about the high school days when Joyner was once a popular student nicknamed “The Golden Jet” and Stone was actually a fat kid by the name of Robbie Weinerdecht. During a school incident, Calvin was the only person who helped him in one of the worst days of his life. He has now come back in town to celebrate their high school reunion, which Calvin doesn’t want to attend. Oh, yeah. Bob is also an undercover agent for the CIA who is in a bit of hot water, and he needs Calvin’s accounting skills to crack a transaction progress to see when and where a potential buy to sell U.S. security codes is going down.
Dwayne Johnson is an action star, but he does have a flair for comedy as seen in “Be Cool”, and his comedic timing manages to hit the mark. Kevin Hart’s humor, not so much; more along the lines of some hits and some misses. When both Johnson and Hart are onscreen together, they seem to have impeccable comedic timing that borders along the line of old-school slapstick humor (even the action scenes are done that way too!) There are some cameos in the movie that I will not spoil, one of which is definitely funnier than the others.

The high school reunion and the bullying angle is another aspect that gives the movie the heart and emotion, and it is interesting to see this idea explored at a time when the public needs it. It gets a little too far-fetched during the finale, but “Central Intelligence” does get points for going this route (although the CGI makeup looks horrible, moreso on Hart than Johnson) I commend the screenwriters for including this, but “Central Intelligence” nails it when it comes to the humor department on the neat on-screen chemistry both men share, and in an age where foul-mouthed, potty joke humor is seen in many comedic movies nowadays this comes as a welcomed relief.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

He Named Me Malala (Movie Review)

Image
HE NAMED ME MALALA  Release Date: October 2, 2015 (Limited), October 9, 2015 (Wide) Starring: Malala Yousafzi Genre: Documentary Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements involving disturbing images and threats) Running time: 87 minutes Malala Yousafzai, the young girl from the Pakastani Swat Valley area, is the primary focus of Davis Guggheim’s latest documentary. She was the girl that was shot in the head by the Taliban for daring to suggest that women should be allowed to go to school and have a chance at a descent education. She survived the assassination attempt, but suffered permanent damage to the left side of her face. The movie does work as a documentary, and it’s an important one that everyone should see, but it feels to me that it only scratches the surface of the context. The movie’s title “He Named Me Malala” has both a influential and political meaning: her father named her Malalai who, from Afghan folk lore, rallied the locals into fighting the B
Read more

MarvelChats - Ms. Marvel (1x06)

Image
  It’s the last of the “Ms. Marvel” chats as we look at the finale. We’ll break down the visual look of the episode, as well as the acting and storyline now that the action has been brought back to Jersey City. Plus, we’ll talk not only about the Captain Marvel tease at the end and what it means for next summer’s sequel “The Marvel” but also THAT other surprising revelation. Lot of identity crises in the episode fittingly called “No Normal”. What will the future of Ms. Marvel hold and does this set her up to be a future member of the “Young Avengers”. Plus, a touch on the announcements Marvel has planned for it’s upcoming return to the San Diego Comic Con event and our possible thoughts on where Phase Four is heading.
Read more

Kindergarten Cop 2

Image
KINDERGARTEN COP 2 Running time:  100 minutes Rated: PG-13 (for language and violence) Distributed by: Universal 1440 Entertainment @2016 Release Date: May 17, 2016 (DVD premiere) Twenty-five years after we were graced with the presence of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action/comedy “Kindergarten Cop”, someone goes and makes a sequel that no one really wanted. Not only did we get it, but we got a half-assed dog of a movie whose script could’ve literally been done by a kindergartner….in crayons. Yes, Universal’s direct-to-video distribution is responsible for this latest debacle. Instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger this one around (who wisely turned down a role or even a cameo appearance for this one), we get Dolph Lundgren as a no-nonsense FBI agent Reed. He and his partner Sanders (Bill Bellamy) have just taken down an Armenian dealer. and now they need to acquire a flash drive containing the downloadable names of those placed under the Witness Protection Program. Thanks
Read more