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Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart look to strike comedy gold in Central Intelligence. Spoiler: they don't.
Personally, I’m amazed that Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson have time to sneeze, yet alone fit in a movie together, such is the prolific workrate of the pair of them. Two of the most industrious actors in Hollywood have thus now come together for an R-rated comedy from Dodgeball and We’re The Millers director Rawson Marshall Thurber. They;re popping off to remake Jumanji next.
The conceit of this one though owes just a little to the Arnold Schwarzenegger comedies of the late 80s and 90s, in that it’s Johnson who’s playing against type. We first meet his and Hart’s character in their high school days, with Hart the popular, loved by everybody Calvin Joyner, and Johnson the overweight, bullied kid. Fast forward 20 years, and Calvin...
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Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart look to strike comedy gold in Central Intelligence. Spoiler: they don't.
Personally, I’m amazed that Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson have time to sneeze, yet alone fit in a movie together, such is the prolific workrate of the pair of them. Two of the most industrious actors in Hollywood have thus now come together for an R-rated comedy from Dodgeball and We’re The Millers director Rawson Marshall Thurber. They;re popping off to remake Jumanji next.
The conceit of this one though owes just a little to the Arnold Schwarzenegger comedies of the late 80s and 90s, in that it’s Johnson who’s playing against type. We first meet his and Hart’s character in their high school days, with Hart the popular, loved by everybody Calvin Joyner, and Johnson the overweight, bullied kid. Fast forward 20 years, and Calvin...
- 6/17/2016
- Den of Geek
Buddy comedies are a Hollywood staple at this point, and they’re fairly easy to execute at a baseline level of competence. Sometimes it’s a script that distinguishes one, sometimes it’s the easy chemistry between the stars, and sometimes it’s a director who elevates things. In the case of Central Intelligence, several things work better than I would have suspected, and as a result, I genuinely enjoyed the movie. Color me shocked. First and foremost, The Rock has become one of the most reliable brands in modern movies, and, yes, I am aware that I just called him a brand. I think he’s more than “just” a movie star. He’s an overall force of personality that exists to just shine positivity and humor and good energy into the world via movies, TV, wrestling, and social media. If The Rock didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him.
- 6/17/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Despite starring two of modern-day Hollywood’s hottest actors, Central Intelligence finds itself caught between a “Rock” and a “Hart” place (I’LL Take My Pulitzer Now, Please). But seriously – The Rock and Kevin Hart should melt any screen shared between the two, yet this Ride Along wannabe barely limps across the comedic finish line. We’re talking base-value funny. Like, to a criminally infuriating point considering how The Rock and Kevin Hart could be a modern-day Schwarzenegger/DeVito team (Shut Up, Twins Is Great). Instead, Hart spends most his time yelling/talking/chatting about poop, and The Rock plays out a helplessly uncool, soft-as-a-marshmallow alter-ego – neither of which pay off.
“Intelligence” belongs nowhere near this film’s title.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Bob Stone, who was better known by his high school nickname, “Fat Robbie.” Classmates were relentless in their harassment, but “Robbie” bottled all that energy into a fuel that helped him transform into the lean, mean, CIA-agent-machine known as Bob Stone. Yet, not everyone from Bob’s graduating class can boast such luck, including Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) – Mr. “Most Likely To Succeed.” Now a desk-jockeying accountant, Calvin thinks himself such a failure that he refuses to attend his high school reunion – but that doesn’t stop Bob from coming back home and changing Calvin’s life forever. Who needs a high school reunion when you’ve got a CIA mission worth crashing?
Right off the bat, director Rawson Marshall Thurber introduces an important, yet heavy-handed message – bullies are bad. This’s true, and needs to be stated. Bullies can destroy self-confidence and bring upon years of mental scarring. But, Central Intelligence doesn’t offer anything new on the topic except for The Rock’s continued “I don’t like bullies” line, which comes and goes whenever the plot has time to get all mushy. It’s tough, because writers Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen Want to preach something, but just don’t have the means. Bullies are bad, and we know that – but punching them in the face years later doesn’t solve much.
While we’re talking about scripting, let’s address the real elephant in the room – an inexcusable amount of laughs. Then again, do we expect any better from a movie that slings its “Who is Taylor Swift dating these days?” joke within the first five or so minutes? That’s after a blatant rip-off from Neighbors 2, when Calvin’s co-worker talks about inventing a smartphone app that…um…beefs up your dick pics (Scoonie invents the same thing).
I’m not sure what’s scarier – that two movies made the same joke merely a month a part, or that such jesting is socially relevant.
As assumed by my previous musings, Central Intelligence never really strives to be more than a dumbed-down, near-sighted comedy. We get it. Kevin Hart is a little man, barely larger than The Rock’s thigh. This accounts for 75% of Barinholtz and Stassen’s jokes, with at least another 20% being attributed to Hart’s elongated rambling – typically ending with a fecal reference.
There’s chemistry between Thurber’s two unlikely leads, but comically, their contrasting differences lose shock value no more than halfway through this kinda-action-y, non-thrilling spy story. Hart fires jokes with his typically rapid pace, but The Rock plays a unicorn-loving loser whose excited “Hey Dawg!” greetings and outdated references deflate *quickly* over time. There’s no lasting value in wackier, opposite-day-type personalities, and far too many jokes end up being lazy fat pokes – for a movie that hates bullying so much, it sure does plenty of it.
You must understand, I adore The Rock. I gave San Andreas a positive review because of The Rock. And I think Kevin Hart is a tremendous comedian – but Central Intelligence is a sad waste of talents (a Honey Badger reference, today?). These two should be a comedic dream team, but besides a tender glimpse of The Rock swaddling Hart (which should spark some epic fan fiction), there’s a ton of dead air floating between the two. Give me my badass, confident Rock – going soft and cuddly just doesn’t work to this ridiculous degree. Hart feels like he’s carrying entire scenes, which is a gargantuan task if The Rock is the one clinging to your back. Their chemistry exists, but prime material does not – plain and simple.
So, what is Central Intelligence? Strange, unfunny, and misguided. You have a great message, but also cheap jokes at your victim’s expense. You also have a tremendously enigmatic team, but you handcuff its most imposing member. There’s bro-bonding, a forgetful plot (Hart’s wife comes and goes/this is an anti-bullying movie, right?), and momentary bursts of action that can’t distract from a such a vapid sense of humor. In the end, you’ll find yourself thinking about better times, but it’s telling that those times are the Ride Along franchise. Mull that one over.
“Intelligence” belongs nowhere near this film’s title.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Bob Stone, who was better known by his high school nickname, “Fat Robbie.” Classmates were relentless in their harassment, but “Robbie” bottled all that energy into a fuel that helped him transform into the lean, mean, CIA-agent-machine known as Bob Stone. Yet, not everyone from Bob’s graduating class can boast such luck, including Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) – Mr. “Most Likely To Succeed.” Now a desk-jockeying accountant, Calvin thinks himself such a failure that he refuses to attend his high school reunion – but that doesn’t stop Bob from coming back home and changing Calvin’s life forever. Who needs a high school reunion when you’ve got a CIA mission worth crashing?
Right off the bat, director Rawson Marshall Thurber introduces an important, yet heavy-handed message – bullies are bad. This’s true, and needs to be stated. Bullies can destroy self-confidence and bring upon years of mental scarring. But, Central Intelligence doesn’t offer anything new on the topic except for The Rock’s continued “I don’t like bullies” line, which comes and goes whenever the plot has time to get all mushy. It’s tough, because writers Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen Want to preach something, but just don’t have the means. Bullies are bad, and we know that – but punching them in the face years later doesn’t solve much.
While we’re talking about scripting, let’s address the real elephant in the room – an inexcusable amount of laughs. Then again, do we expect any better from a movie that slings its “Who is Taylor Swift dating these days?” joke within the first five or so minutes? That’s after a blatant rip-off from Neighbors 2, when Calvin’s co-worker talks about inventing a smartphone app that…um…beefs up your dick pics (Scoonie invents the same thing).
I’m not sure what’s scarier – that two movies made the same joke merely a month a part, or that such jesting is socially relevant.
As assumed by my previous musings, Central Intelligence never really strives to be more than a dumbed-down, near-sighted comedy. We get it. Kevin Hart is a little man, barely larger than The Rock’s thigh. This accounts for 75% of Barinholtz and Stassen’s jokes, with at least another 20% being attributed to Hart’s elongated rambling – typically ending with a fecal reference.
There’s chemistry between Thurber’s two unlikely leads, but comically, their contrasting differences lose shock value no more than halfway through this kinda-action-y, non-thrilling spy story. Hart fires jokes with his typically rapid pace, but The Rock plays a unicorn-loving loser whose excited “Hey Dawg!” greetings and outdated references deflate *quickly* over time. There’s no lasting value in wackier, opposite-day-type personalities, and far too many jokes end up being lazy fat pokes – for a movie that hates bullying so much, it sure does plenty of it.
You must understand, I adore The Rock. I gave San Andreas a positive review because of The Rock. And I think Kevin Hart is a tremendous comedian – but Central Intelligence is a sad waste of talents (a Honey Badger reference, today?). These two should be a comedic dream team, but besides a tender glimpse of The Rock swaddling Hart (which should spark some epic fan fiction), there’s a ton of dead air floating between the two. Give me my badass, confident Rock – going soft and cuddly just doesn’t work to this ridiculous degree. Hart feels like he’s carrying entire scenes, which is a gargantuan task if The Rock is the one clinging to your back. Their chemistry exists, but prime material does not – plain and simple.
So, what is Central Intelligence? Strange, unfunny, and misguided. You have a great message, but also cheap jokes at your victim’s expense. You also have a tremendously enigmatic team, but you handcuff its most imposing member. There’s bro-bonding, a forgetful plot (Hart’s wife comes and goes/this is an anti-bullying movie, right?), and momentary bursts of action that can’t distract from a such a vapid sense of humor. In the end, you’ll find yourself thinking about better times, but it’s telling that those times are the Ride Along franchise. Mull that one over.
- 6/16/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Back when he was The Rock, we all saw how charismatic Dwayne Johnson could be, but I don’t think anyone ever expected him to be this apt at comedy. This week, he shows off those comedic skills once again in Central Intelligence, an action comedy that pairs him up with Kevin Hart and more or less just lets him loose. It’s interesting to see him set up as the manic and wild one, as opposed to the straight man of the duo, but that’s the twist here in the film, one that I can definitely appreciate. Honestly, without Johnson, this movie wouldn’t be worth seeing. He almost makes it a quality summer diversion on his own. This flick is a buddy comedy, essentially, albeit one with action trappings as well. Plot wise, it’s pretty loose, fair warning. In high school, Calvin Joyner (Hart) was the big man on campus,...
- 6/16/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Nearly (but not quite) redeemed by its good nature and the megaton charisma of its two stars, “Central Intelligence” is a dopey blockbuster diversion that will surely keep United Airlines passengers entertained during the dog days of summer. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Dodgeball,” “We’re the Millers”) and shot with the safety on at all times, this unambitious buddy comedy has all the biting wit and visual flair of a movie that already seems resigned to its final resting place on the tiny airplane screens where it will be interred. And yet, “Central Intelligence” knows something that audiences will be delighted to learn — or, more likely, rediscover — for themselves: Dwayne Johnson is a fucking national treasure.
Our story, eerily similar to that of Adam Sandler’s recent Netflix disaster, “The Do-Over,” begins all the way back in a magical time known as 1996. An obese teenager named Robbie Weirdicht (Johnson, his face plastered on to the body of an obese teenager as the result of the sophisticated uglification technology that allowed Brad Pitt to be an elderly dwarf in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), stands alone in his high school’s locker room showers, butt-naked and belting out his very own version of En Vogue’s 1992 pop masterpiece, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” which was definitely picked for its cultural specificity and extraordinary comedic value and not because it was the first thing that Thurber received clearance to use.
Meanwhile, in the packed gymnasium outside the locker room, prom king Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is enjoying the last of his glory days at the head of a pep rally for the graduating class. Alas, his “follow your dreams” speech interrupted by a pack of sniveling bullies who heave Robbie’s naked body onto the hardwood basketball court floor for the entire school to see. Sure, that’s probably a serious criminal misdemeanor in the eyes of “the law” or whatever, but boys will be boys. Calvin, a mensch to the core, rushes to help cover him up.
Read More: Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson May Star in ‘Jumanji’ Remake
Cut to 20 years later: Calvin is a mid-level accountant who’s disappointed with his life, while Robbie — now going by the name Bob Stone — has evolved into a rippling half-Samoan demi-god who’s strong enough to carry an entire movie on his back. And yet, despite undergoing the most ridiculous physical transformation this side of Captain America, Bob is still a total doofus. Reuniting with Calvin at a local bar on the eve of their class reunion, Bob shows up rocking a fanny pack and a skin-tight t-shirt with a unicorn emblazoned across the chest. Viewers familiar with “Pain & Gain” know that Johnson is at his best (and most infectiously self-amused) when playing against type, and he seems to be having the time of his life as he belittles his co-star into playing the straight man.
Of course, there’s more to this story — the artist formerly known as “The Rock” wouldn’t just be a run-of-the-mill dweeb. We’re talking about Hercules. We’re talking about the Scorpion King. We’re talking about a guy who fought an earthquake in last summer’s “San Andreas,” and made that motherfucker apologize for every inch of its fault line. In other words, Calvin is the only one who’s even the least bit surprised when it turns out that Bob is a rogue, possibly psychotic C.I.A. agent who’s on the run from his boss (a thankless Amy Ryan) with a MacGuffin. “You’re Jason Bourne in jorts!,” yelps Hart, in one of his few memorable lines.
Calvin is the only guy Bob trusts (the movie is sweet like that), and the two get wrapped up in an explosively stupid adventure that — thanks to a tight $50 million budget and the fact that Thurber directs with all the visual panache of a McDonald’s commercial — often feels less like Jason Bourne than it does Agent Cody Banks. Fortunately, Thurber seems to have embraced his various limitations, and “Central Intelligence” doesn’t strain towards being a full-throated action-comedy. In fact, its few shootouts and car crashes are so half-assed that the movie occasionally feels like a deliberate throwback to the middle-brow studio fare of the ’80s and ’90s, which feels somewhat appropriate given that Hard and Johnson’s archetype-based chemistry is pretty much just “Twins” all over again.
The laughs are often just as limp, particularly because Hart doesn’t appear to be super comfortable with the idea that he’s there to tee-up jokes for his co-star. In the “Ride Along” movies, he and Ice Cube were a united front of unfunniness; here, Hart is just nipping at Johnson’s heels. Calvin’s default mode is “scared shitless,” and while the character serves a necessary function, he could pretty much be played by anyone (brilliant cameos from the likes of Jason Bateman and Kumail Nanjiani further emphasize how few of the one-liners land when Hart is left to deliver them).
Perhaps the problem is that Hart no longer needs to be anyone’s foil — he’s excellently empathetic in the more dramatic moments when he’s struggling to become the hero of his own story, and the film leaves us with reason to believe that Johnson isn’t the only one who should continue to subvert his image. And Johnson, good as he is, should only go further around the bend from here. For all the fun he’s having, he’s only truly electric in the moments when Thurber entertains the possibility that Bob might be a delusional psychopath who’s just flown over the cuckoo’s nest.
With a tepid studio offering like this, in which themes include such bold ideas as “bullies are bad,” “guns are fun,” and “all those haters from high school would worship you if you weren’t so fat,” there’s no hope that Johnson might dive off the deep end and create something special. And yet, between “Central Intelligence” and “Pain & Gain,” there’s reason to believe that he’ll get there, one day — it’s still too soon to smell what the Rock is cooking, but you can feel him firing up the grill.
Grade: C+
“Central Intelligence” opens in theaters on Friday.
Related storiesFilm Guide: What Movie Should I Watch This Weekend? (June 17, 2016)'Central Intelligence' Review Roundup: Critics Think Dwayne Johnson & Kevin Hart Have Chemistry, But Script Lacks'Ballers' Season 2 Trailer: Dwayne Johnson Goes To War Against Andy Garcia...
Our story, eerily similar to that of Adam Sandler’s recent Netflix disaster, “The Do-Over,” begins all the way back in a magical time known as 1996. An obese teenager named Robbie Weirdicht (Johnson, his face plastered on to the body of an obese teenager as the result of the sophisticated uglification technology that allowed Brad Pitt to be an elderly dwarf in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), stands alone in his high school’s locker room showers, butt-naked and belting out his very own version of En Vogue’s 1992 pop masterpiece, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” which was definitely picked for its cultural specificity and extraordinary comedic value and not because it was the first thing that Thurber received clearance to use.
Meanwhile, in the packed gymnasium outside the locker room, prom king Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is enjoying the last of his glory days at the head of a pep rally for the graduating class. Alas, his “follow your dreams” speech interrupted by a pack of sniveling bullies who heave Robbie’s naked body onto the hardwood basketball court floor for the entire school to see. Sure, that’s probably a serious criminal misdemeanor in the eyes of “the law” or whatever, but boys will be boys. Calvin, a mensch to the core, rushes to help cover him up.
Read More: Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson May Star in ‘Jumanji’ Remake
Cut to 20 years later: Calvin is a mid-level accountant who’s disappointed with his life, while Robbie — now going by the name Bob Stone — has evolved into a rippling half-Samoan demi-god who’s strong enough to carry an entire movie on his back. And yet, despite undergoing the most ridiculous physical transformation this side of Captain America, Bob is still a total doofus. Reuniting with Calvin at a local bar on the eve of their class reunion, Bob shows up rocking a fanny pack and a skin-tight t-shirt with a unicorn emblazoned across the chest. Viewers familiar with “Pain & Gain” know that Johnson is at his best (and most infectiously self-amused) when playing against type, and he seems to be having the time of his life as he belittles his co-star into playing the straight man.
Of course, there’s more to this story — the artist formerly known as “The Rock” wouldn’t just be a run-of-the-mill dweeb. We’re talking about Hercules. We’re talking about the Scorpion King. We’re talking about a guy who fought an earthquake in last summer’s “San Andreas,” and made that motherfucker apologize for every inch of its fault line. In other words, Calvin is the only one who’s even the least bit surprised when it turns out that Bob is a rogue, possibly psychotic C.I.A. agent who’s on the run from his boss (a thankless Amy Ryan) with a MacGuffin. “You’re Jason Bourne in jorts!,” yelps Hart, in one of his few memorable lines.
Calvin is the only guy Bob trusts (the movie is sweet like that), and the two get wrapped up in an explosively stupid adventure that — thanks to a tight $50 million budget and the fact that Thurber directs with all the visual panache of a McDonald’s commercial — often feels less like Jason Bourne than it does Agent Cody Banks. Fortunately, Thurber seems to have embraced his various limitations, and “Central Intelligence” doesn’t strain towards being a full-throated action-comedy. In fact, its few shootouts and car crashes are so half-assed that the movie occasionally feels like a deliberate throwback to the middle-brow studio fare of the ’80s and ’90s, which feels somewhat appropriate given that Hard and Johnson’s archetype-based chemistry is pretty much just “Twins” all over again.
The laughs are often just as limp, particularly because Hart doesn’t appear to be super comfortable with the idea that he’s there to tee-up jokes for his co-star. In the “Ride Along” movies, he and Ice Cube were a united front of unfunniness; here, Hart is just nipping at Johnson’s heels. Calvin’s default mode is “scared shitless,” and while the character serves a necessary function, he could pretty much be played by anyone (brilliant cameos from the likes of Jason Bateman and Kumail Nanjiani further emphasize how few of the one-liners land when Hart is left to deliver them).
Perhaps the problem is that Hart no longer needs to be anyone’s foil — he’s excellently empathetic in the more dramatic moments when he’s struggling to become the hero of his own story, and the film leaves us with reason to believe that Johnson isn’t the only one who should continue to subvert his image. And Johnson, good as he is, should only go further around the bend from here. For all the fun he’s having, he’s only truly electric in the moments when Thurber entertains the possibility that Bob might be a delusional psychopath who’s just flown over the cuckoo’s nest.
With a tepid studio offering like this, in which themes include such bold ideas as “bullies are bad,” “guns are fun,” and “all those haters from high school would worship you if you weren’t so fat,” there’s no hope that Johnson might dive off the deep end and create something special. And yet, between “Central Intelligence” and “Pain & Gain,” there’s reason to believe that he’ll get there, one day — it’s still too soon to smell what the Rock is cooking, but you can feel him firing up the grill.
Grade: C+
“Central Intelligence” opens in theaters on Friday.
Related storiesFilm Guide: What Movie Should I Watch This Weekend? (June 17, 2016)'Central Intelligence' Review Roundup: Critics Think Dwayne Johnson & Kevin Hart Have Chemistry, But Script Lacks'Ballers' Season 2 Trailer: Dwayne Johnson Goes To War Against Andy Garcia...
- 6/16/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Considering Dwayne Johnson‘s relatively newfound dedication as Hollywood’s action franchise Viagra and Kevin Hart becoming perhaps the biggest draw in comedy over the last few years, it was a mathematical certainty they would cross paths for their own action-comedy. The result is Central Intelligence, which markets itself as a “Little Hart and Big Johnson” teaming up to save the world from shadowy threats. If one finds Hart’s erratic fish out of water dynamic playing against Johnson’s calm, cool, and collected demeanor appealing, the quippy banter comes in spades. As mildly amusing as it can be, that’s just about all there is to this blandly plotted excuse to team up two of Hollywood’s biggest audience wranglers.
After being ridiculed by everyone — and to be clear, everyone — in his high school class except Calvin Joyner (Hart), Robbie Weirdicht (Johnson) has buried the pain deep inside. Twenty years later, he now goes by Bob Stone, transforming himself into a ridiculously ripped, deadly CIA agent while Joyner, once a beloved high school stand-out, has a dead-end accounting job and believes he leads as lame a life as possible. With their class reunion coming up, he accepts a Facebook friend request from the mysterious Mr. Stone, leading to a meet-up for dinner, quickly interrupted by all-out mayhem as a government manhunt ensues.
Rather than playing his usual action archetype, Johnson aims something for something else here and impressively pulls it off. Stigmatized as a child with no friends, after years of burrowing this trauma, his social awareness is a few steps off. Leading a lonely life, relying on pop culture references such as Sixteen Candles, Road House, and Pitch Black as his foundation, Johnson plays things goofily aloof with an underlying sadness as if he never matured beyond that day when he was thrown across a gym floor naked in front of his entire class. When Central Intelligence gets unnecessarily serious, take one glance at an almost alarmingly elated Johnson in his unicorn T-shirt and fanny pack, and all is right. Failing to pick up social cues with his overly enthusiastic, occasionally shy demeanor works well against Hart’s shriek-heavy confusion. Inviting himself in to sleep over after their initial meet-up is only the beginning, as he continually ropes Hart’s character deeper “in” to the conspiracy, when all he wants to do is firmly get “out.”
As for the plot, it involves marriage therapy, murder, cover-ups, MacGuffins, and the true identity of the big bad (aka the Black Badger). It’s almost always nonsensical, constructed solely to put Hart in a bewildered, exhausted state and Johnson there as the straight man for him to bounce off, which would be all well and good if the storyline wasn’t so dull. It’s perhaps a testament to Hart and Johnson’s affability that whenever we turn to anything strictly involving the government manhunt, headed up by Amy Ryan‘s Agent Pamela Harris, the film stops dead in its tracks, particularly in the last third. The string of cameos also seem to rest solely on the surprise of a recognizable face rather than resulting in any effective comedic or dramatic effect. (There is one exception, with a certain actor playing up his greatest strengths in the most hysterically cruel way.)
On a technical level, director and co-writer Rawson Marshall Thurber captures the action like one would expect in this post-Bourne era, mistaking cutting on impact as viscerally exciting. There’s also the larger problem of what seems to be New Line Cinema’s flavorless house style (seen in last year’s Vacation and Thurber’s previous feature We’re the Millers, both shot by Barry Peterson). Brightly lit with as large a depth of field as possible, there’s no texture or variety to any sequence, taking suspense out of the action and any semblance of weight out of the drama.
While it fails to deliver convincing action and its comedy feels watered down, Central Intelligence does get the “buddy” aspect correct. Doing their best with a script (also by Ike Barinholtz and David Stasser) that feels all-too-safe, Johnson and Hart manage to prove that a movie can glide by just enough on sheer charisma alone.
Central Intelligence opens on Friday, June 17.
After being ridiculed by everyone — and to be clear, everyone — in his high school class except Calvin Joyner (Hart), Robbie Weirdicht (Johnson) has buried the pain deep inside. Twenty years later, he now goes by Bob Stone, transforming himself into a ridiculously ripped, deadly CIA agent while Joyner, once a beloved high school stand-out, has a dead-end accounting job and believes he leads as lame a life as possible. With their class reunion coming up, he accepts a Facebook friend request from the mysterious Mr. Stone, leading to a meet-up for dinner, quickly interrupted by all-out mayhem as a government manhunt ensues.
Rather than playing his usual action archetype, Johnson aims something for something else here and impressively pulls it off. Stigmatized as a child with no friends, after years of burrowing this trauma, his social awareness is a few steps off. Leading a lonely life, relying on pop culture references such as Sixteen Candles, Road House, and Pitch Black as his foundation, Johnson plays things goofily aloof with an underlying sadness as if he never matured beyond that day when he was thrown across a gym floor naked in front of his entire class. When Central Intelligence gets unnecessarily serious, take one glance at an almost alarmingly elated Johnson in his unicorn T-shirt and fanny pack, and all is right. Failing to pick up social cues with his overly enthusiastic, occasionally shy demeanor works well against Hart’s shriek-heavy confusion. Inviting himself in to sleep over after their initial meet-up is only the beginning, as he continually ropes Hart’s character deeper “in” to the conspiracy, when all he wants to do is firmly get “out.”
As for the plot, it involves marriage therapy, murder, cover-ups, MacGuffins, and the true identity of the big bad (aka the Black Badger). It’s almost always nonsensical, constructed solely to put Hart in a bewildered, exhausted state and Johnson there as the straight man for him to bounce off, which would be all well and good if the storyline wasn’t so dull. It’s perhaps a testament to Hart and Johnson’s affability that whenever we turn to anything strictly involving the government manhunt, headed up by Amy Ryan‘s Agent Pamela Harris, the film stops dead in its tracks, particularly in the last third. The string of cameos also seem to rest solely on the surprise of a recognizable face rather than resulting in any effective comedic or dramatic effect. (There is one exception, with a certain actor playing up his greatest strengths in the most hysterically cruel way.)
On a technical level, director and co-writer Rawson Marshall Thurber captures the action like one would expect in this post-Bourne era, mistaking cutting on impact as viscerally exciting. There’s also the larger problem of what seems to be New Line Cinema’s flavorless house style (seen in last year’s Vacation and Thurber’s previous feature We’re the Millers, both shot by Barry Peterson). Brightly lit with as large a depth of field as possible, there’s no texture or variety to any sequence, taking suspense out of the action and any semblance of weight out of the drama.
While it fails to deliver convincing action and its comedy feels watered down, Central Intelligence does get the “buddy” aspect correct. Doing their best with a script (also by Ike Barinholtz and David Stasser) that feels all-too-safe, Johnson and Hart manage to prove that a movie can glide by just enough on sheer charisma alone.
Central Intelligence opens on Friday, June 17.
- 6/16/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The title of the new comedy, Central Intelligence, starring Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, refers to more than just the spy agency. It’s a play on words, perhaps related to the lack of grey matter exhibited by some of the movie’s villainous spy characters. The tagline is more double speak: “to save the world, you need a little Hart and a big Johnson.” These headers are like the film itself: a sly, trying-too-hard double entendre that mostly does not work.
Hart and The Rock are impossible to dislike as performers. Kevin is a hilarious guy and his comedic tones—when used properly—never miss. And The Rock is a genuine, humble actor, as I wrote after the press conference for the movie last month. But while Central Intelligence is sure to please its target audience, it packs little punch to go along its big britches.
The main problem is that Central Intelligence stumbles all over the place in its failure to decide what type of film it wants to be. Is it a buddy cop comedy? A mystery? An action flick? A message movie? The story opens by inviting us to mock a naked, fat teenager dancing with a ridiculous afro, and a few scenes later has that teenager (the now chiseled The Rock) proclaim that he dislikes bullies. Later, you’re encouraged to laugh at a grown girl (played by a hilarious late-movie cameo that provides one of the few bright-spots) who has lazy eyes. Another Rock anti-bullying speech incredibly follows.
On top of these contradictory messages, the overall arc is at odds with itself. The first thirty minutes feel like a light-comedy, as the movie dabbles on about the characters’ teenage traumas, until it yields to the explosions and punches of the action flick.
The premise is that people can change dramatically following high school. Two days before their twentieth reunion, Calvin Joyner (Hart) gets a Facebook message from former classmate Bob Stone (The Rock) and they go out for drinks. Joyner, a popular kid in school, is now a frustrated, mid-life crisis accountant. Stone, for his part, has gone from fat bullied kid to the member of at least ten Cross Fit gyms (though he has not read any Oprah, as he has yet to shed the deep-down insecurities of having being overweight—later prodded on by another bright-spot cameo).
Soon after Stone reappears, the CIA follows with a wave of bullets and suit-clad men—as well as a venomous Amy Ryan (Bridge of Spies). The agency believes that Stone is the evil criminal known as The Black Badger, that he murdered his partner, and that he is going to sell the codes to the U.S. satellite system to terrorists. Stone, for his part, tries to convince a reluctant Calvin that he’s innocent and enlist his help in finding the real criminal. It’s the sixth paragraph of this review and I’ve only now talked about an action sequence. See what I mean?
When the action does arrive, it’s more “Ride Along” than “Fast & the Furious.” Stone and Joyner make a daring escape from Joyner’s office using everything from recycling carts to coffee mugs. The CIA agents give chase and, after a few more bullets and punches, including some genuinely funny Kevin Hart face-plants, Stone and Joyner escape again. At some point Joyner is apprehended by Ryan’s character but then, for whatever reason, let go. Rinse, wash, repeat.
It gets more complicated than just terrorists, spies, and runaway bullets. On top of their “anti-bullying” mantra, the screenwriters attempt to insert some aura of mystery. They painstakingly push a “is Stone really a terrorist or has he been wrongly accused” question until the last possible moment. To no avail. Do you really think The Rock is going to play a secret bad guy?
To further muddy the waters, the story insists in reversing the natural relationship between the acting talents of The Rock and Hart. The Rock is supposed to be the funny guy, and Hart the straight man. Hart’s character is the unwitting accomplice to Stone’s attempts to clear his name, sort of like a kidnapped minion. The Rock, meanwhile, is meant to be funny through his dopiness. You can tell it doesn’t work because it ends up constantly being Hart who acts out as the main comedic drive.
Lest I be accused of having no sense of humor, I’ll admit that some of the scenes in the movie are genuinely amusing. The aforementioned face-plants come to mind, as well as an early scene featuring The Rock in one-size-too-small pajamas. The Rock and Hart, for their part, do have on screen chemistry despite the unnecessary role-reversal, and give it their best. But the movie tries to have its cake and eat it too—to denounce bullying while inviting cruel jokes, to reverse comedic roles in the middle of action sequences, to confuse us with a gratuitous “mystery” in the middle of a shootout.
Remember the good old days? A movie like Lethal Weapon achieved what Central Intelligence sought out to do by much simpler and more straightforward means. There is such a thing as not trying too hard. This time around, the movie’s own worst enemy is itself.
Grade: C
Twitter: @jdonbirnam
Instagram @awards_predix...
Hart and The Rock are impossible to dislike as performers. Kevin is a hilarious guy and his comedic tones—when used properly—never miss. And The Rock is a genuine, humble actor, as I wrote after the press conference for the movie last month. But while Central Intelligence is sure to please its target audience, it packs little punch to go along its big britches.
The main problem is that Central Intelligence stumbles all over the place in its failure to decide what type of film it wants to be. Is it a buddy cop comedy? A mystery? An action flick? A message movie? The story opens by inviting us to mock a naked, fat teenager dancing with a ridiculous afro, and a few scenes later has that teenager (the now chiseled The Rock) proclaim that he dislikes bullies. Later, you’re encouraged to laugh at a grown girl (played by a hilarious late-movie cameo that provides one of the few bright-spots) who has lazy eyes. Another Rock anti-bullying speech incredibly follows.
On top of these contradictory messages, the overall arc is at odds with itself. The first thirty minutes feel like a light-comedy, as the movie dabbles on about the characters’ teenage traumas, until it yields to the explosions and punches of the action flick.
The premise is that people can change dramatically following high school. Two days before their twentieth reunion, Calvin Joyner (Hart) gets a Facebook message from former classmate Bob Stone (The Rock) and they go out for drinks. Joyner, a popular kid in school, is now a frustrated, mid-life crisis accountant. Stone, for his part, has gone from fat bullied kid to the member of at least ten Cross Fit gyms (though he has not read any Oprah, as he has yet to shed the deep-down insecurities of having being overweight—later prodded on by another bright-spot cameo).
Soon after Stone reappears, the CIA follows with a wave of bullets and suit-clad men—as well as a venomous Amy Ryan (Bridge of Spies). The agency believes that Stone is the evil criminal known as The Black Badger, that he murdered his partner, and that he is going to sell the codes to the U.S. satellite system to terrorists. Stone, for his part, tries to convince a reluctant Calvin that he’s innocent and enlist his help in finding the real criminal. It’s the sixth paragraph of this review and I’ve only now talked about an action sequence. See what I mean?
When the action does arrive, it’s more “Ride Along” than “Fast & the Furious.” Stone and Joyner make a daring escape from Joyner’s office using everything from recycling carts to coffee mugs. The CIA agents give chase and, after a few more bullets and punches, including some genuinely funny Kevin Hart face-plants, Stone and Joyner escape again. At some point Joyner is apprehended by Ryan’s character but then, for whatever reason, let go. Rinse, wash, repeat.
It gets more complicated than just terrorists, spies, and runaway bullets. On top of their “anti-bullying” mantra, the screenwriters attempt to insert some aura of mystery. They painstakingly push a “is Stone really a terrorist or has he been wrongly accused” question until the last possible moment. To no avail. Do you really think The Rock is going to play a secret bad guy?
To further muddy the waters, the story insists in reversing the natural relationship between the acting talents of The Rock and Hart. The Rock is supposed to be the funny guy, and Hart the straight man. Hart’s character is the unwitting accomplice to Stone’s attempts to clear his name, sort of like a kidnapped minion. The Rock, meanwhile, is meant to be funny through his dopiness. You can tell it doesn’t work because it ends up constantly being Hart who acts out as the main comedic drive.
Lest I be accused of having no sense of humor, I’ll admit that some of the scenes in the movie are genuinely amusing. The aforementioned face-plants come to mind, as well as an early scene featuring The Rock in one-size-too-small pajamas. The Rock and Hart, for their part, do have on screen chemistry despite the unnecessary role-reversal, and give it their best. But the movie tries to have its cake and eat it too—to denounce bullying while inviting cruel jokes, to reverse comedic roles in the middle of action sequences, to confuse us with a gratuitous “mystery” in the middle of a shootout.
Remember the good old days? A movie like Lethal Weapon achieved what Central Intelligence sought out to do by much simpler and more straightforward means. There is such a thing as not trying too hard. This time around, the movie’s own worst enemy is itself.
Grade: C
Twitter: @jdonbirnam
Instagram @awards_predix...
- 6/16/2016
- by J Don Birnam
- LRMonline.com
Move over Riggs and Murtaugh; there’s a new power couple in town, and they’re gunning for the buddy cop crown. That’s Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who will soon be headlining Rawson Marshall Thurber’s larger-than-life action comedy, Central Intelligence.
As the creative mind behind both Dodgeball and We’re The Millers, moviegoers ought to have a good sense of where Marshall Thurber’s latest venture places on the comedy spectrum, and a new TV spot and clip for Central Intelligence today drive home the point that, yes, this is a movie that revels in the ridiculous.
Placing Dwayne Johnson in the role of chubby-geek-turned-lethal-cia-agent Bob Stone, the upcoming summer comedy plays to each actor’s bankable strengths, particularly when it comes to Kevin Hart channeling the same frenetic energy that fired Ride Along 2 to a relatively healthy box office earlier in the year.
As the creative mind behind both Dodgeball and We’re The Millers, moviegoers ought to have a good sense of where Marshall Thurber’s latest venture places on the comedy spectrum, and a new TV spot and clip for Central Intelligence today drive home the point that, yes, this is a movie that revels in the ridiculous.
Placing Dwayne Johnson in the role of chubby-geek-turned-lethal-cia-agent Bob Stone, the upcoming summer comedy plays to each actor’s bankable strengths, particularly when it comes to Kevin Hart channeling the same frenetic energy that fired Ride Along 2 to a relatively healthy box office earlier in the year.
- 5/23/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Fat CGI Dwayne Johnson is not something you’ll ever forget, so Warner at least got that out of the way first in the new trailer for Central Intelligence, also starring Kevin Hart. “Bob Stone, a one-time bullied geek who grew up to be a lethal CIA agent, comes home for his high school reunion. Claiming […]
Read There’s No Coming Back from the Trailer for Central Intelligence on Filmonic.
Read There’s No Coming Back from the Trailer for Central Intelligence on Filmonic.
- 3/17/2016
- by Alex
- Filmonic.com
Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson – a little Kevin Hart and a big Dwayne Johnson, that is. For in Warner Bros.’ summer actioner Central Intelligence, both actors will star as two sides of the same buddy cop duo, to hilarious effect.
Hot on the heels of the relatively successful Ride Along 2 – financially, at least – Hart is one of the biggest names in comedy at the moment, while Johnson simply oozes personality as Bob Stone, the big, friendly giant who was once ridiculed and bullied in college for being the fat kid. In fact, whereas the film’s debut snippet saved the money shot of a pudgy, CG Dwayne Johnson singing in the shower, today’s trailer leads with it.
In those intervening years, Fat Robbie has transformed into a trained CIA killer, but a new mission requires him to reunite with Hart’s high school jock and old friend.
Hot on the heels of the relatively successful Ride Along 2 – financially, at least – Hart is one of the biggest names in comedy at the moment, while Johnson simply oozes personality as Bob Stone, the big, friendly giant who was once ridiculed and bullied in college for being the fat kid. In fact, whereas the film’s debut snippet saved the money shot of a pudgy, CG Dwayne Johnson singing in the shower, today’s trailer leads with it.
In those intervening years, Fat Robbie has transformed into a trained CIA killer, but a new mission requires him to reunite with Hart’s high school jock and old friend.
- 3/16/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Matthew Maguire, theater program director at Fordham University, spoke about the moment in 2003 when Denzel Washington returned to his alma mater to address the department's students. As Maguire recalled, Washington summoned Bob Stone, one of his former teachers, up onto the stage and put his arm around him. "Here's the man who made me who I am today," Washington said.Eight years later, Washington has given back in a big way to the school that helped shape his career. Fordham announced last month that the actor had made a $2 million donation to the school to create an endowed chair in theater. (Phylicia Rashad was recently named the first person to hold the chair, which will rotate among acting, directing, and design professionals.) He donated an additional $250,000 to establish an undergraduate scholarship for minority students. According to Maguire, the two gifts have already made a huge difference for the...
- 11/9/2011
- by help@backstage.com (Daniel Holloway)
- backstage.com
Denzel Washington has donated $$2m (£1.3m) to his alma mater Fordham University. The donation will be used to establish the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre. Cosby Show actress Phylicia Rashād will head the program. Washington also gave an additional $$250,000 (£162,242) to fund scholarships for theatre students. The Training Day actor graduated from Fordham University in 1977 with degrees in drama and journalism. Washington said of his donation: "Show me a successful individual, and I'll show you someone who has had positive influences in his or her life. The late Bob Stone, my mentor, was a former actor and professor at Fordham University. Bob was one of those influences in my life. He believed in me and gave me something to live up to. "I wanted (more)...
- 10/6/2011
- by By Justin Harp
- Digital Spy
New York — Denzel Washington has donated $2.25 million to Fordham University, his alma mater.
The university said Monday that Washington has given $2 million to endow the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre, and another $250,000 to establish a scholarship for a minority undergraduate student studying theater at Fordham.
Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," has joined the school's faculty as the first Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre.
Washington cited the late Bob Stone, who was a theater professor at Fordham, for inspiring him.
___
Online:
http://www.fordham.edu...
The university said Monday that Washington has given $2 million to endow the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre, and another $250,000 to establish a scholarship for a minority undergraduate student studying theater at Fordham.
Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," has joined the school's faculty as the first Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre.
Washington cited the late Bob Stone, who was a theater professor at Fordham, for inspiring him.
___
Online:
http://www.fordham.edu...
- 10/5/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
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