A few weeks ago on my Future Flicks blog, I had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows as my pick of the week. That turned out to be the wrong choice and it was a terrible movie. My pick last week had been The Conjuring 2 which I still haven’t been able to see. This weeks blog had Central Intelligence as my pick and I’m glad to say, I got one right.
The good thing about action comedies like this, or comedies in general, is that most of the time you know what to expect so you’re able to go into the movie ready for it. I was able to do that but at the same time I had to stay critical so lets go over the good, the bad, and fabulous.
Central Intelligence is a by the book action comedy like Rush Hour or 21 Jump Street. It wasn’t fully predictable, at least not to me. My friend Evan swore he saw everything coming, but I call bull. Either way, predictable or not, the focus on movies like this should be the comedy, not the originality of the plot. Did I figure out who the bad guy was by middle of the film? Yup. Did that put a damper on my experience? Not at all. Had this been a serious movie, more like a police procedural, then I would have been terribly disappointed but laughter heals wounds.
Kevin Hart always tends to play Kevin Hart. Each time they just change his costume and character name and he does his thing. If you listened to my new podcast, thank you if you did, then you’ll know that I don’t mind one note actors. They do something well and they stick with it. In this role Kevin Hart played off Dwayne Johnson perfectly and each joke was delivered with professional precision. He never missed a beat. His character’s motivations were well thought out and Hart emoted them with ease.
Dwayne Johnson is fantastic. Even his bad movies are great. The Tooth Fairy and San Andreas were dumb but still entertaining. He’s charismatic and honest which is what made him so great as The Rock. Stone Cold was a better wrestler when it came to technique but The Rock killed it on the mic and now Dwayne Johnson kills it on the silver screen. Johnson’s character was bullied in high school and he wore his insecurities on the sleeve of his tiny t-shirts. Bob Stone was more complex of a character than I’ve seen in some serious movies. But more about that later.
I liked this movie. You can already see that, right? So allow me to pause my praise for a moment to talk about what didn’t work. The first was that certain parts of the story were rushed. Sure, movies like this are mostly about the action and comedy but I’d have liked a little more time for growth from Calvin (Hart) and Bob. A movie can stick to a formula and still save room for story. Exposition is good tool, but only if used properly. Another problem I had was one of the best jokes was cut and put at the end in the bloopers. It was the funniest joke of the movie. They couldn’t have reshot the scene without the actors busting up after the line? I know, it’s a minor issue, but you don’t take your best line out of the movie and put it in the extras! Finally, about the whole mystery aspect of the movie. I would have liked it if the red herring wasn’t so blatantly obvious. The writers and/or director could have given just a little more subterfuge to make the biggest question so easy to answer. Even though I’ve already said it didn’t take away from my enjoyment, that doesn’t mean fixing the problem wouldn’t have made it better.
Central Intelligence was hilarious and while I wasn’t holding my sides with laughter, I did leave the theater with a smile on my face. This is the kind of movie where you’re walking out of the theater and people are already quoting it. There were some nice running gags and even some fantastic references to other movies and shows. The references weren’t enough to be fourth wall breaks, so Deadpool can rest easy. There were some great cameos too which were very well done and didn’t feel too cheesy or forced. I’m glad I was able to stay in the dark so when they appeared on screen, I was pleasantly surprised. IMDB doesn’t even have the actors listed.
The last note I want to hit is a tad more serious. Bullying and the effects of it were a subplot of the movie and I’m glad they handled it with respect. I was only bullied a little in high school. I was fortunate enough to be good friends with the football team’s captain so I was under his sphere of protection. Others weren’t so lucky. I’m not going to go on a rant here. Don’t worry. Central Intelligence dealt with this issue realistically and tastefully. Johnson’s portrayal of Bob Stone had this aura of pain and uncertainty that could be very subtle one moment and then be worn on his sleeve (like I mentioned above) in other scenes. It was the most realistic part of the movie and it was well done. They were able to deal with the topic without having it feel like an after school special.
Central Intelligence is, without a doubt, the movie to see this week. So grab your friends, grab some candy to sneak in, and go see a movie that will make you laugh and leave you thoroughly entertained.
Central Intelligence gets a 9 out of 11