Is Central Intelligence the funniest film you will see in 2016? If you want a good laugh, free up a couple of hours in your busy life. I recommend you do yourself a favour, get down to your local cinema and see Central Intelligence.
When you see a film trailer for a comedy, it often showcases all of the funny scenes contained within the feature film. There is disappointment to find those hilarious scenes are the only laughs to be had. I saw the trailer to Central Intelligence, laughed out loud and hoped there was more to come. There was. The trailer was unable to show us all the great comedy scenes, because there are so many.
Central Intelligence is the story of a former high school legend Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart, Ride Along). Life hasn’t turned out as Calvin expected. High school was the highlight of his life. Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas) once was Robbie Weirdicht the most bullied kid in high school. Bob changed his name and left town after he was incredibly embarrassed during a senior assembly in the high school gym.
Twenty years later a school reunion has Bob reconnect with Calvin. Calvin discovers Bob is a rogue CIA agent being hunted down by agent Pamela Harris (Amy Ryan, Birdman). Bob and Calvin get themselves into various situations trying to clear Bob’s name and find the real traitor inside the CIA.
This is a light-hearted film, there aren’t any outstanding special cinematic scenery shots, or high action animated special effects. It does have performance chemistry, as Hart and Johnson work well together. The storyline is a fairly basic but it’s fun, and the character development is shallow to say the best. When taking this all into account it doesn’t matter, because it works. The film does have a good message for children about bullying, and how that can affect those involved. Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses) plays a crucial small role as Trevor, Bob’s bully, who conveys this message across well.
When you deconstruct the characters and the acting, Dwayne Johnson plays the deadly CIA agent well. It is awkward watching him try to play the gawky bullied kid. His confidence and presence on-screen, makes it difficult for him to pull it off. The same applies with Kevin Hart in reverse. Although a funny man, he can’t pull off the cool popular high school legend. This may be what the director was trying to portray with his actor choices, but with the story you can’t tell.
Throughout the movie it is noticeable that the supporting cast are trying not to laugh. You can see they are finding it hard to keep a straight face. Amy Ryan looks like she had the hardest time not laughing during scenes, because at times you will see her struggling not to smile or laugh, which can be distracting.
Overall Central Intelligence is a good, extremely funny movie, that doesn’t go overboard in regards to violence and adult content. Therefore, teenagers will also like this film, I know my teenage daughter did, and I’m sure your teenagers will like it too. Make sure you stick around at the end for the blooper reel during the final credits.
Rating 1-10 ( 1 = very poor, 10 = excellent)
Cinematography = 6
Storyline = 7
Characters & Acting = 6
Comedic Content = 10
Overall = 7
