Bromance with a giddy kick and mindless laughs
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Running time: 1hr 48min Starring: Aaron Paul, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart Directed: Rawson Marshall Thurber MOVIEGOERS looking for quick-fix escapism could do worse than Central Intelligence, in which an enjoyably matched Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson star as odd-couple partners in CIA high jinks.
Fast, funny-ish and moderately entertaining, the film is notable for what it spares us. There are no penis jokes; no gags involving farts, diarrhoea or projectile vomit; no faces getting smashed with basketballs or other flying objects; no shouty kids, scolding wives or scantily clad sexpots.
It has been made with a certain level of polish and professionalism. And it capitalises on the chemistry between Hart and Johnson, who convey what seems like genuine delight in each other’s company – something that gives this bromantic diversion a giddy kick.
The movie opens to the harmonies of En Vogue’s My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It) – still glorious after all these years – as Robbie, a hefty Maryland high-schooler, busts a move in the locker-room shower. When he turns to the camera, we see that Robbie is actually Johnson, fattened up via CG trickery in the film’s most conspicuous bit of lowest-common-denominator laugh baiting. Before we can fully appreciate the inanity of this set-up, Robbie is being dragged away by bullies and thrown, naked, into the middle of a school assembly. Luckily, his classmate Calvin (Hart), a popular and kind-hearted jock, is there to hand Robbie his jacket so he can cover up.
Cut to 20 years later, and Calvin’s golden-boy shine has faded. He’s happily married to his high-school sweetheart (Danielle Nicolet) but he’s bored with his accounting job and hits peak frustration when he’s passed over for a promotion. One day Calvin reconnects with Robbie – who now goes by Bob – over Facebook and meets him for a drink. Lo and behold, the overweight sad sack has blossomed into an impressive specimen of beefcake, and still idolises Calvin for that moment of kindness back in the day. After a few beers, some bonding and a bar brawl that reveals Bob’s formidable fighting skills, Bob cryptically tells Calvin that he needs accounting help.
But the next day, a CIA bigwig (Amy Ryan) shows up on Calvin’s doorstep claiming that Bob is a former agent gone rogue – and turned psycho – after killing his partner. A few beats later, Calvin and Bob are holed up in Calvin’s office, a law-enforcement team on the other side of the door waiting to pounce. Their escape, with Bob wheeling a hysterical Calvin around in a mail bin while calmly dispensing with adversaries, is the movie’s highlight.– Hollywood Reporter