Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart star alongside one another in this spy comedy, Central Intelligence. Hart plays Calvin, an accountant who feels as if he peaked in High School, and Johnson plays Bob, a former High school punching bag who has come a long way... After shedding a couple hundred pounds and becoming The Rock, Bob and Calvin cross paths once again and Calvin is dragged in to a CIA conspiracy. The plot doesn't make a ton of sense, and suspends disbelief for the duration of the runtime. Central Intelligence is harmless and light hearted fun with a good message and great chemistry between Johnson and Hart. However, this movie really is not very funny. Few jokes hit, and when they do its a feeble nudge more than a smack...
Dwayne Johnson's career path has been unorthodox, entertaining and awesome. Failed NFL player to WWE legend to one of Hollywood's most sought after actors... It's been a ride. He's charismatic, talented, and undeniably likable... but he comes off as very annoying in this movie. His character is annoying, and the Rock can't help but be a cloying and childish lumbering mass. He plays off of Hart well, but is still pretty irritating. He plays a damaged man child with issues, but he is more so obnoxious than endearing. Hart is funny in this movie, as usual. There aren't really many written bits in this movie as much as there are situations. Hart's reactions to his ever-complicating situation make up the majority of the movie's funny moments. He remains a genius in terms of being a spastic energizer bunny oozing with charisma and excitement. He does a great job of keeping all eyes on him and being one of the few sources of comedy in this movie. Still though, it seems as if Kevin Hart picks bad projects. I've yet to see him in a really good movie. Maybe some of his movies are enjoyable to some but I still find his overall filmography to be objectively underwhelming. At a certain point, one has to wonder If he's just hitched his wagon to a number of doomed projects, or if he's part of the problem.
"Central Intelligence is harmless and light hearted fun with a good message and great chemistry between Johnson and Hart. However, this movie really is not very funny. Few jokes hit, and when they do its a feeble nudge more than a smack..."
There are scenes in this movie of entertaining action. The action set pieces are creative and fun, but the espionage aspect of the film is arguably where it falters most. It is riddled with glaring plot holes and takes the viewer out of the experience. It's messy and poorly written, simple as that. Not to mention that the hand to hand combat sequences are riddled with a million cuts and some unsavory angles. The editing and camera work is distracting, compounding the fact that the "Spy Thriller" part of this movie is not well organized, or wanted. It takes us away from Johnson and Hart, who make the movie watchable. While Johnson's Bob is irritating for the most part, he still serves as the larger half of the comedic "odd couple" here, quite literally. His character sets into motion the entire film, but also anchors the movie's important message and interesting character arcs. Hart and Johnson's characters feed of of each other and give this movie some actual meaning, even if it isn't that funny. They find what they lack in their own lives, in one another, and that makes the film slightly more engaging.
Ultimately, writing was the film's downfall, the plot being muddled, the Rock's character being more bothersome than funny, and the lack of hard hitting jokes. Still though, the movie's memorandum about self acceptance and its anti-bullying message make it have a positive impact. It definitely has more heart than your average comedy, but ultimately less laughs.