Central Intelligence review: ” The comedy is never hilarious and the action is never breathtaking.”

Central Intelligence review: Kevin Hart once again buddies up for more action comedy.

Throughout the vaults of Hollywood studios lay a collection of unfinished photoshopped posters for Kevin Hart films. All Hollywood producers need to do is take one of these posters and photoshop in another star to make a buddy comedy for the ages. Hart’s recent team-ups include Will Ferrell, Josh Gad, and of course Ice Cube in the Ride Along movies. Hart’s not the first person this has happened to and he certainly won’t be the last. This time Hart teams up with Dwayne Johnson, where their names and sizes attribute to the cleverest part of this film, the tagline: Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson.

Calvin Joyner (Hart) was the most popular kid in highschool. He was king of all sports, the best at drama, and was nominated homecoming king. Despite going on to marry his highschool sweetheart and homecoming queen Maggie (Danielle Nicolet), he feels life is lacklustre and hates his job as an accountant. Like an angel answering a prayer Bob Stone (Johnson), formerly Robbie Weirdicht – and overweight boy at high school who went missing after a horrible school prank, reenters Calvin’s life. Now a well built CIA agent, Bob soon drags Calvin into the world of espionage and double agents.

During the production of the film, Johnson and Hart shared Instagram videos and did some great publicity, clearly showing off their chemistry, and thankfully that chemistry is in the film in abundance. Unfortunately the predictable plot turns and humour do not make the best of it. Both Johnson and Hart are charismatic stars and here they play off each other well. Johnson isn’t just the brute force, but is still the insecure geek he was in high school. He may be able to take out a bar full of bullies, but he also loves unicorns and his fanny pack (bumbag to us brits). Meanwhile Hart has lost his cool, but fully expresses that the spy life is not for him. It’s a nice surprise that Hart is more of the straight man than Johnson. Johnson is a delight as a childlike agent who is far too enthusiastic and seems to forget he is now a big muscular machine. In many ways he is a toned down version of Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy, offering us a character who seems unhinged in how he goes about acquiring friendships.

The big problem with Central Intelligence is just how predictable it is, but also how the comedy is never hilarious and the action is never breathtaking. It’s not bad or unenjoyable, but nothing about the film shines. Even the worst comedies (Hot Tub Time Machine 2, 50 Shades of Black), have at least a single memorable joke, and despite laughing more in Central Intelligence, I can barely recall a memorable funny moment, whether that be a line of dialogue or an absurd situation. The action is also very middle of the road, which all combines for a mediocre film of such unoriginality that you can even guess uncredited cameos based on limited information of discussed characters.

If the prospect of seeing Hart and Johnson excites you, then this effort should definitely satisfy your tastes. The stars carry the film and it’s them and their characters you remember at the end of it all. The story, supporting characters, set-pieces, and jokes are just filler for two guys getting along famously. It seems like such a shame that there wasn’t more well rounded material for the guys. Not annoying, not boring, not embarrassing, and not devoid of enjoyment, it’s a forgettable feature that may manage to squeeze out a sequel. Let’s just hope the material is stronger.

Central Intelligence review by Luke Ryan Baldock, June 2016

Central Intelligence is released on 29th June.