When it comes to making successful action comedies, one of the key elements that make them appealing to audiences is the placing of two mismatched yet charismatic stars with both possessing comedic talent, making them an ideal pairing that ends up being one which audiences ultimately become excited to see. These comedic foils, if well matched, can take any concept handed to them and make it work regardless of how silly and unrealistic the story comes across. With Central Intelligence, the filmmakers find their winning duo with the films unlikely pair of stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, taking a largely average script that relies heavily on their surprisingly strong chemistry to work, and making it do so as a hilariously solid effort that works solely based on their hugely entertaining presence in the films main roles. While Central Intelligence doesn't bring anything new or groundbreaking to the genre, it delivers on its promise of providing its audience with mayhem that's both entertaining and fun from start to finish.
The plot for Central Intelligence revolves around a bullied overweight teenager now becoming a well-built CIA agent (Played by Dwayne Johnson), reaching out to his former classmate (Played by Kevin Hart) who went from being the schools star athlete to becoming a nervous accountant now. Revealing his identity of being a CIA agent to his former classmate, he seeks his help in saving the US satellite surveillance system despite his friends reluctance to confront danger, though ultimately finds himself being co-opted as well as involved in a series of intrigues and gunfights. The plot for Central Intelligence comes across as feeling particularly standard for a comedy with many of its subplots feeling generic, but the film is ultimately saved and made watchable largely due to the on-screen presence of both Johnson and Hart. Being a completely awkward matchup that feels as if it comes totally out of left field, the pairing of the two proves to be a clever move that elevates the script into being something that's workable with the two main leads playing with the films goofy yet effective plot. The film ultimately wouldn't work nor pass as being reasonably decent entertainment if it weren't for the strength of its main stars, who provide the film with enough laughs and charisma to overlook the blandness of the plot. Central Intelligence serves as being a comedic buddy-cop vehicle that's designed to work based on the charming presence of its main leads, and should only be both viewed and enjoyed as such. The film won't blow anyone away with its storytelling, but it makes for a solid way to kill two hours if one doesn't have anything else to do in particular.
The filmmakers behind Central Intelligence owe much of its success to it's two main leads, who rightfully become the main attraction of the story (As well as being the only reason to see film). Both Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart are hilariously fun to watch with them completely immersing themselves into the films absurd plot, and having a blast with it. Johnson is absolutely fun and convincing as former bullied and friendless high school student-turned-big bodied CIA agent Bob Stone. He does a great job of conveying Stone's nerdish side, which made him a target for kids to bully him along with switching into both Spy mode, as well as the vulnerable young Bob who was humiliated infront of his peers years prior with him still being traumatized by it. As hilarious as Johnson manages to be in his role, Kevin Hart delivers an equally charismatic and witty performance as the former star athlete turned accountant Calvin Joyner, who faces marriage issues upon encountering Bob again and being shocked by his former classmates transformation into a massive body-building Spy. Hart possesses great comedic timing and enthusiasm, that's equal to Johnson's with the two being a terrific duo for the film with nearly all of their jokes landing without feeling overlong or cheesy. Both actors make for being the best comedic partners and do brilliant jobs of selling the plot to audiences, regardless of how generic it feels. The rest of the supporting cast does well with working off the energy of the main stars with Amy Ryan giving a notable performance as CIA agent Pamela Harris, who suspects that Bob is a rogue agent. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul makes the most of his minimal role as Bob's former partner Phil Stanton, who's believed to be dead after being killed in action. Despite the majority of Paul's scenes being mainly flashbacks, he still manages to leave a likable impression with audiences overall with him trying to add depth to his role. Danielle Nicolet also manages to shine with her small role as Calvin's high school sweetheart turned wife Maggie Joyner with Joyner's character being completely clueless regarding her husbands situation with Bob, and wanting her marriage with Calvin to be stronger with them overcoming their issues of it appearing rather bland. As a whole, the cast for Central Intelligence has much to do with why the film works as being passable entertainment with everyone attempting to make the most of a surprisingly bland script with both Johnson and Hart getting the farthest with their lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry, that goes a long way with making the whole experience ultimately enjoyable to watch with the rest of the cast complimenting their efforts.
As impressive as the main casts efforts come across in making the film watchable for audiences, the same can't be said about its directing with the effort being put in by Rawson Marshall Thurber being a serviceable one at best. Thurber doesn't bring anything groundbreaking nor new to the table with him relying heavily on the strength of his main stars to make the foundation of the story work. Where Thurber does succeed at is giving his two leading men enough freedom to play their roles accordingly, while developing the proper comedic timing that makes their duo such a highly effective one. Besides that, the film carries the same generic style that many comedies possess with the cinematography, though sharp, being nothing particular to write home about. The story moves at a brisk pace for a traditional action comedy with the audience getting the films laughs in, and ultimately being released before the story feels as if it's unnecessarily dragged out. With a film like Central Intelligence, the directing doesn't need to be anything impressive nor memorable as the story relies heavily on the strength of its main leads to do much of the work. Thurber's strategy here is basic with him pointing the camera at the main stars, and letting their chemistry speak for itself. One can say that Thurber is on cruise control here with his strategy always being to let the energy and enthusiasm of its main cast be the films pulse. Thankfully, that ends up being the case as nothing else here impresses or stands out. The films action sequences are decent but never manage to make up for the lack of intelligence the films script carries.
The screenplay also written by Thurber with Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen, provides the concept that both Johnson and Hart successfully play off, but doesn't deliver an enormous amount of depth, leaving both actors to fill in the blanks with their performances. At best, the writing comes across as bearable with the biggest issue with the script being how underdeveloped it feels with it not appearing to take any risks with neither its story or characters. The scripts themes regarding personal appearance, bullying, respect, and self-confidence despite being important ones in the story, are barely touched upon with the films message saying that bullying should be stopped within all levels of society, coming across as being a mixed one given that Dwayne Johnson's character has to bulk up to appreciate himself along with finally being accepted by others. Every element or subplot presented here feels as if its been lifted from other films with similar plots with nearly everything feeling familiar and uninspiring to audiences in regards to the writing. The scripts shortcomings in terms of plot development shows just how much influence that the films main leads have in making the overall effort work as a whole with their fantastic duo managing to deflect from much of the stories shallowness. The script carries subplots that come across as being both generic and predictable for the action-comedy storyline such as Hart's character being revealed to have problems regarding his marriage with his experience with Bob strengthening their relationship in the end. Another cliched subplot is the CIA misguidedly believing Bob to be the main antagonist of the story with it later being revealed that his old partner (Played by Aaron Paul) is not only alive but faked his death, and is the actual culprit behind trying to compromise the US satellite system. The characters are presented as being stereotypical figures, who are predictable to read with no real depth or surprise twist to accompany them. The script for Central Intelligence delivers nothing that audiences haven't seen before with this type of comedic genre, but the films well-written and playful humor ends up ultimately saving it. Whereas some of the films jokes may come across as feeling too over-the-top and raunchy, they ultimately add to the silliness of the story that the main characters find themselves in with the overall experience being a fairly entertaining one if audiences can overlook the numerous shortcomings of the script.
As a film, Central Intelligence doesn't offer audiences anything special and will leave them wishing that more effort was put into the writing department to make both the characters and story somewhat more interesting. However, as a comedic piece, the film delivers solely based on the clever duo the filmmakers provide with Johnson and Hart filling the screen with numerous moments of laughter and gunfire (The latter has more to do with Johnson's character being a Spy). It's interesting to watch the filmmakers attempt to make Dwayne Johnson appear to be a bit uncool with his character given his vulnerability in regards to being bullied in High School, but it helps in adding to the heart that he brings to the story. Harts character is also shown to have a more toned down presence from his usual obnoxious behavior with the end result paying off as the two succeed in slightly playing against type, and making for a pair of well-matched comedic foils. This is a film that shouldn't be watched with one looking for in-depth and clever scriptwriting as the latter is non-existent here. The concept of Central Intelligence is one that carries a genuinely fun hook, but the end result is a bare-bones script that feels as if it deliberately aims to coast the film on the back of both Johnson and Hart with fun cameos from other comedic stars such as Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, making their way into the mix. The film should be enjoyed based on the merits of its strong leading men, who can take what's essentially a weak script and make it into something that's ultimately workable with the end result serving as being a passable form of entertainment. One hopes that much more effort goes into making the planned story for Central Intelligence 2 stronger as the writing here leaves much to be desired.
Final Verdict: For fans of both Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart as well as action comedy fans, Central Intelligence works as being a passable form of entertainment mainly due to the surprisingly charismatic performances of its main leads.
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