Keeping Up With The Joneses Serves As Being A Generic Spy And Action Comedy That's Kept Afloat By Its Talented Cast

       

      One of the key elements that can make a comedy successful is the uniqueness behind its plot, which allows the main cast to exercise their talents as being both charismatic and comedic actors. One of the most clever and generally successful type of comedies are those that are Spy themed with both its concept, as well as its main cast making the whole experience a thoroughly fun and entertaining one. With Keeping Up With The Joneses, the plot is ideally crafted to work as being a Spy comedy with it bearing similarities to films such as Mr And Mrs Smith, Date Night, This Means War, Game Night, and True Lies. With a plot like the one Joneses carries that blends both elements of the Spy genre as well as action and romance, one would assume that the film would end up being as successful as the other films mentioned. Surprisingly that wasn't the case as the film not only flopped at the box office grossing only $14 million domestically on a budget of $40 million, but was critically panned by critics upon its release. Despite the films underperformance, the end result serves as being a fairly decent effort and ultimately undeserving of the type of reception it received. While it can be argued that Keeping Up With The Joneses comes across as being a bit too formulaic and borrows heavily from the other films mentioned, it ultimately works as being a fun-spirited and goofy comedy that's​ not only a hybrid of all the key genres merged into its story, but is ultimately made watchable due to its main cast regardless of how generic the rest of the film appears.

      The plot for Keeping Up With The Joneses centers around an ordinary boring couple (Played by Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher), discovering that their flashy new neighbors (Played by Jon Hamm and Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot) aren't who they appear to be with them being revealed as spies, ultimately making both couples embroiled in international espionage. The plot for Keeping Up With The Joneses is nothing groundbreaking and may indeed come across as feeling relatively generic, but the concept is decent enough to allow it to be a charming and reasonably entertaining comedy with both its talented and well-established cast making it feel fresh and often hilarious to watch. The film nicely waves elements of a Spy thriller together with humor, action, and romance that makes it feel like an ideal Friday night film to watch. The film knows what it wants to be which is nothing more than being hilarious entertainment, and manages to do so with its cast being the main element that makes both the story and overall film work. What Keeping Up With The Joneses carries that makes it a genuinely fun experience despite its script often making it feel like a by-the-numbers action-comedy that lacks innovativeness, is the charm its concept allows it to possess with both the performances and action making for an experience that succeeds as being harmless and passable entertainment, even if the end result doesn't fully live up to the maximum potential of its clever concept.

      Whereas the concept of Keeping Up With The Joneses presents audiences with a relatively fun scenario, it's the energy and enthusiasm of the films main cast that make it appear as being both believable and hilarious. The cast of both talented and funny actors appeals with the ensemble possessing great comedic timing, as well as being able to improv comedic bits during scenes of intended humor. Both Zack Galifianakis and Isla Fisher are perfectly cast and convincing in their roles at playing Jeff and Karen Gaffney, a bland married couple with too much time on their hands after sending their young kids away to camp with both struggling to find some new excitement in their lives, welcoming in their new neighbors with them soon suspecting that the newbies appear all too perfect with there being more to them than meets the eye. Galifianakis and Fisher manage to make their characters likable enough with them bringing a great deal of charisma to their roles. The same can equally be said with John Hamm and Gal Gadot in their roles of playing the suspicious new neighbors Tim and Natalie Jones, with them appearing as being both a welcoming and flawlessly attractive couple, who appear as if they can do no wrong along with being more concerned with keeping up with appearances while searching for information regarding their mission as spies. Both Hamm and Gadot play their parts very well and manage to share strong chemistry not just at playing lovers/spies, but also with Galifianakis and Fishers characters. All four actors bring some much-needed charm and spark to a script that's largely devoid of both with the side actors adding to the overall fun experience such as Matt Walsh and Maribeth Monroe as Jeff's friends Dan and Meg Craverston with Patton Oswalt in a surprisingly funny yet minimal role as the films main antagonist Bruce Springstine/Scorpion, as well as Kevin Dunn as MBI's head of security and Jeff's co-worker Carl Pronger. The cast for Keeping Up The The Joneses is a strong one, and is ultimately the main sole reason that anyone should watch it as everyone does their best to make the most of a rather bland script, that contains both hit-and-miss bits of humor. The actors all work well together as an ensemble with each receiving their key moments to shine in the film regardless of how stereotypical their characters often come across as being. Despite how one feels about the rest of the film as a whole, it can be agreed upon that the cast made their strongest and most noblest attempt to make the most of their experience with them ultimately creating an atmosphere that manages to be both goofy and warm-hearted.

      Whereas the acting stands as being one of the films strongest points, the directing by Greg Mottola comes across as being standard for a typical action comedy flick with the film being given a tone that makes it feel like a Spy film mixed with being a romantic comedy. The films action sequences are well-handled and relatively clean in both the violence and blood department given the films PG-13 rating. They never come across as being particularly thrilling nor amazing to watch, but they're serviceable within the confines of the story. Mottola supplies the action with mostly explosions and gunfire to keep in line with both the Spy aspect of the story, as well as it's family-oriented rating. The film also carries moments that spices up the story and ultimately making it feel sexualized such as a scene involving both Isla Fisher and Gal Gadot's characters being caught together in a fitting room wearing nothing but lingerie, that's later followed by a sequence in which they share a passionate kiss in an effort to distract the bad guys. Mottola keeps the laughs, action, and story moving at a relatively fast-paced for its 100 minute running time. The films music does well with complimenting the Spy aspect of the story with the score feeling like a combination of Mr. And Mrs. Smith meets Date Night. As a whole, the directing of the film falls within the category of being effective with Mottola presenting the story with an atmosphere that's both absurdly fun as well as being ridiculously goofy for audiences. 

      The one area of the film that both works and falls short of its full potential is the screenplay written by Michael Lesieur. The script is at its strongest when boasting interesting themes regarding long-term relationships and friendships with a positive message that encourages audiences to not judge a book by its cover, along with friendships being born under the most unusual circumstances if those involved allow it. The screenplay for Keeping Up With The Joneses has something it wants to say regarding both marriages and friendships, that's buried within the action and comedic aspects of the story with its biggest issue being that it doesn't do the best job of exploring them as the concept is interesting, but the overall story comes across as being both cliched and predictable. Outside of Galifianakis and Fisher proving that they can make the most of being given characters who come across as being relatively flat, that's ultimately how their characters feel with the audience never truly becoming invested in their marriage dilemma once their kids are shipped off to camp. Hamm and Gadot's characters also feel the same, though the idea that the former is tired of his job of being a Spy is a noble attempt to make their characters appear to be more down to earth and relatable. There isn't much difference with the side characters as everyone else feels like stereotypical generic ones, that you often find in an action comedy. Patton Oswalt's character is too over-the-top and minimal of a part for audiences to genuinely care that he's the bad guy, with the same being said about Kevin Dunn's character and Jeff's co-worker Dan. Other themes that the script teases or plays with are stress of one's job, anxiety, disatisfaction with one's job profession as evidenced by Hamm's character, the desire to spice things up in one's marriage as evidenced by Gadot's character encouraging Fisher to make herself more lustful towards her husband, secrets regarding both Hamm and Gadot's character not telling their neighbors the truth about their real job professions with Gadot's character later arguing with Hamm about not being truthful regarding his tiredness of being a Spy, expectations, perfection, depression, honesty with each other in relationships with Hamm and Gadot's couple serving as a prime example, and morality. The main issue with the writing for Keeping Up With The Joneses that's become common with many action comedies with appealing stars, is how reliant it becomes on the talent of its main stars in order for it to work with little effort going into making the story feel less predictable and more exciting, while still managing to be hilarious and heartfelt. 

      Despite the films main shortcomings regarding its writing, Keeping Up With The Joneses manages to pass as being charming, fun-spirited, and light-hearted entertainment that's often funny largely thanks to its strong cast who manage to make it feel fresh. It's not as fleshed out and well-executed as it could've been had stronger effort went into making it, but it stands as being a fairly satisfying fun escape for audiences who are looking for an ideal distraction for an hour and a half. The casting for the film is its strongest asset with Galifianakis, Fisher, Hamm, and Gadot all proving to be pitch-perfect choices for their parts with the latter two rounding out a strong set of comedic talents. The story their given is predictable and borrows heavily from other films with similar narratives, but they manage to make an entertaining experience out of it with good old fashioned laughs accompanying it, as well as thoughtful themes regarding marriage, identity, and friendships. Could the film have explored these themes more effectively? Absolutely, but audiences still manage to get the gist of the plot and get a kick out of the films logic which says that living in a Surburban cul-de-sac neighborhood isn't always a boring experience. Those who enjoy fast-paced and goofy action-comedies with doses of both charm and hear to them such as Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Game Night, and Date Night will find a sizable amount of enjoyment out of Keeping Up With The Joneses, even if it manages to feel a bit too familiar at times. If anything else, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed for its main cast who ultimately make it worth watching as well as it serving as being a reasonable time waster.

Final Verdict: For action comedy fans as well as those of the films main cast, Keeping Up With The Joneses provides predictable yet fun entertainment.

The Hitman's Bodyguard Thrives On The Strength Of Its Main Stars Who Elevate It To The Status Of Being Decent Fun

 

      When it comes to making action buddy comedies, the filmmakers behind them often rely on the films chosen stars to perform the main body of work in regards to making each respective story an extremely fun and satisfying ride, even if the films often feel as if they're coasting on the backs of their cleverly well-casted duos. With The Hitman's Bodyguard, the filmmakers choose to capitalize on the star talents of Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds and Pulp Fiction's Samuel L. Jackson with the two making for an unusual pairing, which adds some much-needed flare to a script that's heavily reliant on both generic elements and subplots from other films within the genre. The Hitman's Bodyguard serves as being an average action and buddy comedy, that's ultimately made entertaining to watch due to the hilarious banter of its main stars, who are often used to deflect from the stories overreliance​ on cliched elements from other numerous films that walk similar beats.

      The plot for The Hitman's Bodyguard centers around a bodyguard (Played by Ryan Reynolds) whose down on his luck after failing to prevent the assassination of a high-powered client. He finds himself guarding a notorious hitman (Played by Samuel L. Jackson) whose in the process of being transported to the Hague to testify against the Belarusian president (Played by Gary Oldman). Looking at the storyline for The Hitman's Bodyguard, one can see that there's nothing particularly groundbreaking nor innovative about it as its concept has been done before by other filmmakers. Despite the lack of originality, the film manages to succeed largely thanks to the unexpected chemistry that both Reynolds and Jackson bring to the screen along with the welcoming presence of Gary Oldman and Selma Hayek in supporting roles. As the film shows, both main actors are the sole reason that The Hitman's Bodyguard provides audiences with a good time as being ridiculous entertainment that's surprisingly witty, appropriately over-the-top, and smoothly acted with both energy and enthusiasm from its main stars. Whereas the execution of the story falls within the category of being generic, it's the presence of its main stars as well as the films impressively directed action sequences and comic book style fun, that ultimately make it worthwhile in terms of viewing.

      The key element that makes The Hitman's Bodyguard as explosive and entertaining as it comes across, is the enormous amount of silliness and energy that it's main cast brings to the table with the life of the film coming from the fantastic teaming up of both Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson on screen together. This is a pairing that audiences wouldn't immediately think of nor put together, but the films casting director deserves major props for imagining the combination because it effectively works here and is fantastic. Ryan Reynolds continues to impress audiences with his charisma with him playing Michael Bryce, a former triple A rated executive protection agent and CIA officer. Reynolds makes his character likable and serves as being a fitting sidekick to Jackson's, despite appearing as being a bit of a pushover in comparison. Samuel L. Jackson is equally good as Darius Kincaid/Evans, one of the Kincaid world's most notorious hitmen. As solid as Reynolds is in his role, Jackson carries the higher ground with his part with him being allowed to do his best acting which is to be Samuel L. Jackson. Both men share tremendous chemistry and stand as being the films main strongest point with it often struggling when they aren't around. Though his role is more serious in comparison to the main leads, Gary Oldman proves effective as Vladislav Dukhovich, the dictatorial President of Belarus who serves as being the films main antagonist. When both Reynolds and Jackson aren't on the screen, Oldman commands it though his role is smaller in comparison which makes him feel a bit wasted given his range. Selma Hayek manages to be a fun surprise with her minimal role as Jackson's wife Sonia Kincaid. The script doesn't allow her to do much given her characters circumstances but the moments that she's on screen, she manages to steal the show with her character bits. Elodie Yung gives a notable performance as Michael's ex-girlfriend and Interpol agent Amelia Roussel, who shows conflicting feelings towards her ex. As a whole, the cast for The Hitman's Bodyguard plays a large role in the film being reasonably solid entertainment for audiences with everyone attempting to bring a sense of charm, as well as professionalism to the production. As noteworthy as the performances from the supporting cast come across, it's the work of both Reynolds and Jackson that make the whole experience worth sitting through even if the plot doesn't particularly offer anything new or exciting.

      The films directing by Patrick Hughes ranges as being relatively standard for this type of film with him impressing with the films action sequences, while letting the actors do a significant chunk of the work in regards to bringing the story to life and making it genuinely fun to watch. He gives the film a comic book style level of violence, that adds to the appeal of the plot with him rightfully giving the story its R rating, allowing it to be edgy. The film is well-shot with cinematography that makes it appear both flashy, as well as being visually appealing to look at with the film containing some beautiful shots of Europe with the Amsterdam action sequence being a well-executed piece of action choreography. The pacing is quick from the start with the film being tightly edited. The story especially jumps into hyper-drive when the audience discovers that the two are former mortal enemies. The films violence is edited quick to appear as being fast-paced, particularly the sequences involving shootouts where bullets are shown traveling through characters with quick glimpses of gore that reinforce the films R rating. The directing that Patrick Hughes gives the film aims to match the over-the-top nature of the plot with him throwing exotic settings at the audience as well as chase sequences involving motorcycles, boats, and cars mixed with good old-fashioned shootout sequences to provide audiences with a genuinely satisfying experience full of solid popcorn entertainment. For the most part, he succeeds here despite his directing doing nothing impressive outside of the action sequences and generally feeling like an average action comedy flick, that largely relies on its main stars in order to be successful. It also doesn't help that the films script isn't that strong to begin with.

      The screenplay written by Tom O' Connor is where the film ultimately suffers as the story lacks both creativity and boldness to present audiences with something fresh with the end result coming across as being extremely formulaic. The writing appears to be rather bland outside of the witty dialogue between its two main stars with the main plot feeling shallow. The films main message saying that ones instincts should always be trusted, doesn't feel thoroughly explored for it to be plainly visible to the audience. With the exception of Reynolds and Jackson's characters, the side characters all feel like stereotypical ones that only operate within the mechanisms of the plot with no real personalities being given to them. Besides being linked to the main characters, audiences simply don't find themselves caring much about either Selma Hayek's character or Elodie Yung's as audience aren't given much interaction with their characters to be thoroughly developed. The same can also be said regarding Gary Oldman's character with his part coming across as being a one-dimensional villain, whom the audience are supposed to buy as being both fearful and intimidating without much background given to him as being a dictatorish figure. There's nothing about the plot for The Hitman's Bodyguard that allows it to standout from other action comedies nor get the audience to become invested in the storyline outside of the film focusing on its main characters. The filmmakers place so much emphasis on them as a winning duo for the story, that the films energy feels as if it stalls whenever they exit the screen and the film goes back to its basic plot, showing just how much the film relies on and ultimately is able to work based on both their talents and chemistry alone. For an action-packed and comedic storyline which aims to appeal to the fanbases of two famous movie stars, one would think that much more effort would go into writing a script that's worthy of their sheer talents, not feeling beneath it. Unfortunately it feels as if the latter happens here as the script lacks both the creativity and depth to make it work as being something truly special rather than being forgettable work.

      Overall, The Hitman's Bodyguard isn't a terrible film in any sense of the word but it also doesn't manage to be a great one. It ultimately falls within the category of being passable to average entertainment thanks largely to the unique pairing of its main stars. The film is essentially a recycling of all the familiar tropes of a traditional action buddy comedy with nothing new or compelling being added to the mix. When the film is focused on its two main figures, it works and manages to elevate itself into being something that's fairly decent to watchable. When they're not around, the story struggles and becomes uninspiring with the audience begging the film to bring Reynolds and Jackson back. The film knows that it isn't anything high-art, and aims to deliver some solid popcorn entertainment with audiences being expected to excuse the mediocrity of the story because of the fact that Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are the main stars. It aims to be well-received on the basis of its main duo being a neat setup, that the rest of the film becomes painful to watch in regards to how little effort went into trying to add more depth to its story rather than recycling old plot twists and subplots, that audiences have seen before in other movies. The charismatic performances of its leading men go a long way in regards to making the film something that's able to be considered as being fairly enjoyable to watch, but doesn't particularly make it a good nor strong film as a whole. It just falls within the category of being okay with both the main cast saving it from being a total waste of time. Not even the films desperate attempts to outdo every previous plot twist set before it succeeds in capturing the audiences shock or attention. This is a film that coasts too much on the strength of its key players, and ultimately suffers from an extreme bad case of painful mediocrity. No one who watches this will find it to be neither a remarkable nor artsy piece of work, but those looking to experience both a wild and whacky ride with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in the leading roles will find it to be understandably fun under the right conditions of watching it as both actors appear to be at home with this type of film in terms of playing their roles. They truly are the only reasons anyone should ever give this flick a watch as nothing else about it works in terms of being memorable. One hopes that any future sequels that Reynolds, Jackson, or Hayek pursue will have more thought being put into their stories with much stronger scriptwriters, that'll rightfully give each star more to work off of next time.

Final Verdict: Fans of both Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and buddy action comedies in general will find The Hitman's Bodyguard to be a passably fun experience that's powered by its main stars.

Central Intelligence Is A Bland Action Comedy That's Made Entertaining By Its Main Leads

     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.

Robin Hood Gives Audiences A Pointless Reboot That Lacks The Thrills and Suspense Of Its Iconic Hero

      Whereas Hollywood is dominated by comic book films and sequels, there's also a long list of unnecessary remakes or reimaginings of classic stories which have already told far more effectively on film. These films have no other reason to exist other then the studios misguided insistence that audiences want to see these films. That appears to be the case with 2018's Robin Hood with the film serving as being a retelling of the classic story that absolutely no one asked for. The newest version aims to take the story and modernize it for today's generation with an enhancing of the films action and special effects. Despite its attempts to give the story a new type of makeover, the end result feels like a pointless cash grab of a legendary tale that audiences know by heart. The new version of Robin Hood brings nothing new to the table in regards to being groundbreaking nor inventive with its story. While the film looks appealing visually, it lacks the heart and thrills of the previous adaptations that made the story a such a timeless tale that filmmakers unnecessarily feel the need to revisit every generation.

                           

      The plot for the newest Robin Hood centers around the Nottingham hero Robin of Luxley (Played this time by Kingsman's Taron Egerton) acting as a crusader who returns from the Holy Land to find that both his lands and property have been confiscated and left in ruins. He begins a revolution against the local corrupt church authorities along with the Sheriff of Nottingham himself. To audiences in general, the plot for Robin Hood is nothing new or original as everyone whose seen the Disney animated film or all the numerous live-action retellings, that came after know the gist of the new films plot. What the filmmakers of the new Robin Hood aspire to do is reintroduce the same story to a new generation of audiences, while making the action faster and more appealing as eye-candy. It also benefits that the films new cast is appealing with Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan, Tom Minchin, and Ben Mendelsohn all being quality actors whose talents ultimately feel wasted on an unnecessary reinvigoration, that lacks the thrills and excitement of the main hero it glorifies. Instead, the newest Robin Hood feels like a wannabe Batman Begins style version of the story mixed with 2001's A Knights Tale and CW's Arrow. There's nothing shown in the newest retelling that audiences haven't seen before, which brings them to beg the question of why even bother with another attempt to reimagine the Robin Hood story if the filmmakers were never going to take the story in any type of new direction.  The film serves as being a complete waste of audiences time along with its talented cast as they could've been working on something more worthy of their dedication and efforts to make the film a satisfying experience for audiences. The newest Robin Hood desperately tries to justify its existence as being a reboot that's​ somehow required for the legendary character, but can't bring itself to give any compelling reasons on why it was even necessary to bother with retelling the story or why audiences should even care to watch it, as the story has been both done to death by much stronger filmmakers. 

                          

      One of the films few redeeming qualities is the strength of its main cast with them delivering performances, which allow them to make the most of their experience despite not being enough to save the film ultimately. Taron Egerton has proven himself through other works to be a highly dependable and quality actor with him making for an inspired choice as Robin of Luxley. Despite his casting appearing as promising, he only manages to be passable as he lacks the charisma of previous actors who played the part of Robin Hood. Jamie Foxx makes the most of his role as a fierce Arabian Warrior and Robin's best friend Yahya ibn Umar, with his character aiding Luxley in his quest after losing his son at the hands of the corrupt Church. Egerton and Foxx showcase fairly solid chemistry, though it's nothing amazing to write home about. Eve Hewson is appealing as Robin's love interest Maid Marian with her romance with Egerton coming across as being relatively believable. Ben Mandelsohn manages to deliver a strong performance as the films main antagonist, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Whereas the film struggles around both him and Egerton, Mandelsohn is able to steal the show with his characters menacing presence. The rest of the supporting cast give noteworthy performances with Tim Minchin as team Robin's goofy yet loyal ally Friar Tuck, Jamie Dornan as Marion's love interest, local politician, and Robin's rival Will Tillman. Although Dornan's character comes across as being completely generic and predictable, he still manages to deliver a serviceable performance. F. Murray Abraham leaves a likeable impression as the Cardinal Franklin despite his character having a minimal part. The cast for Robin Hood is strong with the film boasting some serious talent, which ultimately makes it hugely disappointing that they didn't have a script that's more worthy of their talents to work off. All of the actors shown in the film are capable of delivering fantastic work when the right material is handed to them. None of the acting in Robin Hood stands out as being truly phenomenal work with the performances as a whole ranging from being serviceable to decent work with the best acting coming from Egerton, Foxx, and Mandelsohn. Given how strong of an actor that Egerton has proven himself to be, it's a shame that the script isn't developed well enough for him to showcase his full range as a talented dramatic actor.

                           

      The films directing by Otto Bathurst proves to be flashy with him imitating a style of filmmaking that's similar to Guy Ritchie's. Given that this is his directorial debut, one can see the hard effort that Bathurst puts into making this latest adaptation of the story work but it ultimately doesn't in the end. Bathurst aims to make this a Batman Begins style reboot for the character with him making extra sure that the action is faster and more amped up than anything that's been shown before with the character. On a technical side, the film is appealing with the costume and set designs both effectively matching the time period of the story, adding a rich flavor to it. The film is well shot with cinematography that consists of quick cuts, slow-motion shots, and frentic editing that makes the arrow action sequences feel quick and larger-than-life. The pace is steady for the films 116 minute running time but Bathurst ensures that the story remains action heavy with largely impressive action sequences to maintain the audiences attention as both the story and characters progress. Bathurst's efforts here prove to be serviceable as he manages to bring the world of Nottingham to life in a fashion, that appears stunning to audiences while carrying a feeling of grittiness to it that reeks of a Guy Ritchie flick. The film tries so hard to imitate that filmmakers style of directing, that one would almost think he directed it if they didn't look at the directors name in the credits. While Bathurst does well with crafting exciting and thrilling action sequences, he fails to put his own stamp on the film with it feeling as if he's imitating someone else's style of directing rather than creating his own vision of Robin Hood's tale. The film often feels as if it aims to maintain the audiences interest by stacking up the films action sequences and making them as impressive as possible without putting the same amount of effort into its screenplay. Bathurst clearly could've done more here but prioritizes the action without properly taking the time to flesh out the story and characters. At times, the action often feels like a curtain to distract the audience from the realization that he's not even trying to.

                           

      The films biggest downfall lies within its painfully cliched script written by Ben Chandler (Who also penned the story) and David James Kelly. The script goes to extreme lengths to modernize the story for today's audiences, while managing to tack on every predictable and generic subplot that's been done before in past Robin Hood and vigilante style films. The romantic triangle between Robin, Marion, and Will feels completely forced and predictable with audiences knowing that Marion will choose Robin over him in the end, especially when she discovers that the former is the hood standing up to the corrupt church and helping the poor. The film attempts to introduce an interesting subplot involving both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham being friends with the latter not knowing of the others secret identity until finding out later that his friend is the one defying his rule. Lucky's deceitfulness in not revealing his identity makes him come across as being a Bruce Wayne type persona. While such a subplot has potential to be good on paper, the execution of it is poorly handled with the Sheriff not appearing to be shocked nor enraged at the revealing of Luxley to be the hood he's pursuing. The characterization of the characters feel both one-dimensional as well as being cardboard cutouts of other characters shown in different movies with Tim Minchin playing the generic loyal companion of Robin Hood, and Marion's​ character being shaped to be the young rebellious and idealistic love interest to the main hero, who secretly still harbors love for Robin's character while conveniently having no clue of his secretive and noble deeds. The Sheriff Of Nottingham doesn't carry much of a character arc or personality with the film insisting that the audience despise him for the sake of him being the Sheriff of Nottingham without much being shown for the audience to totally despise his character. Jamie Foxx's character carries an interesting arc with him beginning on opposite sides of Luxley with him being distrustful of the young hero before befriending and training him to take revenge on the church. The newest version of the Robin Hood story goes out of its way to make the title character younger than most adaptations, while giving him a tragic backstory that draws instant comparisons to Martin Campbell's The Mask Of Zorro. This version of the classic story has Robin returning home to discover that the evil Sheriff of Nottingham has seized his family estate and taken his love away from him. Vengeful of the horrific acts committed upon him and others, he goes on a Bruce Wayne/ Batman Begins style training montage to learn how to efficiently fight back against his oppressors while instilling hope with the people of Nottingham. The biggest problem with the newest Robin Hood story is the film isn't quite sure what it wants to be with it wanting to be a definitive retelling of the story while managing to go out of its way to set up a sequel that audiences will never see (Nor do they wish to given the films poor reception and box office returns), yet the film borrows subplots and elements from other films with stories that cover similar themes such as power, greed, vengeance, hope, freedom, and justice. The script also draws comparisons to today's modern political landscape with the Sheriff of Nottingham being made to represent a Donald J. Trump type figure with the corrupt church being modeled to represent a more current establishment that's based around fear mongering, the misleading of information, the thirst for absolute power, stealing, and taxes. The message that the new Robin Hood aspires to drive home with both its unbalanced narrative and story-structure, is that one is only powerless if they believe they are powerless. With a fitting message that matches the courage, heroism, and bravery of the films main heroic character, it's a genuine disappointment that the script doesn't feel as inspired as the films overall message.

                             

      The biggest question that one will have when watching the newest Robin Hood is who was this film intended for. One can see the intent behind the filmmakers in drawing comparisons to today's world with the films numerous themes, but the film isn't quite sure which target audience it aims for. The action is excessively handled to the point where it feels over-the-top and unrealistic with the obvious conclusion being drawn that the film aims for a young teenager audience (Which is also evidenced by the making of the Robin Hood character to be much younger than his previous film adaptations). The switching out of the traditional green attire and the placing of black leather jackets on the main characters, also gives off the notion that the film aims to deliver a newer and hip version of the story for today's youth with the main character feeling like an Arrow type of hero/outlaw vigilante. Besides these minor changes, there's nothing new here that makes the new Robin Hood story particularly groundbreaking nor warrant a new retelling as it only borrows elements from previous works, as well as other vigilante type films to make it whole. The new film lacks any type of charisma and humor to make it appealing rather than feeling like a stale reimagining with no heart or soul behind it. Given how strong of a cast the newest version boasts, the film serves as being a waste of their talents as well as everyone's time and money that could've went to something more creative and genuinely more satisfying than what the filmmakers try to present here. Robin Hood 2018 rightfully earns its place as being one of the years biggest bombs with fans of the characters mythology, as well as both Egerton and Foxx being encouraged to disregard this painfully disappointing attempt at reviving an already well-established character and story and revert to a more entertaining version of the main character. It also manages to make the previous questionable adaptations of the Robin Hood tale look more perfect in comparison like 1991's Prince Of Thieves or Ridley Scott's 2010 critical misfire. The only thing that the new Robin Hood manages to steal is ones time and money that went into watching this mess.

Final Verdict: Fans of Robin Hood and both Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx should most definitely skip the latest reimagining of the Robin Hood story and settle for rewatching Prince Of Thieves instead.