Many comedy movies boast a great cast and hilarious story, but Central Intelligence from 2016 did all this and more, as Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart made the perfect double act for this film about espionage, action, and friendship.
Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson in Central Intelligence / Picture Credit: Universal Pictures
Central Intelligence follows the story of Calvin Joyner (Hart), who, in high school, was the perfect guy. Top of all his classes, great at sports, popular, and had his dream girl, Maggie (Danielle Nicolet).
However, 20 years later, he’s an accountant who doesn’t exactly love his job. Now married to Maggie, he confides in her about how dull he believes his life to be. This all changes when Bob Stone (Johnson) enters his life.
After asking to meet up not long before their school reunion, and being completely unrecognisable from his high school days, Bob asks Calvin for help with some accounts.
The next morning, Calvin is met by the CIA who are on the hunt for Bob as they say he stole important information; Bob says he’s done nothing wrong, and is in fact on his own mission. But who to believe?
The movie follows Bob after he drags Calvin into his affairs, paving the way for the perfect combination of comedy and action.
Both Johnson and Hart bounce off each other so well in this movie, and every scene has some brilliantly-crafted moments of hilarity. The script is so well-written and is highlighted through the pair’s brilliant acting.
Their opposing personalities, Bob being a rather erratic and energetic, and Calvin being jittery and used to a normal day, is the cause for much of the comedy that surrounds this film.
The arguments they have and the physical humour ties in so well; Calvin’s nervous and almost explosive anger makes him the perfect person to star alongside Bob’s large, muscular frame, as the opposing differences make for quite the pair.
Bob is literally everywhere and Calvin cannot seem to get rid of him, not due to lack of effort, which shows that Bob is rather annoying and naive, and suggests that he’s a little... nuts.
However, Bob’s persistence and constant absent-mindedness stresses Calvin out to the point where he screams and shouts, only for Bob to agree with whatever he says, annoying Calvin further.
Calvin’s involvement and skills are shown throughout the film, and you can see that the more the movie goes on, the less boring Calvin’s life gets. Despite him wanting no involvement (mainly due to the fact that Bob freaks him out), he begins to work things out and actually thinks about the situation.
This character development is done so well and so subtly, that he is still the same character, but with a much different outlook on life.
With the comedy aspect, casting and character development being pretty much perfect, we can’t go without mentioning the plot.
While it can seem a little confusing, it is actually perfectly constructed to leave you intrigued, and curious as to what could happen next.
The people looking for Bob have told Calvin that he is a rogue agent, and will do anything to catch him as they believe him to be highly dangerous.
Bob then tells Calvin that he hasn’t gone rogue, but is trying to find someone known as the Black Badger, who is planning to sell some very sensitive information, so he needs Calvin’s help; the one person he knows he can trust.
Bob has a slight obsession with Calvin, as he admires him for being voted most likely to succeed, being on the sports team, and having a wonderful partner. He also remembers when Calvin was the only person to help him out the day he was pranked (rather horribly) in front of the whole school.
The narrative allows the perfect opportunities for the duo to argue (hilariously), work together (somewhat messily), and eventually, trust each other. Despite Calvin not being sure who’s lying and who isn’t, he still puts his faith in Bob, which is a rather endearing point in an otherwise action-comedy filled feature.
Central Intelligence is the perfect comedy movie for a night in; Johnson and Hart could not be better as a comedy duo, the story is slightly complex and leads you to think about what the truth is, and there is not one single moment of boredom. It’s a must watch!
Watch the trailer for Central Intelligence below!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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Tagged in Dwayne Johnson Kevin Hart Comedy films