Central Intelligence is a movie that, on paper, should not work. After all, this film’s central premise is that The Rock is actually awkward and not necessarily ridiculously charming and charismatic. Well, it works. It actually works. And as great as Kevin Hart is in this film, it’s all held together by The Rock.
Yes, the reason why you should watch this film is for Dwayne Johnson. The man has carved out a nice little niche in Hollywood, and I am so glad that this is the case. He pulls off this crazy character so well, and had me smiling from start to finish. Not to be outdone, though, is his partner in crime, Kevin Hart. Hart has had a string of not-so-good films, but that string seems like ancient history here in Central Intelligence. And I cannot deny that I love the chemistry these two have. I really hope Hollywood spots the talent they have here and brings these two together again for future films. The supporting cast is pretty minor but still stellar, with the two female leads killing it in their minor roles. Amy Ryan is amazing as the mysterious CIA agent. She was funny while simultaneously keeping me actually somewhat in the dark as to which side she was really on. Danielle Nicolet was great as well, though sadly her role can be summed up as “the girlfriend.”
Also there is an appearance from one very familiar actor that had me laughing very hard at several points, but I’ll leave that for you to discover. Not gonna lie: this certain cameo was arguably the best moment of the film.
Story-wise this film hit its mark for a comedy. There were a few twists and turns I did not see coming, but there were also a lot of holes all throughout. Still, the most important part of any comedy is, is it funny? The answer here is yes. The only film I’ve laughed at more this year was Ghostbusters, and that’s high praise.
The most massively underrated comedy to have come out this summer, Central Intelligence is held together by two hilarious performances from Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.
If you’re a fan of comedies, Kevin Hart, or The Rock . . . then why are you still reading this?
