Central Intelligence- Film Review
Central Intelligence is a combination of action and comedy. The leading characters Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) and Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson) are funny yet full of action.
Calvin Joyner was voted in high school the guy most likely to succeed but 20 years later he is an ordinary accountant, which is obviously not where he expected to see himself.
As the high school reunion approaches, he tries to make contact with his old schoolmates and someone named Bob Stone contacts him. It happens to be the same guy that was known as Robbie Weirdicht in school. Calvin remembers that he was picked on, as a matter of fact after an extremely nasty prank he left school. Stone was bullied till the last day of his schooling career and after school became a hot CIA agent.
They agree to meet and Calvin is surprised by how much Bob has changed. Bob asks Calvin to help him out to unravel the entries in a specific account. This is something he is good at, seeing that he does accounting for work.
He says yes and the next thing he knows some CIA agents burst into his home looking for Stone, saying he is a rogue agent. Calvin finds out from Agent Pamela Harris that his contact details are the only details that Stone recorded in case of an emergency. She also informs him that Stone does not have any friends or family. She also threatens the safety of Calvin’s wife. Not finding Stone in Calvin’s house, the CIA agents leave.
Later Stone approaches Calvin telling him, he is not the villain, rather he is trying to find a person known as the Black Badger who plans to sell some information that can be disastrous if it lands in the the wrong hands. Stone then says he needs Calvin’s help to prove his own innocence. At this point, the intrigue amplifies with Calvin not knowing whom to believe.
With his wife in danger and a friend in need of his help Calvin has no choice but to tell the CIA where they can find Stone just to save his wife. He decides to help his friend to escape and they find the location where the Black Badger is going sell the codes.
They successfully stop the transaction from taking place and go back just in time for the school reunion where Stone is crowned king of prom and meets the girl he liked back in high school. She evidently likes him too.The movie is funny yet also has a sense of reality because bullies can either make the victim stronger or break him down. Although much of the movie is hilarious, there is a strong underlying message to remain positive and to do the right thing. The rewards in the end make up for the tribulation earlier on. This is a strong recommendation for young viewers and it comes across clearly in Central Intelligence.
Furthermore the mystery at the beginning is really interesting. While the plot develops, there is always this lingering question what happened to this Bob Stone and why all of a sudden the CIA is after him. The only distraction is the interplay between action and comedy but this is an efficient mechanism for the targetted age group to reinforce the message “it doesn’t matter what others think of you, what matters is what you think about yourself.”. Overall, the more offers more than enough to hold your interest and get your attention.
