If most CIA operations are as disorganized as the plot of “Central Intelligence,” it certainly explains a lot. The movie barely holds together long enough to get to the final scene.
There are two reasons this doesn’t really matter: Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. Skidding above the plot and subsisting entirely on a diet of shtick, these well-matched comic performers make a flimsy premise into generally good company.
As in his “Ride Along” pictures, Hart plays a jittery Everyman, a suburban accountant woefully out of place in the world of law enforcement. Johnson is a former high-school classmate, once bullied but now a rock-hard he-man.
In the movie’s funniest sustained sequence, these two get together after 20 years for a night of uncomfortable male bonding. Hart just wants to get this obligatory evening over with — he’s the former big man on campus taking pity on the school nerd. Johnson jabbers on about his love of unicorns and his workout routine.
Their chemistry together — Johnson totally up for making a fool of himself (the man was a professional wrestler, after all), Hart a master of comedic reactions — makes you regret that a story must eventually be told.
But it does, and it revolves around the usual secret computer codes and flying bullets. (As in all PG-13 movies like this, almost nobody actually gets shot, unless it’s for harmless comic effect.) The former high-school loser is now a highly skilled CIA operative, and he needs an accountant in order to blow up an international spy ring.
Amy Ryan (“Bridge of Spies”) does admirable work as a straight-faced CIA boss, and Danielle Nicolet plays Hart’s patient wife. There’s also a handful of truly well-cast extended cameos, and some of them are good enough surprises not to ruin here.
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber (“We’re the Millers”) cares less about making sense than about setting up his actors. Which mostly means letting the camera run and allowing Kevin Hart to play vocal variations on whatever was written in the screenplay.
Toss in a lesson about how bullies get their comeuppance, and you’ve got just enough to justify an evening’s worth of comedy. Is “Central Intelligence” a classic? No. Is it a passable summer movie? Sure. Will there be future pairings of Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson? Don’t bet against it.
“Central Intelligence” 2½ stars
A breezy summer action-comedy, with Kevin Hart a jittery accountant swept up by CIA agent Dwayne Johnson’s lunatic plans. Johnson acts silly and Hart improvises, which is just enough to justify this disorganized premise.
Rating: PG-13, for violence, subject matter
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Cinebarre, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood Cinemas, Pacific Place, Sundance, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor Plaza
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