Central Intelligence

Hiding beneath all the piercing gunfire, the deep hollowed thuds of punches, the fiercely urgent car chases and the rapid-fire, spur-of-the-moment jokes, 'Central Intelligence' arrives with several surprises, starting with the fact that I enjoyed a Kevin Hart movie. In the last four years since his career suddenly ballooned into A-list status, none of Hart's comedies have impressed or been remotely memorable because they mostly involve the exact same shtick. A short, overly-confident loudmouth who screams wisecracks for self-defense and suddenly turns into a shrieking, bumbling scaredy-cat when a situation becomes threatening. With Will Ferrell seeming like a lumbering giant next to Hart, 'Get Hard' came close in allowing audiences to see the actor hiding underneath the clown. And here, opposite a surprisingly hilarious Dwayne Johnson, the comedian demonstrates he can actually act, though he still sadly relies on screaming hysteria fits for producing laughter on various occasions. For once, he plays the calm, sensible straight man Calvin Joyner without seeming artificial, which then justifies his frenzied panic screams when things become overwhelmingly dangerous. Which they do often.

Mr. Hart graciously passes the clownish buffoonery torch to Johnson, who, like Ferrell, towers over his costar, which serves as the source of various jokes throughout. During one rescue scene inside an office, Johnson, like some mythological gladiator hero, pushes a panicking Hart in a canvas mail cart like a stroller. Part of the joke is the intimidatingly huge star of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise wearing a gaudy yellow T-shirt and cargo shorts during the mayhem while completely ignoring his friend's pleas to stop. But the real payoff comes moments later when, disguised as a marriage counselor in a sweater vest, the retired professional wrestler cradles the noticeably smaller Hart like a baby. Well planned and timed gags such as this keep the movie from losing momentum, like little bread crumbs subtly dropped at various spots and recalled later for a bigger and funnier punch line. A favorite highlight is an unexpected cameo playing the role of Darla McGuckian, a high school crush mentioned only a few times but produces one of the best laughs during the denouement. Other such nuggets are strewn throughout to keep audiences on their toes.

Best of all, and arguably the primary reason for even watching this absurd comedy, is Johnson as Robbie Wheirdicht, aka Bob Stone. The character is introduced in the opening moments alone in the boy's shower dancing to En Vogue, Johnson's face digitally placed on an overweight body. But the laughs quickly turn into humiliation when another teen and his friends carry the naked Robbie into a senior assembly, permanently scarring him. Twenty years later, he's miraculously transformed into a muscular giant who earnestly loves unicorns and sports a fanny pack. Proudly revealing his doofus side, Johnson embraces this delightful lug with sincere enthusiasm that never seems satirical or over-the-top. Meanwhile, Hart shows he can be just as funny as a married accountant who was once the most popular kid in high school but feels his life plateaued and whooshing downhill. The two are brought together by a school reunion coinciding with Stone's CIA investigation to stop a terrorist from selling satellite codes. While chased by 'The Office' star Amy Ryan, it's Johnson's seeming the incompetent dweeb that generates much of the humor, and Hart receives the excitement his midlife crisis begged for.

But in spite of all this, 'Central Intelligence' is not without some questionable blunders in its reevaluation of life after high school. 'Dodgeball' and 'We're the Millers' director Rawson Marshall Thurber does great in maintaining an energetic pace and taking advantage of the animated chemistry between the two stars, allowing them to simply play off one another. But there is also something a bit too routine and familiar, which is not surprising since this is standard odd-couple buddy-cop formula. The hilarious, off-the-cuff banter can't hide the movie's predictability — Johnson will prove his innocence, Hart will discover a new career and the villain is known the moment he appears on screen. However, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen's script make up for this by injecting the plot with one final surprise. Although brave to profess his love of unicorns and 'Sixteen Candles' while remaining cool under pressure, Johnson's Robbie is still the traumatized and bullied fat kid of high school struggling to be the confident person inside as he appears on the outside. It's this "I hate bullies" theme and Johnson's performance to overcome his fears that ultimately makes this comedy so endearingly charming.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Warner Home Video brings 'Central Ingelligence' to Blu-ray on a Region Free, BD50 disc with a code for an UltraViolet Digital Copy. The disc and flyer are housed inside a blue, eco-cutout case. After a short promo and trailer, viewers are taken to a static screen with options along the bottom. At the main menu, viewers can choose between the 107-minute theatrical version or the 116-minute unrated cut, which features adult language and a few, minor additional scenes.