Central Intelligence - Box Office Review

Two powerhouses of entertainment coming together to make what could be the summer comedy hit we've been waiting for. A film that would combine action and humor has the potential to franchise itself if done well. So did "Central Intelligence" meet the expectations I had? Let's dive in and take a look in this box office review...

First, you can't really go wrong with casting Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The guy has so much charisma I'm mostly certain that people would watch him talk about soap for 2 hours. You can't help but find the guy entertaining because his personality is electric. Second, Kevin Hart is probably one of the funnier comedians around right now because of his personality. His jokes might not always hit but you can guarantee that people will laugh at a bad joke when his animated self takes over on stage or screen and blows up into something uniquely special. So putting these two talents in a film together made perfect sense to me. They're both funny, entertaining and charismatic. 

The film itself however didn't quite hit for me the way I had hoped. The characters on screen felt awkward more than they did humorous. It also took far too long to establish the personality of Johnson's character. His overacting and hyper enthusiasm felt unnatural and uncomfortable for me. It's eventually revealed why he acts that way but I would've preferred to get that information sooner than later. At times, especially in the beginning, he's almost creepy. It was an odd choice but eventually it paid off, kinda. 

The story is pretty simple as well. The basic plot is that the CIA believes Johnson's character has murdered his partner and is hunting him down because of the information they believe he has. Of course, it's revealed that he isn't the bad guy but by the time the big reveal occurs I didn't really care because I had concluded that all on my own. The story itself was still entertaining because you have Hart and Johnson leading the charge. Their chemistry on screen was probably my favorite part of the film. These two played off each other so well. Even though the story itself didn't do anything for me, their relationship and interactions did. I'm actually curious if there will be a sequel just because of how much fun watching those two together was. 

The ancillary characters in the film were decent. There is one character who is beyond obnoxious in that he overacts so much in his brief on screen moments I was actually glad he is knocked out by use of a taser. I felt relief knowing he won't be talking anymore in that scene because he's tasered on the floor. So that was a moment of positive film making as far as I was concerned. 

"Central Intelligence" is in theaters now. Sadly, I won't be recommending you view this on the big screen unless you want to laugh and enjoy the main actors. The story is decent, the overall tone is fun but it takes awhile to develop an understanding of the characters themselves and the ending is predictable. It's a fun movie and if you do decide to make it out to the theaters, go for a big screen viewing. You will laugh but you won't walk out of the theater, necessarily, with that same sense of "wow" that you got from action comedies like "Beverly Hills Cop" or Lethal Weapon" films. It's definitely worth seeing on Redbox or VOD. 

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Ride Along 2 - Box Office Review

I wasn't expecting much from this film and I didn't get much either. The little I did receive from this film was worth it. I walked out of the theater smiling and thinking, "I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I just did" and that's ok in my book. So let's take a look at "Ride Along 2" and some areas of opportunity and accomplishments I saw while watching this movie.

First, Rotten Tomatoes has this film at ratings low enough to make anyone question why I'd bother to see the thing. The critic score is abysmal sitting at 13% rotten. I wasn't surprised by that and to be honest I don't care. Certain films are made for a single purpose and this film falls in that category. This film was made to entertain and provide chuckles. So we'll excuse the critic score from the conversation because it's the user score that should more accurately reflect how enjoyable this film was. After all, the user score indicates what we the viewers think and hopefully we're seeing films that interest us. Critics have to see everything. Users pay to see what they prefer. That being said, the user score is 56% rotten. Ouch. Even the people who enjoyed the first one, like the characters, the actors, everything did not enjoy this film by a slight majority.

Overall, this film had potential to be so much better than it was. Unfortunately, I blame the writing and directing for all the short comings present in this film. This movie was stuffed with cliche's and predictable moments. So much so I groaned out loud once or twice in the theater. Additionally, tell one story if that's what your movie is supposed to do. Don't tell tell one story with half the cast, then tell the same story differently but at the same time with Kevin Hart's character and finally add Ken Jeong as comedic relief when one of your stars is Kevin Hart! The whole movie is happening at one speed, then Kevin takes over and changes the tempo of the film. Interestingly enough, it was Kevin Harts character that made the film enjoyable. The manner in which the story developed with his character was the entertaining and enjoyable part. The whole movie is happening and it feels like a process. Then Kevin takes over and the movie becomes entertaining. Then it goes back to process. On, off, on off. It was ridiculous.

Ken Jeong and Kevin Hart sharing screen time and dialogue was great. The timing these two comedic actors have actually made me forget how poorly made this film was. It was like being in a desert of boredom only to find comedic water bottles sporadically along the way.

Kevin's character had a story line that stayed consistent, was humorous and at times very original. Then it switches off him and becomes step-by-step movie making that we've all seen hundreds of times before. I couldn't get over how poorly directed this film was. I went back and looked at Tim Story's IMDB page and found out he's made other terrible films like the early 2000's "Fantastic Four" and the even bigger stink pile that was "Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer".  So, it made sense why the directing was so bad here when there's a pattern of garbage films in his resume. 

"Ride Along 2" is in theaters now! Overall, I don't recommend anyone see this film in theaters. If it comes on TV, OnDemand, VOD or you "win" it at a white elephant gift exchange then take a viewing just for the Kevin Hart storyline. Theres more bad than good here but the good is quite entertaining to be fair. Also, Tika Sumpter is gorgeous in this film so that helps bump up the positives.

Comment below if you’ve already seen it and share your thoughts! Join in on the fun of movie watching and share this post with anyone who enjoys going to the movies.

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