Central Intelligence

“Central Intelligence” kicks off with a flashback to 1996. We meet our two main characters, polar opposites living on the opposing ends of the high school food chain. Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is the main man so to speak—the most popular kid in school whom everyone adores and is voted “Most Likely To Succeed” his senior year. His opposite is Robbie (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), an obese kid whom everyone seems to enjoy bullying. One day, during the final high school assembly of the year, Robbie is humiliated by a group of bullies who yank him from the shower room and toss him out naked onto the gym floor. The crowds of spectators laugh and jeer at him relentlessly, all except for Calvin, who shows some kindness by covering Robbie up with his jacket.

Fast forward twenty years and things are looking mighty different for Calvin. The once revered man is now a lowly accountant with a few growing marital issues and dreams of making it big. A random friend request on Facebook leads to an encounter with present-day Robbie, who, as it turns out, has changed for the best. Packing more muscles than a male model, a bubbly personality, and some terrific physical combat skills, Robbie is suddenly an apparent champion of life. Also, he just happens to be a CIA agent caught up in a complex plot to take down a terrorist known as “The Black Badger.” To make matters worse, an old CIA boss, for reasons unknown, is bent on framing Robbie for a murder he didn’t commit. What follows is a long and intense adventure for the two high school associates as they try to take down the bad guys and evade the crooked CIA agents dogging them every step of the way.

“Central Intelligence” is hilarious. And I mean uproariously hilarious. The film’s two stars have terrific chemistry and both of them flex their comedic muscles to the point of soreness throughout the entire run-time. The humor is a terrific combination of the physical and the spoken, with humorous action scenes and dialog-heavy comedic set pieces coming at you nonstop. Every single scene in this movie throws tons of jokes at you and most of them hit the mark perfectly. The performances are great, the comedic timing is exquisite, the pacing is lightning-fast, and the action scenes surprisingly thrilling to watch.

Unfortunately, there are some areas of concern here.

Violence: While most of it is played for laughs, the violence here is frequent and fairly intense for a PG-13 rating. There are a ton of shootouts, fistfights, and chases featured throughout. Both the good guys and bad guys are pummeled with batons, beaten into submission, have bones broken, are gunned down, etc. Blood spurts from gunshot wounds briefly on a few occasions. A man has his fingers broken off-screen by a government agent in a somewhat dark interrogation scene. A baddie gets his throat ripped out by one of the good guys (very little blood or realistic motion). A man is blown up inside an elevator (we see a blurred out image of blood splattering on and completely covering the glass doors). Most of this occurs during the films mostly comedic, but at times kind of dark (during the more tense moments of the plot) action scenes.

Sexual Content: There is sexual humor. A YouTube video shows a man with a long pole attached to his (clothed) crotch in a suggestive dance with obvious implications. It only lasts for a couple of seconds, but it’s there and leaves a bit of an impact. A waitress at a bar makes come-ons to the muscle-bound Robbie. Robbie himself jokingly places a rope between his legs and starts waving it around as if it were his own member at one point.

We also see his bare buttocks thrice during the film’s opening scene, where his fat teenage self dances joyfully to a song in the school showers. To make a point, a marriage therapist pecks his male client in front of his wife during a session. One of Calvin’s co-workers makes crude sexual references and talks about an app he’s developing that’s meant to make men’s members look larger in photos. A passing comment about genital sizes is made. Robbie (Dwayne Johnson) strips naked at one point, as a statement about his physical appearance and how proud he is of it (only seen from the chest up).

Language: Unfortunately constant. This is a film starring Kevin Hart, after all. We hear constant misuses of both God’s and Jesus’ names throughout the entire movie, so much in fact that I literally lost count halfway through (easily more than 30 uses in total between the two). An f-bomb explodes on contact. Milder crudities pepper the rest of the dialog (about 30 uses of “s**t”, a dozen of “as*” and “h*ll”). Terms for genitalia such as “p**sy”, “p*cker”, “b*lls” are also used liberally. “As*ho*e”, “b**tard”, and “d*mn” join the party of auditory unpleasantness. We see one use of the middle finger gesture.

Drug and Alcohol Use: Social consumption of alcoholic beverages. Some talk of getting drunk on shots.

Other Negative Elements: Some rude behavior, such as rubbing a behind on a glass door as an insult. A Scientologist character, who is portrayed as a vile, detestable jerk makes a sarcastic jab at a central Christian value (the power of Christ to change our hearts). He gets his comeuppance later on.

Positive Elements: “Central Intelligence” actually has quite a lot to say about the effects of bullying on an innocent mind. Throughout the movie, we see Robbie struggle with the dark memories of his tormented past and the effects said memories have on his behavior. Calvin is a loyal friend to him, displaying both a lot of empathy and emotional support. Seeing Robbie overcoming his wounds and coming out strong in the end is both empowering and uplifting. Other possible lessons to take from this film include the importance of determination to accomplish life goals, the dangers of settling for mediocrity when you are capable of achieving greatness with a little effort, appreciating the blessings you have in the moment, and others. Truth be told, despite the content issues mentioned, the movie carries a mostly positive tone to it, with no real sense of malice. You can tell there are good intentions behind it all.

Conclusion: In the end, “Central Intelligence” is a bit of a mixed bag. As a comedy, and as a feel-good movie in general, it succeeds with flying colors. The characters are easy to love, the intentions seem pure, the comedy is uproarious, the action is well-done, the performances are solid, and the level of sexual content is far below something the likes of “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” a comedy I really enjoyed, but could never recommend in good conscience, due to its very high level of offensive content. Add to that a hefty amount of positive life lessons for any age group, and you have a very enjoyable experience… one that is unfortunately derailed by a sizable amount of violence and language with a fairly heavy serving of sexual humor on the side. This film is only for mature teens and adults who can stomach and maturely handle the content issues. Kids shouldn’t be admitted, as the issues mentioned make the film inappropriate for immature (and spiritually unsound) minds.

• Violence: Heavy
• Swearwords: Heavy—J*sus Chr*st, G*d d*mn (3), Oh my G*d (13), Oh G*d, Good G*d, G*d (6), h*ll (12+), d*mn (2), a**h*le, a** (16+), p*ssy, p*cker, d*ck, junk, t*ts, “Let’s see your t*ts,” “Show us your t*ts,” an f-word (plus others bleeped), s-words (30+), “go j*rk each other off”
• Sex/Nudity: Moderately Heavy— • Brazen nude male at high school reunion • naked male in school locker room—showing everything but crotch • sexual jokes, banter and innuendos • twerking • man humping things with something attached to his pelvis (clothed) • sexual lyrics • shirtless male—costumed as a centaur • kissing • cleavage

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.