This Means War - Movie Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

A lively pace and a nicely warped sense of humour help make this paper-thin action-comedy a mindlessly enjoyable romp. Sure, the central romantic triangle never really gels, but the bromance subplot is rather sweet.

Frank (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy) are best-pal CIA operatives who wouldn't know the word "subtle" if it clubbed them over the head. After a chaotic case in Hong Kong, they're grounded back home in L.A., and both decide to use the down time to find women. The problem is that they find the same woman, Lauren (Witherspoon), who struggles to decide which one is right for her. Certainly her married best pal Trish (Handler) is no help. The bigger problem is that Frank and Tuck use the agency's resources to sabotage each other.

The premise is so preposterous that it doesn't really matter that it won't hold water. Especially since a villainous goon (an underused Schweiger) follows them to California for one purpose only: to provide a big action finale. What's stranger is the way the script sets up the characters: Frank is a toxic womaniser whose only interest seems to be notches on his bedpost, while Tuck is so adorably nice that he's too good to be true. He even has an adorable 7-year-old son (Ruttan). In other words, the set-up itself sabotages the love triangle.

Much more fun is the male relationship, which is tetchy, funny, and packed with realistic camaraderie and competition. The emotional scenes are scriptwriting 101, but Pine and Hardy find a terrific spark of chemistry both with each other and with Witherspoon, who puts all her perkiness on-screen with an undercurrent of steely grit. But the film is stolen by Chandler, who not only gets the best lines, but clearly ad-libs much of her dialog in such a way that her costars struggle to stay in character.

This slightly anarchic undercurrent is what made McG's Charlie's Angels movies so enjoyable as well. It isn't believable for a second, and every element of tension or emotion that the script tries to generate comes second to the goofy antics. In other words, it's a pretty terrible movie. But you can't help but have a lot of fun watching it.

Facts and Figures

Year: 2011

Run time: 103 mins

In Theaters: Friday 17th February 2012

Box Office USA: $54.8M

Budget: $65M

Distributed by: Twentieth Century Fox

Production compaines: Overbrook Films, Robert Simonds Productions

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 26%
Fresh: 44 Rotten: 125

IMDB: 6.4 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: McG

Producer: Simon Kinberg, James Lassiter, Robert Simonds, Will Smith

Screenwriter: Timothy Dowling, Simon Kinberg

Starring: Reese Witherspoon as Lauren, Chris Pine as FDR Foster, Tom Hardy as Tuck, Laura Vandervoort as Britta, Angela Bassett as Collins, Kasey Ryne Mazak as Ken, Warren Christie as Steve, Natassia Malthe as Xenia, Til Schweiger as Heinrich, Chelsea Handler as Trish, John Paul Ruttan as Joe, Abigail Spencer as Katie, Rosemary Harris as Nana Foster, George Touliatos as Grandpa Foster, Clint Carleton as Jonas, Leela Savasta as Kelly, Paul Wu as Korean Leader, Daren A. Herbert as Agent Bothwick, Kevin O'Grady as Agent Boyles, Jesse Reid as Agent Dickerman

Also starring: Simon Kinberg, James Lassiter, Robert Simonds, Will Smith