An accountant named Calvin who was the most popular kid in high school is unexpectedly reunited with a classmate who used to be on the other side of the social spectrum. Having now transformed from an overweight loser to a beefed up CIA agent, the once unpopular Robbie, now known as Bob Stone, drags Calvin into a world of secrets and lies as he aims to outrun a group of agents on his trail. Comedy director Rawson Marshall Thurber returns to form with Central Intelligence and the movie stars a handful of Hollywood favourites including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Aaron Paul.

If there’s anything that this bizarre spy movie proves it’s that no type of clothing or accessories have the ability to make The Rock uncool. He literally wears jorts, a fanny pack, and a unicorn shirt in this film and still manages to look like the most badass guy in comedy history while delivering one of his most impassioned performances to date. Dwayne Johnson is the main selling point behind Central Intelligence but his miniature sidekick adds to the fun as he is hilariously thrown into a world that he has never experienced before.

Rather than simply becoming another insufferable Chris Tucker wannabe, the pint-sized Kevin Hart brings his own quirks to his character and he quite remarkably manages not to be irritating for the majority of the running time. He’s a mess from start to finish, flung from one scene to the next by his gigantic counterpart, but he’s also the blabbering idiot who grounds the action in reality. Calvin has no idea how to act as events and unfold and he’s the crucial comedic centre at the heart of all the chaos.

The spy elements in Central Intelligence are a little reductive and there’s very little meat on the bone outside of a brief appearance from Aaron Paul and a couple of violent stand-offs. The film barely touches upon the specifics of Bob’s life and it is really just one big joke about two men whose adult life barely reflects who they were as teens. Central Intelligence sits in a comfortable position between adult and juvenile comedy which gives it a wide-reaching appeal that’s afforded by its lack of crass humour. It’s the type of movie that is bound to spawn a handful of sequels if the two key players decide not to jump ship in the next few years.

Unfortunately though, this rather unintelligent movie scores  a 6 out of 10.

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