Grade: C+
Yang: Occasionally funny with a few decent moments of spy vs spy action; Tom Hardy elevates his role as a hopelessly romantic superspy who could probably break you in two if he wasn’t such a nice guy.
Yin: Slight and weightless rip-off mash-up of buddy action flicks and Reese Witherspoon romantic comedies. For good and bad, director McG fails to deliver the stylistic flourish that marked his early efforts.
In-Between: Never challenge Tom Hardy to a game of paintball.
From the look of him, you’d never know that Bane is Captain Kirk’s type. Yet, their romance is at the heart of McDirector McG’s latest, This Means War.
Now, the ads, trailers and TV spots will try to convince you that Tom Hardy and Chris Pines’ superspies are fighting over Reese Witherspoon’s lovelorn career gal, but she’s really just a fly in the ointment of their—God help me— “bromance”.
War is a slight, occasionally amusing romantic comedy with a featherweight spy story grafted on its bookends as a way of setting up a few serviceable action beats and hopefully keeping the males in the audience awake. War centers on CIA operatives FDR (Chris Pine)—every character calls him by his initials without blinking, seriously—and his partner Tuck (Thom Hardy), who were both obviously birthed from the buddy movie mold with FDR being the slick ladies man and Tuck being the gentle romantic with a British accent. As a former family man who is clearly still in love with his ex-wife, Tuck’s longing for the love of a good woman leads him to post a profile on an online dating site, which leads to a blind date with jaded, yet ever hopeful, consumer product tester Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon). The two hit it off smashingly and it all seems well until Lauren runs into the cocky FDR, who was on backup detail for Tuck’s blind date, and sparks fly. Soon enough the two once–inseparable partners find themselves locked in a battle of subterfuge and counterintelligence over the hand of a woman who seems a lot shallower than she thinks she is. Meanwhile, an international terrorist (Til Schweiger) is hot on Tuck and FDR’s tails after the two killed his brother in a sting gone haywire. Hijinks and dash of hilarity ensue.
War is no doubt descended from the Lethal Weapons and Bad Boys of the 80s, 90s, and early 00s, right down to the perpetually angry and disappointed chief, a criminally underused Angela Bassett who is clearly still in Amanda Waller-mode, and a goofy support team. War is also a typical Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy, complete with blissfully unrealistic lifestyle porn and a wacky, self-deprecating sidekick, Chelsea Handler who is stepping dangerously close to edge of overexposure. Viewed separately, neither narrative thread would hold a Dixie Cup worth of water; together, the two threads lead to some decent laughs and serviceable action after a slow start, but the whole thing still falls way short of being remotely memorable. Most of the failings could be placed on McG’s workman-like direction. Aside from his trademark sun-drenched palette and a few high-energy set-pieces—the highlight of which is Tuck’s assault on an army of paintballers—McG’s footprint is minimal. Sadly, the failure of Terminator: Salvation and the passing of time have taken its toll on a director who at one time could at least be regarded for an identifiable visual style. Now, he’s delivering flicks like War that are no more unique than offerings from any journeyman director.
Despite its somewhat limp direction, War is saved to a large degree by Tom Hardy’s performance. The man who would be Bane has shown remarkable range throughout his career and continues to do so in War, almost single-handedly outclassing everyone else involved by showing that human beings have more than two emotions. Chris Pine, on the other hand, is quickly proving that he may be a one-trick pony by making FDR little more than a smirking jackass. While Hardy clearly outclasses Pine, the two have a solid chemistry that lends to the theory that their relationship is the actual focus of the flick. Their banter and attempts to outflank each other setup a majority of the film’s funnier moments and the strain on their relationship proves far more interesting than their courtship of Reese Witherspoon’s Lauren. While Hardy and Pines spies fall deeper in love with each other, Reese Witherspoon does her “Reese Witherspoon thing” where she plays spunky mixed with a dash of tartness, hitting a lot of the same beats from one of her early hits, Sweet Home Alabama. Chelsea Handler bats about .400 with her performance, mostly by making fun of herself or letting the rest of the cast make fun of her. Sadly, strong performers like Angela Bassett and Til Schwieger are relegated to extended cameos that severely undercut their ability.
While War fails to make even adequate use of its strongest assets, it does entertain on a fundamental level, providing just enough romance and action to satiate almost any audience. Yes, it’s a bit safe and only a handful of the actors seem reasonably engaged, but, as one of this year’s big Valentine’s Day release, it’s much better than tripe like 2010’s movie star paycheck-generator Valentine’s Day. On its own, War is nowhere near as tight and unique as it could be, but, thankfully, Tom Hardy’s performance as well as some decent action and moments of hilarity elevate the flick beyond total mediocrity.
Now, the ads, trailers and TV spots will try to convince you that Tom Hardy and Chris Pines’ superspies are fighting over Reese Witherspoon’s lovelorn career gal, but she’s really just a fly in the ointment of their—God help me— “bromance”.
War is a slight, occasionally amusing romantic comedy with a featherweight spy story grafted on its bookends as a way of setting up a few serviceable action beats and hopefully keeping the males in the audience awake. War centers on CIA operatives FDR (Chris Pine)—every character calls him by his initials without blinking, seriously—and his partner Tuck (Thom Hardy), who were both obviously birthed from the buddy movie mold with FDR being the slick ladies man and Tuck being the gentle romantic with a British accent. As a former family man who is clearly still in love with his ex-wife, Tuck’s longing for the love of a good woman leads him to post a profile on an online dating site, which leads to a blind date with jaded, yet ever hopeful, consumer product tester Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon). The two hit it off smashingly and it all seems well until Lauren runs into the cocky FDR, who was on backup detail for Tuck’s blind date, and sparks fly. Soon enough the two once–inseparable partners find themselves locked in a battle of subterfuge and counterintelligence over the hand of a woman who seems a lot shallower than she thinks she is. Meanwhile, an international terrorist (Til Schweiger) is hot on Tuck and FDR’s tails after the two killed his brother in a sting gone haywire. Hijinks and dash of hilarity ensue.
War is no doubt descended from the Lethal Weapons and Bad Boys of the 80s, 90s, and early 00s, right down to the perpetually angry and disappointed chief, a criminally underused Angela Bassett who is clearly still in Amanda Waller-mode, and a goofy support team. War is also a typical Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy, complete with blissfully unrealistic lifestyle porn and a wacky, self-deprecating sidekick, Chelsea Handler who is stepping dangerously close to edge of overexposure. Viewed separately, neither narrative thread would hold a Dixie Cup worth of water; together, the two threads lead to some decent laughs and serviceable action after a slow start, but the whole thing still falls way short of being remotely memorable. Most of the failings could be placed on McG’s workman-like direction. Aside from his trademark sun-drenched palette and a few high-energy set-pieces—the highlight of which is Tuck’s assault on an army of paintballers—McG’s footprint is minimal. Sadly, the failure of Terminator: Salvation and the passing of time have taken its toll on a director who at one time could at least be regarded for an identifiable visual style. Now, he’s delivering flicks like War that are no more unique than offerings from any journeyman director.
Despite its somewhat limp direction, War is saved to a large degree by Tom Hardy’s performance. The man who would be Bane has shown remarkable range throughout his career and continues to do so in War, almost single-handedly outclassing everyone else involved by showing that human beings have more than two emotions. Chris Pine, on the other hand, is quickly proving that he may be a one-trick pony by making FDR little more than a smirking jackass. While Hardy clearly outclasses Pine, the two have a solid chemistry that lends to the theory that their relationship is the actual focus of the flick. Their banter and attempts to outflank each other setup a majority of the film’s funnier moments and the strain on their relationship proves far more interesting than their courtship of Reese Witherspoon’s Lauren. While Hardy and Pines spies fall deeper in love with each other, Reese Witherspoon does her “Reese Witherspoon thing” where she plays spunky mixed with a dash of tartness, hitting a lot of the same beats from one of her early hits, Sweet Home Alabama. Chelsea Handler bats about .400 with her performance, mostly by making fun of herself or letting the rest of the cast make fun of her. Sadly, strong performers like Angela Bassett and Til Schwieger are relegated to extended cameos that severely undercut their ability.
While War fails to make even adequate use of its strongest assets, it does entertain on a fundamental level, providing just enough romance and action to satiate almost any audience. Yes, it’s a bit safe and only a handful of the actors seem reasonably engaged, but, as one of this year’s big Valentine’s Day release, it’s much better than tripe like 2010’s movie star paycheck-generator Valentine’s Day. On its own, War is nowhere near as tight and unique as it could be, but, thankfully, Tom Hardy’s performance as well as some decent action and moments of hilarity elevate the flick beyond total mediocrity.
