This Means War (Guest Review)

This Means War reads as your typical rom-com action-adventure mash-up. Take two buddies, who just happen to be secret agents, add one beautiful woman, throw in a dash of covert antics, shake liberally… and you have what is an enjoyable time at the movies. Plus three points: one for former queen of the romantic comedies, Reese Witherspoon, making a move to take back her crown. The other two points are for Chelsea Handler’s character stealing every scene.

Over the years we’ve seen that it’s hard to surprise audiences – films, especially romantic comedies, are amazingly predictable. Not going to lie, this movie is too. BUT if you can ease up and not go in expecting Shakespeare, you might like it.

Not to spoil any plot points but here’s the basic rundown: Two CIA agents find out they’re dating the same woman and opt to compete for her affections – complete with a “gentlemen’s agreement” –  letting her decide who she wants to be with. Pine’s philandering “FDR” and Hardy’s earnest “Tuck” vie for attention from Witherspoon’s “Lauren” while sort of attempting to track “Heinrich”, their current target.  It’s fairly easy to figure out, but the journey to the end of the movie is entertaining and fun. Oh, and there’s a bad guy seeking revenge.

Give it a chance.

Can we jump back up to the top where this was stated to be a rom-com action-adventure mash-up? I’d like to offer this genre instead – the romantic action comedy. This movie has the feel of the classic buddy movies – Lethal Weapon, Stakeout, etc. – in the relationship between the two male leads, played by Tom Hardy and Chris Pine. They have “man chats” and banter while engaging in shoot-outs with enemies. It’s this relationship, this bromance, that really is the focus of the film. The characters are elite – best of the best CIA agents – and their partnership is clearly deep and enduring though it is put to the test when confronted with a single beautiful blonde. The boys demonstrate their willingness to jump into physical fights often enough. From the opening scene, the action moves the film far better than the Rom-Com parts. Not to say that the romantic interludes, the comedic farce of trying to one-up each other with their relationship, and the extremes that both boys take are not highly entertaining. In fact, the only complaint about the action scenes is that Hardy’s first shots with his gun are incorrect – his hand is by his hip, thus he has no aim or strength. If his CIA superiors saw him shoot like this, he’d be flogged. Or whatever they do to CIA operatives that don’t use basic skills correctly.

The climatic action scenes were delightfully fun and explosive. Finally reconnecting the characters and allowing for a natural flow to both the story and the scenes. And bonus- explosive water scene for Chelsea Handler.

All-in-all, This Means War was fun, better than we’d hoped, and worth seeing. I’m not ready to give Witherspoon back the crown but there’s a sash and maybe a jr. tiara with her name on it.