In what is essentially an updated version of that old comic strip, Spy Vs. Spy, stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Chris Pine (Star Trek) go head to head to win the affections of Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde) in the new release, This Means War. Directed by a man whose only name is McG (Terminator Salvation), the movie is a light-hearted film that lacks any real depth.
The scenes in which Hardy and Pine’s characters each attempt to thwart the other’s dates and seductions is fun, creating all kinds of chaos that Witherspoon’s character never seems to notice. Adding to the fun is comedian Chelsea Handler (Are You There Chelsea?), whose witty, raunchy character juxtaposes nicely with Witherspoon’s innocence.
However, I wanted more from Witherspoon than the one-dimensional, nice-girl character she was given. She’s an Oscar-winning actress for crying out loud (Walk the Line); give her more substance to work with! But then again, This Means War was never about the girl. It was about the feuding spies, Hardy and Pine. This makes us invested in their scenes together, sure. But without letting the audience get to know Witherspoon’s character well enough, we fail to see what is so great about this girl that they would risk their very close friendship for (aside from the fact that Reese Witherspoon is so dang pretty!).
But since the movie was is so obsessed with Hardy and Pine, let’s spend some time talking about them: The two have instantaneous and obvious chemistry in the film. They work together, hang out constantly, bicker endlessly, consider each other family, do everything together (including spying on their shared girlfriend); it’s a bromance for the ages, rivaling that of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes. Even as they compete for the attentions of the same girl, they seem to continue to get along fine. Until roughly 2/3 of the way into the movie. Then they are suddenly incredibly jealous and angry. Tensions that should have been building throughout the film are bottled up and placed in only a scene or two, leaving those scenes feeling jarring and unnatural.
The scenes in which Hardy and Pine’s characters each attempt to thwart the other’s dates and seductions is fun, creating all kinds of chaos that Witherspoon’s character never seems to notice. Adding to the fun is comedian Chelsea Handler (Are You There Chelsea?), whose witty, raunchy character juxtaposes nicely with Witherspoon’s innocence.
However, I wanted more from Witherspoon than the one-dimensional, nice-girl character she was given. She’s an Oscar-winning actress for crying out loud (Walk the Line); give her more substance to work with! But then again, This Means War was never about the girl. It was about the feuding spies, Hardy and Pine. This makes us invested in their scenes together, sure. But without letting the audience get to know Witherspoon’s character well enough, we fail to see what is so great about this girl that they would risk their very close friendship for (aside from the fact that Reese Witherspoon is so dang pretty!).
But since the movie was is so obsessed with Hardy and Pine, let’s spend some time talking about them: The two have instantaneous and obvious chemistry in the film. They work together, hang out constantly, bicker endlessly, consider each other family, do everything together (including spying on their shared girlfriend); it’s a bromance for the ages, rivaling that of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes. Even as they compete for the attentions of the same girl, they seem to continue to get along fine. Until roughly 2/3 of the way into the movie. Then they are suddenly incredibly jealous and angry. Tensions that should have been building throughout the film are bottled up and placed in only a scene or two, leaving those scenes feeling jarring and unnatural.
However, by the end of the film, the characters are exactly the same as when we met them. Hardy’s nice guy persona is never really challenged. Pine’s “player” attitude is never given a lesson in humility. And when all is said and done and Witherspoon makes her choice, we are left feeling completely unsatisfied. It is hard to describe exactly how the ending failed so abruptly without ruining the conclusion, but it’s safe to say that the ending doesn’t reflect the story-arch the writers seemed to have been building throughout the movie. Maybe they thought they were giving the film a twist ending. What it really turned out to be was disappointing.
Ultimately, This Means War has fun with Hardy and Pine’s bromance, with the spy scenes, and with Handler’s crude jokes. But overall it’s a lackluster story that falls short of having any real character development and has a sloppy ending. In other words, if films like The Artist are elegant 5-star meals and movies like Transformers are fun pizza parties, then This Means War is the fast food of cinema. It's alright, but you'd really rather have something else.
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
Ultimately, This Means War has fun with Hardy and Pine’s bromance, with the spy scenes, and with Handler’s crude jokes. But overall it’s a lackluster story that falls short of having any real character development and has a sloppy ending. In other words, if films like The Artist are elegant 5-star meals and movies like Transformers are fun pizza parties, then This Means War is the fast food of cinema. It's alright, but you'd really rather have something else.
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
So true about the ending. I think the fact that the guys ended up EXACTLY the same as they were in the beginning made the whole situation with the girl basically pointless, which isn't good because it was the plot of the movie. I do think that one thing the filmmakers did right is that the connection between Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine was more believable compared to her and Tom Hardy so I was glad she ended up with him in the end. I thought it was funny, but it could have been funnier and it was entertaining, but it could have been better. I would watch it again, as long as someone else paid to rent it :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, the bromance between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude law is far better
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