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The jokes fly as fast as the bullets in "Central Intelligence," an action comedy that serves up a sharp twist on the genre.
Accountant Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is living a much more sedate life than when he was in high school 20 years ago, when he was student-body president, lettered in track and was voted "most likely to succeed." Things have also changed for Bobby Weirdich, the picked-on fat kid with braces, who is now the super-muscular Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson).
Bob finds Calvin for some computer-hacking help, not mentioning that he's a rogue CIA agent accused of murdering his partner (Aaron Paul) and stealing secret satellite codes. Pursued by a tough CIA boss (Amy Ryan), Bob enlists the reluctant Calvin to clear his name and find out who's really behind the double-cross.
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber ("We're the Millers"), who rewrote the script by "Mindy Project" writers Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen, upends the comedy potential with one sly decision: making Hart's Calvin the straight-man to Johnson's slightly unhinged Bob. Johnson proves his comic chops are as strong as his ab crunches, and his chemistry with Hart is as explosive as the inevitable pyrotechnics.
'Central Intelligence'
Opens Friday, June 17, in theaters everywhere; rated PG-13 for crude and suggestive humor, some nudity, action violence and brief strong language; 114 minutes.