STORY: Central Intelligence is a buddy cop movie that revolves around college bullies, true friendship and the CIA.

REVIEW: College friends Bob (Dwayne Johnson) and Calvin (Kevin Hart) reunite after a decade. Calvin is pleasantly surprised to see Bob in a new avatar. From an obese kid, who was the butt of jokes in high school to a muscled He-Man, Bob seems to have undergone a massive physical transformation. While women fancy him for his macho physique, even Calvin feels safe around him. They recall their college days, where Calvin was the popular guy and Bob, an outcast because of his excess weight. Calvin was Bob’s only friend. However, Calvin soon realises that there is more to Bob than meets the eye.

He turns out be a CIA agent, wanted by the agency for murder and treason. He is on the run and the CIA forces Calvin to help them get to him. Bob on the contrary dismisses the accusations and tells his friend that he is framed. Who is speaking the truth?

The film is one of the many forgettable, loud buddy cop movies that Hollywood churns out every now and then. While we don’t mind the generic story & weak script, we wish at least the performances would have been entertaining. The over-zealous lead pair tries too hard to be funny. Their chemistry doesn’t work. You want them to stop nattering for a while as their endless banter annoys you to death.

The high-school reunion climax is painfully cheesy. Jason Bateman in a cameo, reprises his ‘college bully’ role from The Gift. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), was funnier.

Speaking of comedy, the punches and the Black guy jokes are silly. The action scenes are decent and work to certain extent but the film is avoidable on the whole as it lacks ‘intelligence’. If you are still a fan of the genre, watch The Nice Guys instead.