Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Central Intelligence Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 22, 2018

The dreaded high school reunion. Everyone’s been there. Personal perception says expectations have not been met, and what should be a joyous time becomes a reminder of the rapid passage of time and one’s place in life, which is rarely exactly as it was diagramed years prior. But it’s only in special cases when the reunion really turns into mayhem and the Grosse Pointe Blank scenario becomes reality. Director Rawson M. Thurber’s (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) Central Intelligence is another high school reunion movie, pairing the jock and the fat kid who have taken different paths in the two decades since graduation but who are reunited not over a punch bowl but rather at the barrel of a gun as they become mixed up in dirty dealings with high stakes and a higher body count.

The year is 1996. Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is the high school jock, the principal’s favorite student, and is dating the prettiest girl in school, Maggie Johnson (Danielle Nicolet). He has it all, his future is bright, and he’s a shoe-in to lead the perfect life. Robbie Weirdicht (Sione Kelepi) couldn’t be any different. He’s friendly but obese, sort of a nerd, and is the butt of jokes all around school. While Calvin is giving a speech to the assembled student body, a few bullies toss a naked Robbie into the middle of the packed gymnasium. Only Calvin isn’t laughing. He offers the embarrassed Robbie his varsity jacket as cover as the boy meekly makes his way out of the gym. Twenty years later, Calvin has married Maggie but rather than living the high life, he’s working as an Office Space accounting drone. As his high school reunion draws near, he dreads attending. He hasn’t done much with his life, and he doesn’t want his classmates to know that the boy who was all but guaranteed a great life has settled into a decidedly mediocre one. Enter Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson), a mystery man who friends Calvin on Facebook and urges them to meet up. Calvin is surprised to see that Bob is actually Robbie, who has become a chiseled specimen. He’s even more surprised to learn that Bob is on the run from CIA agents who are claiming he’s an agent gone rogue with the intent of selling national secrets to the highest bidders. Calvin finds himself flung into the middle of gunfights and car chases that make his fears of the upcoming high school reunion seem tame by comparison.

The loser has soared and the winner has fallen. It’s an interesting, though certainly not novel, idea, that explores life after high school and the contrast of the life that was entirely ahead and the reality that the journey has become. Nothing ever goes as planned. Is that something to be ashamed of? Calvin is only concerned with what others will think of him. He hasn’t taken the path expected of him, but does that make him any less of a man, particularly if his measuring stick isn’t the accolades at school but the gesture of kindness that revealed the real man underneath the varsity jacket? On the contrary, Bob seems to have no cares in the world. He sports a fanny pack, rocks a unicorn T-shirt, and wears his jacket tied around his waist. But he’s still struggling with his image. That fat kid is still in there, somewhere, and it’s a battle Bob fights on the inside, day in and day out. The characters aren’t really all that different. Both have fears of reliving the past, but for different reasons. For Calvin, reliving the past will expose his present. For Bob, it’ll reignite those pains from his past. It’s an interesting dynamic, but really, people are going to watch Central Intelligence not for dramatic character arcs but rather the gunplay and the comic pairing…right?

The action and stunts are fine, though nothing especially creative. The film deals in the modern trend towards the Buddy Action/Comedy approach, following on similar films like 21 Jump Street and The Other Guys. That's why the movie's more interesting components are found in the character creations, presentations, and developments. Action and humor-wise, Central Intelligence just can't produce anything of real value, though it certainly hits its jokes and action scenes with well executed dynamics. Johnson and Hart do make a great team. Each appears to fully understand their character arcs and angles, building on past experiences and seeing their characters both sulk in the past and use their life lessons as they work, and fight, their way through the dangerous game in which they find themselves. The two share strong screen chemistry, making for one of the most agreeable odd couple pairings since Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in the underrated Twins.

Central Intelligence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Central Intelligence looks amazing on Blu-ray. The movie was digitally photographed at a resolution of 2.8K, and it absolutely soars at 1080p. Facial textures are dense and complex, absolutely sharp and never lacking even a hint of density and clarity. Every fine textural nuance and blemish are plainly visible. Close-cropped hair, bulging veins, pores, slight lines, nothing is left to the imagination. Environments are sharp, too, whether school showers and a gymnasium, offices, a bar, or various exteriors where vegetation, pavement, and other natural and manmade details are aggressively sharp and dense. Colors are very impressive. While they lack the density and saturation of the companion UHD, there's plenty of brilliance and vitality on display. The office action scene partway through, under bright artificial lights, where Stone rocks a yellow T-shirt and Joyner a blue sweater, is home to some of the best of the film's vibrant colors. Natural greens sparkle and even in lower light interiors there's a depth and punch of color that's hard to beat for a non-HDR presentation. Black levels are inky and accurate. Skin tones appear true to the various complexions seen throughout the movie. Noise is kept to a bare minimum and other maladies, like banding and aliasing, are practically nowhere to be seen. This is a top-notch Blu-ray presentation from Warner Brothers.

Central Intelligence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Central Intelligence rocks out like Robbie Weirdicht with a hugely impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The opening En Vogue song, a true 90s classic and a hilarious tune for the scene, absolutely explodes into the stage. It powers through every channel with vigor, spitting out the dance beat notes with not only huge volume but impeccable instrumental and lyric clarity as well as a strong, balanced low end. Such holds true through the remainder of the track, a track which never shies away from powering through various tunes with toe-tapping authority. The track opens wide up for every other sound element as well. There is some incredible reverberation in the school gymnasium near film's start; the soundstage almost literally expands to encompass the entirety of the location. Surrounding crowd cheers and fully engaged music follow, and if audiophiles aren't grinning five minutes in, then they never will. The track never relents. Action scenes are all of reference quality. The first big one comes at the 39 minute mark and sets the tone for all to follow. Gunshots burst forth with ridiculous potency from all directions, pounding with a prominent low end and impacting just as hard. Music and dialogue remain balanced and loud throughout combat. Background din at an outdoor cafe eight minutes in is filling and immersive, and every location that's not dominated by gunplay or music enjoys well-versed environmental nuance and clarity. Dialogue is clear and precise, center focused, and always well prioritized, even in the movie's most intensive moments of sonic mayhem, which come frequently. This is a top-tier 5.1 lossless soundtrack.

Central Intelligence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Central Intelligence contains regular and unrated special features. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Audio Commentary: With Director/Co-Writer Rawson Marshall Thurber and Film Editor Mike Sale. Rated and unrated.
• Alternate Scenes Rated/Unrated (1080p): Includes the rated (18:07 total runtime) scenes Maggie Leaves in the Morning, In Van, Harris Sees Maggie Leave Dr. Dan's, Airport, Airport/Boston, Garage, Boston, Reunion, and Under the Bleachers. The unrated (1:09:51 total runtime) scenes include Restaurant, Bar, Smoking Pot in the Gym, Maggie Leaves in the Morning, Calvin's House, In Car/Building, In Van, Dr. Dan's Office, Harris Sees Maggie Leave Dr. Dan's, Trevor's Office, Safe Site, Airport, Airport/Boston, Garage, Boston, Reunion, another scene titled Reunion, and Under the Bleachers.
• Line-O-Rama (1080p, 2:27): Alternate lines rated (2:27) and unrated (2:31).
• Dance Off (1080p, 2:26): Actors Sione Kelepi and Dwayne Johnson dance together.
• Gag Reel Rated (1080p): rated (5:38) and unrated (6:18).
• Couch Time Lapse (1080p, 0:41): The crew quickly cleans up a set during a single take.

Central Intelligence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Central Intelligence works through a pair of interesting character arcs that are much more parallel than they appear. Thurber does a good job of balancing out the film's dramatic character angles with its robust action and comedy, though certainly the film leans to the latter two as its primary modes of entertainment. With a little TLC (thinking of 90s music) here and there ("Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" for the movie to be just a mite more balanced) Central Intelligence could have been great. As it is, it's a solid entertainer with good character moments and hearty action and humor, an enjoyable film that's just some balance away from being all the better. Universal's Blu-ray is terrific, featuring a few extras paired with fantastic video and audio. Recommended.