Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Bobby Brown, Aaron Paul
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story: Action comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber which follows Calvin (Kevin Hart) who used to be the popular kid at high school but is now a mild-mannered accountant, at his 20-year high school reunion he is reunited with former classmate Bob (Dwayne Johnson), who was once an overweight nerd and a favorite target of bullies, but is now a deadly CIA agent. Bob then calls on Calvin to help him foil a plot to sell classified military secrets.
Verdict: The plot isn’t that much here, but what really sells the movie is the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, they have a perfect dynamic. There are some great laugh out loud moments here but nothing else to make the story stand out, and it’s great to see Hart playing the straight man here, it really works here and switches up the roles.
Best Quotes (Total Quotes: 23)
[spying on teenage Bob as he’s singing in the shower]
High School Student: Look at him, anything about that look normal to you? Let’s wreck him.
[the students throw Bob naked into the middle of their packed high school stadium]
Calvin Joyner: Here, here.
[Calvin gives Bob his jacket to cover himself, and Bob mouths “thank you” to him]
School Principal: Well, there’s no coming back from that.
[Bob comes up behind Calvin]
Bob Stone: My, man!
Calvin Joyner: You better back up, man!
[Calvin puts up his fists ready to fight]
Bob Stone: Woh, Calvin, it’s me Bob.
Calvin Joyner: Sorry, do I know you?
Bob Stone: Robbie Weirdick, from high school!
Calvin Joyner: God! Man, look at you! You lost like two hundred pounds!
Calvin Joyner: What did you do?
Bob Stone: I just did one thing.
Calvin Joyner: I need to know.
Bob Stone: I worked out six hours a day, every day, for the last twenty years straight.
Bob Stone: You should know one thing about me. I’m in the CIA.
Calvin Joyner: Are you joking with me right now?!
Bob Stone: Spoiler alert, I’m in the CIA.
Calvin Joyner: Are you joking with me right now?!
Bob Stone: I got a plan. Might get us both killed, but if it works it’ll be a totally bust story. Cool?
Calvin Joyner: No! No, it’s not cool!
Bob Stone: Cool.
Calvin Joyner: No, I said it’s not cool!
Bob Stone: Bottom line, are you in or are you out?
Calvin Joyner: Well then I’m out!
Bob Stone: Actually you’re already in.
Calvin Joyner: Then why would you ask me?
Bob Stone: Because I thought you would go, “I’m in, Bob!”, and we would have had a really cool moment, but you kind of ruined the whole thing.
Bob Stone: Take my gun; we may have to kill some people.
Calvin Joyner: I will do no such thing.
Bob Stone: I think you’ll like it.
Calvin Joyner: I will not!
Bob Stone: I need your skillset to save the entire free world. You ready?
Calvin Joyner: No!
Bob Stone: Sweet. Let’s go.
Calvin Joyner: No! I said no!
Bob Stone: [to Calvin] Three weeks ago an enemy of the state stole the encryption keys to the entire US spy satellite program. I need your super sweet accounting skills to help me figure out the last piece of this puzzle.
Bob Stone: You’re like a chocolate Google.
[Bob starts pressing his finger into Calvin like he’s a computer]
Bob Stone: Boop, boop, boop.
Calvin Joyner: Bob, don’t do that. Stop it. Stop it.
Bob Stone: You’re my only friend, Calvin, the only one in this whole world that I trust.
Calvin Joyner: I expressly remember saying that I was out.
Bob Stone: I know, but they think you’re in.
Bob Stone: Now that you’re in.
Calvin Joyner: I’m not in.
Bob Stone: I know, but they think you’re in.
Calvin Joyner: But I’m not.
Bob Stone: Probably one of those perception versus reality things happening right now.
Calvin Joyner: No, no. I am out!
Bob Stone: The smarter play is if we split up.
Calvin Joyner: You know what happens when people split up, Bob? Somebody dies.
Bob Stone: You were the coolest kid in high school!
Calvin Joyner: This is like a total transformation. You used to be Fat Robbie!
Calvin Joyner: Which car are we taking?
Bob Stone: Not that one.
[Bob throw a grenade under the car and Calvin starts walking quickly away from it]
Calvin Joyner: Oh, my God. Oh, God.
[suddenly the car explodes]
Calvin Joyner: You chose to be an international CIA spy.
Bob Stone: Because I don’t like bullies.
Calvin Joyner: [to Bob] You were like Jason Bourne in shorts.
Bob Stone: You’re like a snack-sized Denzel.
Calvin Joyner: Did you see that, Bob! I did the thing! I did the thing, Bob!
Bob Stone: Yeah!
Calvin Joyner: Yeah!
Bob Stone: Do you remember those back flips you used to do?
Calvin Joyner: Let’s do the flip.
[Calvin goes to the flip but lands straight onto his face]
Bob Stone: That was so close.
Phil: What was that for?
Calvin Joyner: I was doing a backflip.
[flat on his back]
Phil: Your point?
Calvin Joyner: A distraction.
Phil: For what?
[Bob shows up behind Phil and rips open his throat]
Total Quotes: 23
Trailers:
