This Means War
Release Date:
February 17, 2012
On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 10/12 |
Les Winan |
Cast is enjoyable, but there's something missing. Feels like too many studio notes dumbed it down. |
| 52/169 |
Max Braden |
A poor start shattered my belief that Hardy wasn't capable of poor acting, but I recovered a little by letting go and just eating the popcorn. Still, this could have been better popcorn. |
This Means War is such a straightforward concept that I would imagine the moment it was announced, any number of other people in Hollywood grimaced because they had not thought of it. The premise here is simple. Take three of the most attractive people in Hollywood and put them in a movie where the hot guys compete for the attention of a sexy lead actress.
Sure, this has been done countless times before and yet in most of those instances, one of the male characters was demonstrated to be unworthy of damsel in question. This is not the case here. Instead, Tom Hardy of Inception (and soon to be the villain in The Dark Knight Rises) competes with Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine, in order to win the affection of Reese Witherspoon.
The conceit here is that both men are masters of espionage who have teamed up to defeat some of the worst people in the world. Once each of them meets Witherspoon’s character, however, they both fall hard and fast. Friendship is out the window as all is fair in tactical ordnance explosions and internet dating.
A charming trailer and a winning premise should lead to a triumphant box office run for This Means War. The only concern is that the film has been moved from the summer until right after Valentine’s Day. Such a release is strange when the movie makes so much more sense as a title in release on Valentine’s Day. (David Mumpower/BOP)
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