"THIS MEANS WAR" (2012) Review

"THIS MEANS WAR" (2012) Review

The story idea of two male friends battling for the affections of one woman has not been new to Hollywood.  One of the earliest examples of this kind of plot proved to Ernst Lubitsch's 1933 adaptation of Noel Coward's play. The latest film to play out this scenario was McG's movie, "THIS MEANS WAR". 

Written by Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg, "THIS MEANS WAR" began two C.I.A. agents and best friends FDR Foster and Tuck Henson being deployed to Hong Kong to prevent international criminals/brothers Heinrich and Jonas from acquiring a weapon of mass destruction. Unfortunately, the assignment goes awry, resulting in the death of Jonas and Heinrich swearing revenge against FDR and Tuck.  For the two agents' protection, their boss, Collins, assigns them to desk duty upon returning to the U.S.

While both are busy investigating the whereabouts of Heinrich, the divorced Tuck decides to find a new girlfriend via online dating. He eventually meets a product testing executive named Lauren Scott and falls for her. Not long after the two first met, womanizer FDR meets Lauren at a video store and unsuccessfully hits on her. But when FDR helps her fool an ex-boyfriend into believing she had a boyfriend, the pair eventually become attracted to one another. Lauren feels guilty about dating two men, but her girlfriend Trish convinces her to give it a try to see whom she likes best. Meanwhile, FDR and Tuck discover they are both dating Lauren and eventually begin to compete for her hand. While the two agents continue to compete for Lauren's love, Heinrich sets about investigating their whereabouts in order to seek revenge.

Although "THIS MEANS WAR" was not a big box office hit, it did manage to earn over twice its budget, which made it a minimal success. I really did not expect much from the film, but I must admit that the movie's plot did intrigue me. How did I feel about it? In some ways, "THIS MEANS WAR" reminds me of the 2005 action comedy, "MR. AND MRS. SMITH". In other words, the movie's romance and comedy overshadowed its plot line. And if I must be honest, this did not bother me one bit. The movie's action did not attract my attention in the first place.

However, at least the action in "MR. AND MRS. SMITH" struck me as more substantial and played a major role in the romance and comedy between the two major characters. I cannot say the same for "THIS MEANS WAR". The movie's action nearly struck me as irrelevant and the characters of FDR and Tuck could have easily had other professions. And I do have one complaint about the movie's love triangle. A part of me wished that it could have ended on the same note as "DESIGN FOR LIVING". Instead, it ended with Lauren choosing one man over the other. And I found this resolution lacking a little bite or originality.

Aside from Lauren eventually choosing one man over the other, I cannot deny that I found the movie's romantic plot very satisfying. More importantly, it was surprisingly funny. "THIS MEANS WAR" could boast some hilarious scenes and dialogue that had me shaking with laughter. Among my favorite moments include Lauren and Tuck's afternoon at a paintball field, and FDR's efforts to impress Lauren at a dog pound. Thanks to Dowling and Kinberg's script and McG's direction, the movie featured some hilarious conversations in the movie. My favorite scene included a conversation between Lauren and Trish overheard by the two men, in which she compared both their virtues and shortcomings. But even the movie's final action scene included a hilarious moment that featured Trish during a high speed chase.

"THIS MEANS WAR" had a solid cast that included pleasant performances from Rosemary Harris, who portrayed FDR's grandmother; Warren Christie as Lauren's too perfect boyfriend; John Paul Rittan as Tuck's son Joe; and Abigail Spencer as his ex-wife, Katie. Both Angela Bassett and Til Schweiger were appropriately intimidating as FDR and Tuck's C.I.A. supervisor, and master criminal Heinrich. However, there were moments when I found Bassett's performance to be a little over-the-top and Schweiger seemed a bit wasted in his all too brief appearances. The one supporting performance that really impressed me came from comedienne Chelsea Handler. One could accuse Handler of taking her stand-up routine and utilizing it in her role as Lauren's best friend, Trish. Fortunately, Handler proved to be a first-rate comic actress who also handled her more poignant moments featuring the character's marriage very well.

But the three performances that made this movie truly enjoyable came from Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. I was surprised by the high level of chemistry between the three performers. Not only did Witherspoon possessed great chemistry with the two actors individually, but both Pine and Hardy managed to create a first-rate "bromance" between them. It seemed a shame that Witherspoon's character ended up choosing one over the other. Also, Witherspoon was charming and witty as the beleaguered Lauren. Pine made a first-rate ladies' man and still managed to convey his character's feelings for the leading lady as very believable. And Hardy expertly walked a fine line as an introverted romantic and aggressive intelligence agent.

"THIS MEANS WAR" was not perfect. The action subplot was not as strong as I thought it could be. Which lead me to believe that the professions of the two male protagonists could have easily been something other than C.I.A. agents. But I cannot deny that McG directed a very funny movie, which was blessed with three talented performers in the lead. To my surprise, I ended up enjoying "THIS MEANS WAR" very much.