Captain Kirk Vs. That Guy From Inception In New Romantic Comedy “This Means War”

March 03 21:38 2012 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

So who’s driving?

Why would a spy go against a spy from his own country anyway? Aside from the typical double-cross, double-agent, defection scenario, the only reason would be one thing: a girl – in this case, it’s a woman named Lauren (played by Reese Witherspoon). CIA top agents FDR and Tuck – played by Captain James “Chris Pine” Kirk and Tom “Guy From Inception” Hardy – including the aforementioned Lauren find themselves in an uncanny love triangle between each other rather inadvertently in this season’s (action) romantic comedy “This Means War”. Once the two partner spies realized the triviality between them, it was too late to back down. Thus begins a high budget, high adrenaline, spy vs. spy in a relatively tame environment – the typical American dating scene.

“This Means War” starts off with two buddy CIA agents FDR and Tuck, who’ve just been benched from any field operations due to a very angry criminal mastermind having seen them in action. Not being able to spend the excess testosterone that men of action usually have, they turn towards the next likely target – women. Meanwhile Lauren, a successful consumer product reviewer and tester, is coaxed into joining an online dating site by her friend Trish (Chelsea Handler). In an unusual scenario Tuck, a divorced father, meets up with Lauren via the dating site, while FDR manages to bump into her mere minutes after their date. The Star Trek (2009) star makes a terrible impression, but somehow manages to make a miraculous recovery by being particularly insistent.

A few dates between them later, FDR and Tuck realize they were dating the same girl. It would have been all right except one of them pretty much challenged the other – and thus begins the competition. It would start relatively clean enough – as both spies vowed not to interfere with the other. But just like anything that revolves around women, things get personal really quickly. The two agents then begin using their specialized skills – and even a significant amount of (fictional) taxpayer money – to spy on, sabotage, and eliminate each other from the competition. So what happens between two superspies, their love triangle, and the criminal mastermind out to get them? You’ll have to watch to find out.

“This Means War” spends most of its 97 minutes exploring the rather comedic, and altogether high-budget spy vs. spy antics between the two main male characters. Reese Witherspoon’s character, while pivotal, doesn’t seem to require too much from the esteemed “Legally Blonde” actress. Halfway through it, I half expected her to turn out to be a double-agent spy, but that would have made the movie just that much more awesomerer. (Or like Mr. and Mrs. Smith.) Regardless, the film itself puts a unique twist in which character actually develops to win the maiden’s heart in the end – and that might have just saved it from being a completely action-packed, yet easily easy to foretell film. In the end though, it’s a bunch of action sequences with Chris Pine and Tom Hardy with a lot of comedy and a little romance in between. Great for a lighthearted, popcorn fueled evening.