Central Intelligence (2016)
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Two former high school classmates reunite when one, now a secret agent, must team up with the other to stop a terrorist from selling satellite codes.
The story
In 1996, star athlete Calvin "The Golden Jet" Joyner was a popular student, while his classmate Robbie Weirdicht was a bullied outcast. Twenty years later, Joyner is a dissatisfied forensic accountant whose life is upended when he receives a Facebook request from "Bob Stone." Stone is revealed to be a muscular, fit man who is actually the former Robbie Weirdicht. When a team of CIA agents arrives looking for Stone as a dangerous rogue agent, the two former friends are forced to work together. They must navigate a dangerous conspiracy involving a terrorist known as the "Black Badger" who intends to sell stolen satellite codes to the highest bidder.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1996, Calvin "The Golden Jet" Joyner was a popular athlete, while Robbie Weirdicht was a bullied outcast. Two decades later, Joyner is a forensic accountant whose life changes when he reconnects with Weirdicht, now known as Bob Stone, a muscular CIA agent. When the CIA identifies Stone as a rogue agent, he takes Joyner along to stop the "Black Badger" from selling satellite codes. The duo navigates a series of obstacles, including a meeting with a former bully, Trevor Olson. During a confrontation, Joyner is forced to choose between helping Stone or following CIA orders. Ultimately, Joyner helps Stone escape and they discover the true villain is Phil Stanton, who faked his death. After a final showdown where Stone defeats Stanton, the two attend their high school reunion. Stone is crowned prom king and publicly reveals his identity as Robbie Weirdicht, while Joyner reconciles with his wife, Maggie. The film ends with Joyner joining the CIA, and Stone returning Joyner's old varsity jacket.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rawson Marshall Thurber
- Writers
- Ike Barinholtz · screenplay; David Stassen · screenplay; Rawson Marshall Thurber · screenplay; Ike Barinholtz · story; David Stassen · story
- Cast and characters
- Dwayne Johnson · Bob Stone / Robbie Weirdicht; Kevin Hart · Calvin "Golden Jet" Joyner; Amy Ryan · Agent Pamela Harris; Aaron Paul · Philip "Phil" Stanton; Jason Bateman · Trevor Olson; Danielle Nicolet · Maggie Joyner (née Johnson)
- Genres
- buddy action comedy
- Themes
- overcoming obstacles; friendship
- Tone and mood
- comedy; action
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy comedy; action comedy; reunion; undercover
- Reception
- The film received mixed-to-positive reviews, praised for the chemistry and performances of the lead actors but criticized for its script. It was a commercial success, grossing over $217 million against a $50 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 71% · scale: percentage · review count: 184; Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 35; PostTrak · score: 75% · scale: percentage
- Awards and nominations
- Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award · winning films · win; Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- The film was greenlit by Universal Pictures in 2010.; Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart had an Instagram war against each other on set.; A sequel was in development as of 2021 but was delayed.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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