MOVIE REVIEW - This Means War

The new trend of action, romantic comedies continues this week, with This Means War.

Reece Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, and Chris Pine star in yet another movie we have all seen, by simply watching the countless commercials on TV. To be fair, there are a few real good laughs in this movie. But there is also a bunch to be desired.

It's the story of FDR (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy). They are young CIA agents working on high profile cases on an international scale. They are great friends and partners at work, and they are highly decorated. They each meet Lauren (Witherspoon) in separate circumstances. And not known to each other, they each start to date her. Then they find this fact out. And it's a fight to the finish to win Lauren. With Lauren being none the wiser that they know each other.

Both of our decorated agents then use the full disposal of the CIA to spy on Lauren and each others dates to see who can get the upper hand. They bug her office, her home, and her phone. As they spy on her in private and on each other, the drama builds. Who will win her heart, and can their friendship survive such an ordeal?

The good thing about TMW is that it's good to see Hardy, and even Pine give us some new faces to digest on the screen in a movie like this. But the story is so inane that it borders on insulting. And it's a shame. There are some real legit laughs here, and some funny situations. But the absurdity of it all is a bit much to overcome. And I'm sure that the makers would say that's part of the gag, and that's probably true. But it ends up being dumbed way down.

I am a big Witherspoon fan, but here she is miscast and used poorly. She has no chemistry at all with either Pine or Hardy. In fact, may have more love chemistry with Laurel And Hardy than these two. She looks more like their sister than love interest. Plus, she is costumed badly, in scene after scene in horribly high heeled shoes, sandals and tennis shoes. That goes along with the dresses she wears that look like they belong on a 16 year old. A lot of this just looks bad in every regard.

There is plenty of action that the guys will like who get drug along to see this with their wives or girlfriends. But after that clears, it's all just so formula. Two guys, a girl, the girls witty married best friend who lives vicariously through her. And then a predictable ending that is anything but creative.

This Means War. Yeah I laughed a few times but what this really means is a big box office take, and a forgettable flick that will on on TNT every weekend in a couple of years.