Central Intelligence (2016)
Where to Watch
- The incredible score for Central Intelligence was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Rawson Marshall Thurber originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The original script for Central Intelligence was written over a decade before production finally began in 2016.
Central Intelligence is a 2016 American action comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Kevin Hart stars as Calvin Joyner, a former high school golden boy now stuck in a mundane accounting job, whose life is upended when he reconnects with Bob Stone, played by Dwayne Johnson, a former classmate who was once an overweight, bullied outcast but has transformed into a massive, confident CIA operative. Bob recruits the reluctant Calvin into a mission involving stolen satellite codes and rogue intelligence agents, while Calvin can never be sure whether Bob is a heroic agent or a dangerous traitor.
The comedy derived primarily from the inversion of expectations β Johnson's Bob, despite his intimidating physique, retains the insecure, eager-to-please personality of his bullied teenage self, wearing a fanny pack and quoting his childhood hero Calvin with wide-eyed admiration. Kevin Hart's Calvin, the confident popular kid who peaked in high school, provides the incredulous straight man. Central Intelligence earned $217 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.
