Ensign Lestat's Film Log, 19/03/2012
Two spies, one girl, one huge battle! That's how I would describe the premise of the film 'This Means War'; one of the unlikeliest films I would ever pay good money to see. But I did pay money to see it. And I put this down to falling prey to the oldest trick in the book - good marketing. The one and only trailer of the film was so hilarious, it had me laughing out loud. This never happens with me, believe you me. So when I did find myself laughing, I figured the film was worth a go.
It starts off with an action-packed scene, full of gunfire, hand-to-hand combat and near-death stunts. We are immediately introduced to our leading males - FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy). They're able spies, but their mission goes awry and the two of them end up being grounded (no, that doesn't mean their lunch money's been taken away, it means they're stuck with desk assignments only).
Tuck is a divorced father, who is attempting to make his way back to the dating scene. FDR is the quintessential playboy. And the two of them, by not the most unnatural circumstance, chance upon the same woman, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), a lady with a most fantastic job dealing with products.
When, much to their horror, they realise they are pursuing the same woman, they make a pact to let the lady decide for herself, but make sure they try their hardest to influence her final decision. The lady herself feels somewhat guilty for dating two guys, but decides, on the very poor advice of her friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler), to continue in the same vein before making a concrete decision.
All this is happening, by the way, with a background threat of a vile villain aiming for the heads of both Tuck and FDR.
This film is hilarious. It really is. I've been told that some scenes were cut out in the theatres we were watching in so I can only comment on what I've seen. I'm hoping against hope that the re-inclusion of those scenes won't completely ruin the film.
From what I saw however this was a 'laughathon' geared towards the female audience members. Though Tom Hardy isn't what I call an attractive-looking man, his good-natured, down-to-earth, emotionally mature character, Tuck, was very appealing. I, however, was rooting from the start for FDR (a fab name even if it is just letters). Chris Pine has expressive, blue eyes which are helped by the largeness of their size. Nose downwards though his face isn't so attractive. But having said all that, bad boy character or no, he has some of the funnier dialogues and his style sense trumps all. Oh my goodness, his stylist should be awarded for choosing the most perfect outfits. Casual or formal the clothes looked like they were made for his frame (and, yes, he has a svelte frame, so it isn't much hard work to make it look attractive). But I have to admit, I think his wardrobe may have swayed me more than anything else - admittedly very few of us would dislike someone dressed like FDR.
Both males ably play their characters. I found out, belatedly, that I had not seen Tom Hardy for the first time in 'Inception', but that he was the evil nemesis in 'Star Trek: Nemesis'. He was virtually unrecognisable as the nemesis. I loved him in 'Inception' - but I have an eerie suspicion I loved everybody in that film, so that's not much to go by. This is his first major role that I have seen since, and he doesn't disappoint.
Oddly enough, Pine is another Star Trek alum (I only just realised that). I hated 'Star Trek'; everything about the 2009 rendition was a disaster, especially Pine's repulsive Kirk. That film, has, however, catapulted the cast to stardom and a great many new projects. I have apparently seen Pine in a film before the 2009 Trek film, but I only have a vague recollection of it. Despite how much I enjoyed his performance in this film, I'm unlikely to forgive him for ruining a much beloved character from my childhood.
I also enjoyed Witherspoon's performance in the film. I can't say I'm a fan of hers - her genre of films is not to my liking. Well, this film does fit that genre (romcom, I guess), but it tries to handle things differently (if ever so slightly). Her character has an interesting job, without it being something of a dream job. She's a strong woman, albeit emotionally misguided. What I liked most is, she's not being duped into joining a love triangle, she's a willing participant, and she gets the most out of it, despite being unaware that her two love interests are close friends. She also plays an emphatic part in the climactic action scene, something woefully missing in actual action films. I sometimes feel if writers from different genres actually sat down and had a good chat with each other, we'd end up with some rather perfect Hollywood fare that would actually cater to audience members who didn't necessarily count themselves as a straight male between the ages of sixteen and forty.
The direction, by McG, I think, is one of the reasons why the film doesn't feel completely like a romantic-comedy. Having said that, I don't think I've actually seen a romantic comedy before, so I can just assume that they don't all contain slick action scenes like this one did. One scene comes readily to mind, and I didn't realise why I was enjoying it so much till my sister pointed out the camera technique used in it. Mid-way through the film, we have a one-take scene with our three main protagonists - the camera just dollies around the room letting us in on the action. It is absolutely brilliant and flawless. Having recently re-watched McG's previous effort 'Terminator Salvation', I can understand why he was a good choice for a film like this.
Again, my enjoyment of the film is based on the conglomeration of scenes that I was shown. How the other scenes will affect my overall viewing of the film remains to be seen. Suffice to say I will update this review whenever I watch the full version. But till then, I recommend this film to women who want to have a little fun and watch some action as well.
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