On paper, the premise for This Means War wasn’t going to turn many heads during Awards Season, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled the first time I caught the trailer, but 20th Century Fox certainly had more than enough star power to fill theaters. In terms of the leading men, Chris Pine has been relatively low-key since his enjoyable performance in 2009’s Star Trek, but Tom Hardy has been skyrocketing towards the A-list since he first charmed audiences in 2010’s Inception. When it comes to Reese Witherspoon, with the exception of her voice-work in 2009’s Monsters vs. Aliens, I actually haven’t paid to see one of her film’s since 2002’s Sweet Home Alabama, and that was the one and only time I have nearly fallen asleep in a theater. Don’t get me wrong, I fully acknowledge Witherspoon’s talent as an actress, but the biggest selling point for me concerning This Means War was director McG, who with the Charlie’s Angels series proved an undeniable talent for mixing familiar faces with explosive and ridiculous fun. Early critical reaction was anything but kind, but I wasn’t exactly expecting anything deep from this romantic comedy/spy-action hybrid; at the very least, I just wanted the likable cast to be entertaining.
It is not often that I dramatically deviate from popular opinion, but where a majority of critics hated This Means War, I actually really enjoyed the film, and I feel that is thanks largely to the on-screen buddy chemistry between Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. Anytime these two are together onscreen, they make very believable best friends whose bickering and competitiveness paves the way for considerable humor. Even Reese Witherspoon charms, but the strongest appeal of the film has to be the creative blending of genres, which uses considerable imagination to illustrate how top government operative might use their skills for more immature means. Granted, the gross invasion of privacy highlighted is a little disconcerting, but I doubt a majority of audiences will take that misstep too seriously; if anything, the true criticism lies in the predictable storyline and some of the downright ridiculous plot elements. Far from perfect as it may be, This Means War is still fun and well-worth seeing as long as you don’t take it too seriously.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
