What girl doesn’t dream of two handsome
men fighting for her affection at one point in her life? In a movie with Reese Witherspoon as
its leading lady, one might automatically assume that the film being reviewed
here is some sappy chick-flick with a tearjerker ending, but anyone who has
seen the trailers for her most recent film, This
Means War, knows that it’s clearly not a chick-flick.
Why is this 2012 blockbuster not just the
average romantic-comedy that only the typical female movie-viewer can
enjoy? Here’s your answer: The
first scene involves a C.I.A. bust of an illegal deal, taking place in a glamorous
private club crawling with beautiful women. This is followed by a sequence with action absolutely everywhere,
guns, bullets, and well-executed stunts in nearly every frame. Though the love stories contained in
the plot are slow to start, the beginning of this film is sure to grab nearly
everyone’s attention.
The plot starts to come together when
Lauren Scott (played by Reese Witherspoon) soon enters as a successful woman
with everything, including a conveniently hilarious best friend, Trish (played
by comedian Chelsea Handler), except a boyfriend. As Trish sets her up on a dating website, Lauren reluctantly
explores her possibilities, and to her surprise, finds Tuck (Tom Hardy), a sweet
and good-looking British “travel agent.”
Of course, as she would in any film of this genre, Lauren goes out with
him and meanwhile, bumps into his best friend, F.D.R. (Chris Pine), who also
ends up taking her out for a date, not without the use of his smooth and witty
charm.
Things get sticky when these two C.I.A.
agents, Tuck and F.D.R., realize that they are dating the same girl, especially
since it was F.D.R. who convinced Tuck to start dating again. The friends decide that they both want
the girl, and make a “gentlemen’s agreement” that they will both keep seeing
her and come to the conclusion, “may the best man win.” Literally spy vs. spy, they both
hilariously attempt to win her affection by using their C.I.A. ties to secretly
survey Lauren in order to get the scoop on everything she likes and thinks
about both of them. This spying
all begins in an impressive, heavily choreographed sequence in which the two
spies investigate her private life while avoiding her gaze as she, in true
bubbly Witherspoon fashion, dances around, unaware of just how close her beaus
are. This surveillance leads to
some extravagant dates as well as embarrassing confessions to Trish about both of
her flames. It all goes smashingly
well until Lauren finds out about the boys’ little agreement and the movie
comes to a close with a thrilling ending, because it wouldn’t be complete
without one last action sequence. And
of course, Lauren gets her man after following the wise advice of Trish, “Don't
go with the better guy, go with the guy that makes you better.”
Directed by McG (executive producer of
television’s action-packed shows, CW’s Nikita
and Supernatural), this film is a
win-win situation for the audience as well as the characters created within it. Though it could have turned out to be
an average romantic-comedy with corny writing, it really didn’t thanks to the
acting and comedic abilities of the central cast, Witherspoon, Handler, Hardy,
and Pine, as well a truly original story created by Timothy Dowling, Simon
Kinburg, and Marcus Gautesen.
With a polished cinematography style and a plot that keeps the audience
wondering until its final moments, This
Means War is a ticket worth the money for the whole audience on date night. Thank you for reading!
I credit this work to myself, Maria NeCastro
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