Esto es la guerra

Una relajante película de flirteo. La trama de agentes es aquí lo menos importante, siendo lo principal la chispa entre los personajes y el humor de los momentos en los que se encuentran. La película maneja todo lo suficiente para un momento de diversión, pero no se queda mucho tiempo en la memoria. Los agentes Brad y Angelina, cuyo éxito ciertamente impulsó la idea de hacer esta película, tenían un poco más de gracia. (26.02.2012)

McG should be a guarantee of a decent, effective action. He’s not. This was rather mediocre and the only real bomb comes with Tom Hardy’s scene on the paintball field. Otherwise, it’s awfully average. And as far as humor goes? There could have been a lot of irony in the dialogues, but in reality, there was a lot less than I expected. The only plus of the movie are the actors themselves. Chris Pine whom I hadn’t known before was okay and Tom Hardy was downright excellent. Reese was a bit of a makeweight, but I didn’t mind her, either. Overall, this movie is the most mediocre average I’ve ever seen. But even despite that, it’s still pretty watchable. (22.10.2012)

A hyper-stylised romantic comedy somewhat inadvertently framed as a spy-action flick and taking the rivalry of two suitors a bit more literally. As is slowly becoming the rule in post-Apatow relationship movies, the sparks fly more strikingly between friends of the same sex than between a man and a woman, which is also due to the episodic structure of the romantic plot (the impression of sitcom-like scenes is reinforced by the use of pauses between the “scenes”). Like the lead actors, the screenwriters revel in the testosterone-fuelled, technophilic “my toys are better than yours” pissing match between two guys who have a shared mother figure in the form of their strict boss. (It’s worth noting that co-screenwriter Simon Kinberg’s credits include the not dissimilar Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.) Unfortunately, they only stick with ideas that they don’t further develop, which is most regrettable in relation to the central twist given to the standard romcom formula. Contrary to the usual way of doing things, neither of the potential partners is a bit of a cretin – the screenwriting solution to this dilemma is to make the man a bit of a cretin by pushing him aside. Also, the attempt at duality in the mould of Hitchcock, who is referenced here as ostentatiously and unimaginatively as Scorsese is (a long shot in a bar), comes across as mechanical: two male friends, two female friends, scenes that are similar in content but in different settings... The action scenes are just as sloppy as the heterosexual flirting, as McG didn’t do a very good job of maintaining the continuity of the individual shots (the climax on the highway with the shooting going into a turn?). Given the film’s concept of overdoing things instead of pretending to be something (which makes it reminiscent of Knight and Day, whose bombast I found more believable), these shortcomings do not essentially hinder the straightforward entertainment. However, not even the charisma of Tom Hardy, whose Britishness I consider a major plus (unlike the presence of Witherspoon), can erase the fact that watching such products of the MTVisation of Hollywood falls into the same category of activities as breathing – after a while, you stop noticing that you’re doing anything. 50% (10.02.2012)

The female characters are boring and annoyingly whiny, McG once again confirmed the reputation of a man of heavy routine who is able to choose nice music and cheesy scenery, but it's already a bit difficult to get it moving interestingly and the script is full of moronic phrases and female wisdom, for which people should obligatorily be sent directly to the menopause penalty box. But Pine and Hardy are such "males" and there is so much between them that all heterosexuality goes away... Why does Witherspoon even get involved in that romantic spy bond of theirs? Watching their "registered" squabbles is almost as fun as watching a clash between Law and Downey. Although the screenwriter is far behind the charisma and the commitment of the actors... Pleasant fun, also because the two can turn a dull superficial pleasure into enjoyment (Pine as an expert on Klimt? I like it!). (10.02.2012)

Nicely shot, with a typical video-clip style, overexposed and relatively entertaining. But at its core, it is a very flat film. I would expect more action, less romance, but it was exactly the opposite. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are great likeable characters, and Reese Witherspoon is not bad either. The chemistry between them works great, so, apart from a few digital mistakes and boring scenes, I had a pretty good time, knowing that it is a predictable and essentially undemanding nonsense. (20.08.2012)