Movie Review: This Means War

What happens when two men fall for the same girl? Now imagine those two men are CIA agents/partners. That is the premise for This Means War and Reese Witherspoon is the woman.

The film had some great action scenes as these men use all of their CIA resources to spy on the girl and learn what she's looking for. In order to use the resources, both men claim national security, going as far to say "Patriot Act" when questioned by a tech guy, to prevent the other spies from catching on. This also includes the secondary story which involves a criminal they are trying to capture.

There are tons of great one liners, and many of the best were delivered by none other than Chelsea Handler. The problem I found was that most of these one liners could be heard during the trailer and therefore were not a surprise. Given that, I still laughed each time. Rest assured that the film is funny and the trailer didn't actually give everything away.

I might be alone in my opinion here, and I most likely am, but each time they closed in on Chris Pine's face, I couldn't help but think of Star Trek and how his face looks on the posters. The other issue I had with a face was Witherspoon's in one scene. She had no make-up on, or they went for a really natural look, and on a large screen, it just didn't look right. She's still a beautiful woman but even male actors wear make-up in the movies for a reason.

The films editing could have been better with too many blackouts as transitions. The black screen didn't last for more than a few seconds but it felt long and happened multiple times.

My personal opinion of this film is that it will have something for everyone. Women will enjoy the story and the cute guys while men will like the action and competition. I'm not sure I liked what Witherspoon's character decided in the end, but I don't want to give details and spoil the end of the film.

This Means War will be released nation wide on February 17, 2012. Check your local theater's Facebook page to see if there are any deals on tickets or popcorn.

Movie Rating for This Means War

The passes for this pre-screening were won through Gofobo. Follow their Facebook page to attend free screenings near you. Check out my information post for more information about free movie screenings.