"This Means War" wants to be an action/romance/comedy combo but doesn't achieve any of the three. FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are CIA agents who not only work together but are long-time best friends. Their friendship is tested when they accidentally start seeing the same woman, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon). Once the guys realize the situation, they agree to let the lady decide and both continue seeing her while agreeing they won't tell her they know each other, won't interfere with each other's dates, and won't sleep with her. Being CIA agents with a lot of technology and skill on their side, the guys quickly forget about the no interference rule as their dates with Lauren heat up.
I think that the major problem with this film is that it's trying to be too much. It's hard to be action, romance, and comedy all at once and I think this film falls short on all three marks. There's not enough action to really establish this as a spy or action film. The audience sees very little of the guys doing much other than competing over Lauren, who doesn't know they are spies. The romance angle didn't work for me because I saw no real chemistry between Witherspoon and her two suitors. Really I thought the chemistry was between Hardy and Pine, who would've been great in a film just about the two of them in a "buddy" or "partner in crime" situation. As far as comedy, the writing and delivery just didn't bring the laughs enough to make this a real comedy. The only chuckles come from Hardy and Pine interacting despite the weak script. Chelsea Handler attempted to bring some laughs as Lauren's married best pal/confidant, but I felt she just didn't have much to work with and her efforts fell short.
Overall, I just think this film is such a miss in terms of its writing, delivery, direction, and lack of chemistry. It's a good example of what was possibly a good idea (combining action with rom-com) and big names (Witherspoon, Hardy, Pines) but the result is a poor film - D+.
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