Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Comedy & Crime
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 47 mins
ReleasedJune 17, 2016
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorRawson Marshall Thurber
StarringDwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan
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Central Intelligence (2016)
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| Central Intelligence's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Comedy & Crime |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/10/2016 (Regency Village Theater); 06/17/2016 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 47 mins |
| Budget | $50M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Central Intelligence's Interests | |
| General | Unicorns, fanny packs, high school reunions, spreadsheets, rooftop jumps. |
| Music | Theodore Shapiro and Ludwig Göransson |
| Movies | Ride Along (2014), more Hart in over his head. Skyscraper (2018), same director, same Rock. |
| Television | Chuck. A regular guy dragged into the spy world, with the same bad timing. |
| Heroes | Bob Stone. Biggest glow-up of the century, still very into unicorns. |
| Central Intelligence's Crew | |
| Director | Rawson Marshall Thurber |
| Writers | Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Ike Barinholtz (story), David Stassen (story) |
| Producers | Scott Stuber, Peter Principato, Paul Young, Michael Fottrell |
| Cinematography | Barry Peterson |
| Music | Theodore Shapiro, Ludwig Göransson |
| Edited By | Mike Sale, Brian Olds |
| Production | New Line Cinema, RatPac Entertainment, Perfect World Pictures, Bluegrass Films, Principato-Young Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures (United States and Canada), Universal Pictures (International, via United International Pictures) |
A unicorn T-shirt, a fanny pack and a CIA badge: Dwayne Johnson’s whole look is the joke in Central Intelligence, and it’s the best part. He plays Bob Stone, a former high school outcast who grew up into a spy, and he plays him like an overgrown kid who still can’t believe somebody was nice to him once. That’s a smart flip. Kevin Hart, usually the live wire, gets stuck as the straight man, worrying and yelping while Johnson gets all the good stuff. The spy plot about stolen satellite codes and a mystery seller is pure filler, and the action scenes blur together. The best scene is a fake couples’ therapy session that goes sideways fast. Jason Bateman pops in as the old bully and is perfectly awful. It made $216.9 million worldwide on a reported $50M. A 5.1 because the leads are a delight and the movie around them could be any buddy comedy. $9,312 says you dig out your old yearbook tonight just to guess who might be a secret agent now.
What works: Dwayne Johnson’s goofy, sincere Bob is genuinely funny and sweet, and the fake therapy session is a highlight.
What doesn’t: Kevin Hart is wasted as the straight man, and the satellite codes spy plot is generic filler that nobody will remember.
Who it’s for: Fans of both stars who want an easy buddy comedy with a surprisingly kind message about bullying.
Spoilers
Phil Stanton, Bob’s old partner, faked his death and turns out to be the real Black Badger, so Bob was framed all along. Bob and Calvin take him down, then show up at their high school reunion, where Bob finally stands up to Trevor, and Calvin later joins the CIA.
Back in high school, Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) was the Golden Jet, the star everybody figured would rule the world. Twenty years later he's a forensic accountant who feels stuck. Then an old classmate he once stood up for, Robbie Weirdicht, gets in touch as Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson), now enormous, cheerful, and suspiciously good at fighting. Over drinks, Bob asks Calvin to look over some numbers. The next morning, CIA agent Pamela Harris (Amy Ryan) shows up at Calvin's house saying Bob has gone rogue. Rawson Marshall Thurber directs. One hundred eight minutes, one fanny pack, zero chill.
Anyone who got picked on in gym class. Bob has your back.
Bob Stone / Robbie Weirdichtphoto: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Kevin Hart | Calvin "Golden Jet" Joyner |
| Dwayne Johnson | Bob Stone / Robbie Weirdicht |
| Amy Ryan | Agent Pamela Harris |
| Aaron Paul | Philip "Phil" Stanton |
| Jason Bateman | Trevor Olson |
| Danielle Nicolet | Maggie Joyner |
| Tim Griffin | Agent Stan Mitchell |
| Timothy John Smith | Agent Nicholas "Nick" Cooper |
| Megan Park | Lexi |
| Thomas Kretschmann | the buyer |
| Melissa McCarthy | Darla McGuchian |
| Kumail Nanjiani | Jared |
| Ryan Hansen | Steve |
| Slaine | Thugged Out |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $216.9M; Domestic box office $127.4M; Opening weekend $35.5M; Profit / loss (est.) +$33.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 71%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 71% (184 reviews); Metacritic 52 / 100; PostTrak audience 75% positive; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 6.3 / 10 (243,306 votes); movie.guru score 4.9.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.