This Means War. Rated M (sexual references, action violence and coarse language). 98 minutes. Directed by McG. Screenplay by Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg.
Verdict: A slick, classy, charisma zone. Just don’t expect too much.
With his screenplay for Mr and Mrs Smith (2005), Mr Kinberg created an ideal vehicle for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who polished off the roles of married assassins who had been hired to kill each other. As one of the three writers credited with the screenplay for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (2009), he also shared responsibility for the forensically researched blueprint that ensured this film had the potential to reach the cinematic heights it did. Add Mr Dowling, whose light, breezy and entirely predictable screenplay for Just Go with It (2011) ticked all the rom-com boxes, and you end up with a satisfying explanation of all that is good about This Means War.
