FILM: This Means War (dir: McG, 2012)

"You have the emotional intelligence of a fifteen-year-old boy."

This is a pure popcorn movie confection that bears no relation to anything in the real world whatsoever.  The secret agent trappings are given a glossy look by McG, but there is a surprising lack of action (and what there is seems messily executed on-screen), leaving huge swathes of incredibly poor dialogue to make up most of the film.  It is therefore to the credit of the three leads that they make the film reasonably watchable: Witherspoon sparkles, Pine's usual laconicism plays well, and Hardy displays genuine warmth and surprisingly good comic timing.  It all grinds along towards a rather pat ending, and whilst harmless enough, This Means War leaves little real lasting impression