I saw this romantic comedy at the cinema last week after seeing the trailer and thinking it looked quite funny. I usually check Rotten Tomatoes to see what the critics thought and found that this film only had 26% which is really poor, however I didn't let this put me off as the critics often don't like this genre of film.

The film is directed by McG and was released in UK cinemas on 02 March and is still showing at cinemas now. The DVD release date is still to be confirmed.

**Plot**

The film is about a love triangle involving two CIA agents FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) who end up dating the same girl - Lauren (Reece Witherspoon). The film opens with the 2 agents on a mission in Hong Kong where they must stop Heinrich a dangerous criminal from obtaining a weapon of mass destruction. The mission is successful in the most part, until the agents kill Heinrichs brother leaving Heinrich seeking revenge. The agents are then confined to the CIA office in America for their own safety which of course they find very boring.

The two men are best friends yet couldn't be any different, Tuck is traditional and romantic, with an ex-wife and young son. Whereas FDR is a womanising bachelor. Tuck meets Lauren through an online dating website and they have a successful first date. However straight after this date FDR bumps into Lauren, unaware of who she is, and also asks her on a date unsuccessfully. However he later shows up at her work place and manages to persuade her to go on the date.

Both men are infatuated by Lauren and also likes them both equally so decides to continue seeing them both until she can reach a decision. Before long the two men discover that they are seeing the same girl but neither backs down so they decide to let the best man win, with one rule that neither of them should have sex with her. What follows is a series of dates with the two men, all of which are hijacked by the other in a bid to ruin things. Laurens dilemma doesn't become any easier as both men are using members of their CIA teams to find out about what she likes etc in order to impress her.

However after a dramatic final scene the decision is made and the destiny of the 3 protagonists is decided.

**My Opinion**

I thought the storyline was simple yet well thought out and a typical 'dilemma' situation that leaves you wondering what is going to happen. The film was easy to watch and the plot was exactly what I would expect from this genre, therefore was actually quite pleasing. The primary concern of this film was to be entertaining and funny, not to be deep of philosophical, and I think it achieved its goals well. There were some really funny moments in the film which really brought it to life, yet there were also some more serious romantic moments which brought in the romantic side that you expect from this kind of film.

The storyline was fast paced and lively, and no scene dwelled on any moment too long, with constant movement and scene changes. This was very necessary for the film which could have easily become boring if it has hovered on particular scenes for too long.

One thing I didn't like about the film was the fact that it tried to drag in a satirical version of the secret agent action genre. I suppose if the film was about two normal guys maybe it would have been boring, and despite the secret agent theme being abandoned for the most part of the film, it did slip in a few times and was quite entertaining. I'm aware that the film wasn't actually trying to be a serious secret agent film however I found the action scenes such as the opening scene incredibly tacky and hard to believe. I got the feeling that although the film wasn't taking itself too seriously in general, it was intending these particular scenes to be believable, yet they just weren't.

**Acting**

Now here comes the bad part, the acting left a lot to be desired!! The film mainly revolves around the three main characters played by Witherspoon, Hardy and Pine. Reece Witherspoon was ok, I'm used to seeing her play roles like this and she does suit it and pull it off well. I suppose she was in her comfort zone so for her it worked.

Chris Pine is not an actor that I'm too familiar with, I've heard of him and recognised him but don't recall seeing him in any films. I found his acting quite forced and although he played the womanising character well and was believably smug, I just found his whole performance slightly over the top.

Tom Hardy was the biggest disappointment, after seeing him in Warrior I couldn't have said enough about what a brilliant actor he is. Yet he did not suit this role and this kind of film in any way, which resulted in a forced wooden acting style which was the complete opposite of the Oscar-worthy performance he gave in Warrior. I think this was a case of a very mis-informed decision on casting, and I just don't think Hardy should have been selected for this role. I still believe he is a good actor but just don't think he suited this kind of film, so hope he doesn't take on a similar role again.

**Overall Opinion**

Despite some of the negative comments I made I did still enjoy this film. I wasn't expecting it to be anything more than it was and felt it delivered good comedy moments combined with an appealing storyline. I wasn't expecting the acting to be amazing, yet was left disappointed particularly by Tom Hardy who I think gave the worst performance despite being so good in other films. I doubt I would watch this again and wouldn't rush around telling people about it, however would still recommend it for anyone looking for an easy to watch romantic comedy with good laughs.