This Means War

Although the characters' love interests feel pretty genuine and the story plausible enough, "This Means War" is still unsatisfying. For a movie targeted toward a more adult audience, the movie is surprisingly rife with childish and campy dialogue.

In "This Means War," two federal-agent-best-friends find themselves falling for the same woman. Instead of coming to a reasonable solution to this problem, they compete for her affection using a combination of romance and spy tactics. Mix this with a subplot involving an upset drug lord, and the result is quite a mess.

Failing to capitalize on the spy genre premise, the action scenes are few and far between.

Additionally, the cast is mediocre at best, and the special effects are far from jaw-dropping.

In its defense, it's interesting how "This Means War" partially switches the stereotyped roles of men and women. Instead of men juggling women, they fight to be in a committed relationship (and vice versa). Otherwise, this movie has nothing new to offer. Friendships being manipulated and torn apart over mutual feelings for the same girl—it's been done before.

It's still a decent enough choice for a date night. Reese Witherspoon and an occasional action scene may be enough to leave most men content, while suggestive girl talk and the "humorous" plot manipulate the film into more of a romantic comedy—perfect for the ladies.