Die Hart

A movie that delivers exactly as expected. Kevin Hart is perfectly cast as Kevin Hart - he delivers the completely unfunny nuances of Kevin Hart perfectly.

Almost a laugh an hour, the movie is well paced. The action sequences lack action and the comedy sequences lack comedy. It's like watching a Kevin Hart "comedy" special. The laughs are all forced.

On the plus side, vegan Nathalie Emmanuel is - as always - very easy on the eye. And the fact that she doesn't mention veganism despite being handed jerky (huge spoiler, sorry) was a huge step in her acting career.

All in all, it's a movie that was made by somebody and directed by somebody and had people in it who acted. Partially. 3/10.

Kevin Hart is one of those actors/comedians who does well in the sidekick role, but struggles to lead an entire movie. Die Hart makes fun of this dynamic as well as poking fun at Hart's image and acting abilities. Its also the reason the move doesn't quite work, ironically.

Kevin Hart plays...well, Kevin Hart. He becomes upset with the image of himself as a short sidekick who is just there to be the comic relief. He wants to be seen as an action star. When a guerilla tactics director (Jean Reno) offers him an action role, but only if he agrees to attend an rogue action camp, Hart agrees. The camp is run by Ron Wilcox (John Travolta) who is, lets say, slightly mad. The methods Ron uses to teach Kevin to be the hero are both dangerous and outrageous. Soon, a second actor, Jordan (the lovely Nathalie Emmanuelle) joins the camp and becomes Kevin's classmate. Even Josh Hartnett has a cameo as himself, a former graduate of Ron's acting school. Milana Vayntrub (the AT&T spokesperson) has a small role as a talk show host.

The fun in the movie is that Hart really is thought of as just a comedic sidekick. The fact that he is willing to mock his image is both redeeming and funny. There are some genuine laughs in this film, notably the early scene of Hart melting down during an interview on the live morning talk show as well as the outrageous stunts Ron makes him perform. The problem is the gimmick runs out of steam after a while and only Hart's sincerity and energy hold it together. The "secret" revelation of what is really going on is telegraphed a mile ahead, but its still entertaining. Still, this is a decent 84 minutes of insanity that was well worth the time.

"All I needed was ... an actor who was afraid of being forgotten". This line makes me doubt this is an action film, and makes it feel like a biopic. Because if, as a serious actor, you are NOT taking a role in drivel like this because you expect it to be a box office success. On the face of it this movie is onanistic narcisism, with Kevin Hart making a movie about Kevin Hart being Kevin Hart in another Kevin Hart movie but now about Kevin Hart. If you start this movie with this in the back of your mind, you are in for a very mediocre movie about making a 'real life' movie. You are _still_ going to see a movie with Kevin Hart about Kevin Hart, mind you. But there'll be other actors too. Briefly. And a plot, passingly. All in all: Not good. Good enough to waste 90 minutes on, bad enough that you'll have forgotten about it before your next drink. Not bad. Just a Kevin Hart movie, in conclusion.

Based on the tv series of the same name which was released three years prior (this may be confusing to those who are unfamiliar with the series). This film plays out as one would expect. Kevin Hart in his own Dir Hard-esque type film with him playing a fictional character of himself trying to become an "action hero/ leading man".. it features all the parody and satirical action movie stunts to be had.

Nothing is exactly cleverly funny and it's predictable. Certainly a film would be more well liked by Kevin Hart fans. Unlike the series, there is a lot of cursing (F-bombs) which get quite over the top by both Hart and John Travolta. In the end, this film is mildly amusing, and it's a satire. People seem to be taking it far too serious.

No pun intended - just the other day I was talking with a friend and we thought "any movie that has a variant, an idea of a famous person/actor in it, is good ... well at least the ones we watched, right?" ... and it was right up to that moment. We were talking about Nic Cage playing Nic Cage (well a version of himself) and certainly John Malkovich ... even JCVD (or Jean Claude van Damme for you) is just amazing.

Well this movie is anything but ... but instead of going low (I would have given this a solid 6 to be honest), I thought ... well this has Nathalie Emmanuel in it ... so I'll go high(er) than that. I hope you can bear with me. And the movie is kind of fun - it may have certain people and call certain people by their rightful name ... and then it has John Travolta ... being someone else than himself. Well character name wise ... he could be as crazy in real life, right? I am just kidding of course ... good performance by him too.

Still way over the top - you have to dig it, to love it. Talking of loving it - where was the Rock? All that name calling, but no dice? Would have been fun - on the other hand, he would have stolen the sunshine from all others involved I reckon ... well there is the sequel so ... maybe there? (no is the answer in case you don't want to check for him there)