Opening in theaters this weekend is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart’s new buddy comedy Central Intelligence.
The film is loaded with star power – not just Johnson and Hart. Throughout the film are a handful of cameos which we won’t spoil for you here but in addition to surprise appearances from several A-list actors are references to a few geek culture icons. Mild spoilers for a few of Central Intelligence‘s jokes follow.
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Early in the film when Johnson’s Bob character reunites with Hart’s Calvin Joyner, Calvin is admiring how the formerly fat Robbie Wheirdicht could transform into the super hero physique of Bob Stone’s stature. At one point, Calvin tells Bob he looks like Hercules. This is ironic because Johnson played Hercules back in 2014 in another Rat Pac production which is likely where the joke was born.
Later on, during an action sequence, Johnson makes a joke about Hart’s physical stature, as well. Unfortunately for Hart, the reference in this joke wasn’t quite as complimentary as Johnson’s. Bob actually calls Calvin “Ant-Man” in reference to the Marvel super hero who got his own movie in 2015 and appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Ant-Man actually got himself a nickname in Civil War, being called “Tic Tac” by the Falcon.
Finally, there was also a Road House reference in the film. A reboot of the Road House movie is currently in development with Ronda Rousey set to star in it. The reference may have stemmed from Johnson’s connection to Rousey through the Fast & Furious franchise… or it may have just been a funny addition to the script by its writers.
Central Intelligence is now playing in theaters.
