Sometimes there are films that redefine what it means to be a great film. Sometimes there are movies whose writing, acting or directing can leave you breathless. Sometimes there is cinema that just begs to be given every award imaginable. And sometimes there are movies that you watch simply because the lead actor is hot. This Means War is without question one of the latter.

A spy rom-com from director McG, This Means War claims to be about two best friends who happen to be super spies, Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine). The duo coincidentally fall for the same girl, Lauren, who is played by Reese Witherspoon. What the film is actually about is the chance to watch two extremely gorgeous men in action scenes and wooing scenes, which basically just panders to a female audience in every way.

Hardy and Pine do have good chemistry, and their bromance is the only interesting part of the movie. Their action scenes are some of the best of the film, which makes sense with McG’s action movie background. The plot was cheesy and formulaic, but when Pine and Hardy were running around in suits or tight T-shirts making quips and being attractive, it really didn’t matter what else was going on.

Reese Witherspoon is, at best, forgettable as the female lead. She merely exists as a stand-in for the audience, a pretty face to go on dates with the men as the women watching put themselves in her shoes. Chelsea Handler has some funny lines as her best friend, but the number of jokes at Handler’s expense was grating to anyone who is not a misogynist.

In the end, This Means War was funny and entertaining, but if there had been fewer attractive men as the leads it would not have been so. If it had been merely two hours of Pine and Hardy standing and looking pretty, it would have been just as good.

–Aliza Weinberger