Spy Reviews

Recently, I saw 'The Heat' which turned out to be terribly weak but since this movie had been rather successful at the box-office, I thought I might give Paul Feig another chance to redeem himself. Well, even though this movie was indeed an improvement, the improvement was unfortunately only minor, I'm afraid. At least, there was a nice cast involved, the concept had some potential and there were some decent jokes. And, yet, it still didn't really work. The first thing that annoyed me was that the whole thing was just a mess. Indeed, it was too long and they kept switching from ideas every 5 minutes. For example, at first, it seemed that the main character would be a really incompetent agent because of her lack of field experience but, then, she became suddenly some kind of super-spy. Then, most of the supporting characters changed side at some point or another which became really tedious very quickly. Finally, most of the jokes were rather lame and Jason Statham, who had a great opportunity here to make fun of his usual action flicks, was completely wasted with a rather boring and unfunny character. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I still didn't care much for the damned thing and I don't think it is really worth a look. 

I have to say, I liked this movie. I was ready to abandon ship after 15-20 minutes, but the good comedy increased and it morphed into a real story with a funny lead. I don't Melissa McCarthy was as great as a sexy Rose Byrne, or a ridiculously funny Jason Statham, but I enjoyed the jokes and the comedy. Looking for a laugh? Check this one out.

Very very hilarious and entertaining. If you go in with expectations of it being an amazing spy movie with a ton of suspense, you're gonna be disappointed. But for what it is (a spy comedy), this was an excellent piece.

Initial Thought: While watching the trailer I had several thoughts. The first was that the action looked pretty good. Then I was disappointed how comedic everything went given how badass it had looked. Then I saw Melissa McCarthy and I was a bit bummed out. She is a decent actress some of the time, but her taste in film is not that good. Then I saw that Jason Statham was in it. I was shocked that he would choose to be in a film like this. It looked a little funny, but not really enough to pull me in. I also thought the title here was really lazy. Anyways then we had a showing at my theater and several people said they actually enjoyed it. So I figured why not finally see why this is such a big deal.

Characters/Acting: The cast here is pretty extensive with people I don't know, action stars, comedians, and others. Some of the more impressive choices here are Jude Law, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Morena Baccarin, and 50 Cent. Everyone here is quite funny even people with pretty small roles. This is probably my favorite Melissa McCarthy role to date. She was pretty hilarious here with moments of pure badass. Jason Statham is actually quite hilarious with how ridiculously badass his character is. Rose Byrne plays a pretty good villain to my surprise. Jude Law is awesome like usual. I just couldn't find a character here that sucked.

Story: An unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency's most dangerous missions must go deep undercover when her partner is compromised. This plot just didn't appeal to me when I saw the trailer. I thought it was pretty bogus. Then again there are many bogus ideas that turn out to be quite fun. The theme song intro was actually kind of neat. It's starts off fairly serious and then it switches it's routine on you. The action is pretty fun. There is actually a good amount of blood during such scenes. I was surprised by how brutal it got at some points. There are a lot of twists and turns that catch you off guard. That ending was too perfect. There is a little blooper after the credits that is pretty funny.

Directing/Writing: Paul Feig takes on the role of writer and director for this feature. My first run in with him was Bridesmaids. I really despised that unfunny garbage. It really is way overrated. However, I absolutely loved The Heat. I really hope this one surprises me and ends up on The Heat level of the spectrum. We kind of get a look here of how a Bond film would look as a comedy.

Final Thought: Well way to go Paul Feig. You made a movie with a trailer I despised turn out to be a hilarious rollercoaster of a film. It's got brutal violence and laugh out moments throughout. It was smothered in completely gross out humor except maybe one time. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I wouldn't mind a sequel either. I definitely recommend checking this one out if you haven't already.

"I'm the person that's gonna cut your dick off and glue it to your forehead so you look like a limp-dick unicorn, that's who the fuck I am!"

Even though 2013's The Heat was a word-of-mouth success that earned an inexplicable amount of praise, this reviewer found it tedious - an unfocused action-comedy in need of tighter editing, sharper scripting, and a more competent craftsman at the helm. There was not much hope, then, for director Paul Feig's follow-up effort, 2015's Spy. Miraculously, though, the resultant movie is a marked improvement over The Heat, even if it falls short of perfection. To be sure, Spy is definitely overlong and crass, not to mention it panders to a handful of "girl power" tropes (it's more of a feminist action movie than the phenomenal Mad Max: Fury Road). Nevertheless, it is handsomely produced and benefits from the presence of an amicable cast, most notably the always-reliable Jason Statham, the charming Jude Law, and the underrated Peter Serafinowicz.

Despite being a star pupil in training, CIA analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is stuck in an office all day every day, yearning for the chance to become a field agent. She's a resourceful asset to the team, dedicated to helping the suave Bradley Fine (Law) in every aspect of his life, from helping him through dangerous situations to doing his laundry. During an operation to investigate Bulgarian arms dealer Raina Boyanov (Rose Byrne), it is revealed that the names and faces of all active field agents have been compromised, leaving the CIA unsure of how to proceed. Cooper, however, puts her hand up, volunteering to travel to Rome to provide surveillance on Boyanov. It's not as easy as anticipated, though, especially with the overzealous Rick Ford (Statham) not taking kindly to being excluded from the assignment.

As with The Heat, Spy's narrative is definitely too convoluted, as it meanders around searching for direction before settling on a climax. This episodic structure in itself is not a bad thing, as classic films like The Blues Brothers utilise it, but Feig is not quite talented enough to sustain the movie through to the finish line. It is funny, especially whenever Statham is around, but it's nothing overly memorable. As evidenced in Bridesmaids and The Heat, Feig's comedy is derived from the shock value of crass humour and vulgar language to compensate for the lack of actual wit. While an R-rated comedy is to be cherished in this day and age, Feig fails to fulfil the project's potential. The director also has a tendency to hold onto punch lines and scenes of improvisation for far too long, displaying too much trust in the ensemble. Consequently, pacing is often fairly sedate, and the issue is exacerbated by the undeniable fact that the movie is over-plotted.

It's palpable from the outset that Feig has placed his parody crosshairs on the James Bond franchise, even kicking off with a 007-style opening credits sequence, and establishing an unmistakable spy thriller vibe. Perhaps the king of action-comedy was 2007's Hot Fuzz, a British romp that managed to be both a kick-ass actioner and a side-splitting comedy. Spy lacks the sparkle of wit that elevated Hot Fuzz, on top of coming up short in the action department. Astonishingly, Spy appears to be the first major motion picture to employ digital muzzle flashes as opposed to actual blank-firing weapons, a baffling choice that's incredibly distracting, not to mention the CGI blood is some of the very worst ever seen in cinema (The Expendables included). A few brief shots of digital blood puffs would be acceptable, but Feig lingers, using slow motion for no good reason, allowing us to observe the computer-generated viscera in all its phoney non-glory. Admittedly, though, the movie is elevated to an extent by the fight choreography, with McCarthy given the chance to show off some impressive moves. It's ridiculous of course, but all part of the joke.

McCarthy's track record as a lead actress has been shonky, to say the least; she's insufferable in The Heat, Identity Thief and Tammy. Although Spy makes use of McCarthy's typical persona, she doesn't get on the nerves as much here, and she does score a few laughs. But ultimately, Spy works as an ensemble piece, and it helps that McCarthy is surrounded by plenty of talented thespians. This is Statham's first comedy since Guy Ritchie's Snatch. fifteen years ago, yet he displays top-notch comedic timing, not to mention he's completely willing to play an utter cartoon, merrily parodying his own action star image. It's particularly amusing to see the tough guy trying to disguise himself in various get-ups. He thoroughly upstages McCarthy, and though it's a shame the movie didn't centre on him, it's the element of surprise that makes Statham's appearances so hilarious. Also of note is British funny-man Serafinowicz, who's over-the-top in all the right ways, scoring more laughs than McCarthy despite limited screen-time. Australian actress Byrne makes a positive impression as well, shining with her deadpan line delivery and amusing accent. Meanwhile, Law plays a Bond-style secret agent with ample finesse.

Hidden somewhere within Spy's bloated two-hour runtime is an adequate ninety-minute action-comedy, and one cannot help but wonder what the film would have looked like if Feig's script had been revised by a more refined comedy writer. And ultimately, the outlook for Feig's impending all-female Ghostbusters reboot looks all the shakier, as the helmer exhibits none of the comic timing, wit or innovation of the 1984 original, not to mention it remains to be see if Feig can even handle a PG-13 comedy since his humour almost exclusively relies on profanity.

6.1/10