I was also glad that they were willing to take creative risks with the story, characters, and even original music. Let me preface this by saying that I was absolutely in love with the idea of a new Annie movie for this new generation. Spy is now playing in theaters everywhere. But if you’re not the least bit interested, you might find Spy to be shrug-worthy. If so, then you might enjoy this movie a lot. Read some other reviews and watch the trailers to see if the comedy will resonate with you. It’s not bad enough for me to warn audiences away from this movie. If you do check this one out, I hope that’s not the case. But if you’re like me, you’ll find Spy to be pretty boring and devoid of humor. Most of it is pretty average, and at times, it surprises you with something entertaining. Every other action scene was pretty one-note, the film’s two big twists were pretty obvious (but not terribly so), and only scene actually made me cringe. It perfectly utilizes the freedom they got with the R rating to show something interesting and novel. When you strip away the comedy from Spy, you’re left with a boring plot that spoofs dozens of spy movies you’ve already seen before (so younger viewers will certainly find a lot to love).įeig pulls of just one action scene that is both enjoyable and memorable. There’s nothing worse than watching a comedy that you don’t find funny. The jokes themselves are mostly well-written, but something about the direction kept them from striking a chord with me. It was nonexistent, even during scenes I had laughed out loud at during the trailer. But when I saw the movie itself, for whatever reason, the comedic timing just fell completely flat. I actually found the trailer to be hilarious, and I was very much looking forward to Spy. For the same reason, I think a lot of people will cling to Statham’s bizarre jokes and the gag scenes that earn Spy‘s R rating. I also didn’t find the 21 Jumpstreet movie or its sequel to be that great, despite overwhelming praise from critics and fans alike. But really, this movie is a raunchy action comedy akin to this year’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. Unfortunately, I don’t consider Spy to be anywhere near as funny or witty as Kingsman.īut I think I’ll be in the minority for that opinion. The trailers would have you think this is Paul Blart Female Cop - an overweight, unassuming hero facing off against overwhelming danger.
The movie centers around Susan Cooper (McCarthy), a timid CIA analyst who has to go undercover and on the field for the first time in order to stop a nuclear arms deal in a few long chase scenes around Europe. It was directed and written by Paul Feig, who is best known for Bridesmaids and The Heat, which are two other films featuring Melissa McCarthy, and the former even includes Rose Byrne. Spy is an R rated action spy movie spoof starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Jude Law, and Rose Byrne. I’ll do my best to keep this as short as possible, though. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.I normally do Mini Reviews on this site, but I have a lot to say about Paul Feig’s latest genre experiment. Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. The film opens on June 5th and also stars Jason Statham, Jude Law, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney and Morena Baccarin. You can catch Rayna having a warped heart-to-heart with Susan in the new Spy clip below. She's part traditional spy movie villain and part Helen from Bridesmaids, making her a menacing antagonist with some mean girl sass. Rose Byrne steps in as Rayna Boyanov, an arms dealer trying to sell a nuke to Bobby Cannavale's character. However, a big part of the reason Spy is a notch above all the rest is the supporting cast.
( Click here to read my full review from SXSW.) Rather than deliver a dimwitted, bumbling main character who makes a complete turnaround in the third act, Susan Cooper is a smart, capable and very likable lead from start to finish. I thought I had grown tired of Melissa McCarthy's shtick, but Spy proved to be quite the surprise.