"I Spy" does do an effective job of presenting a fun and fast-paced action comedy that should count itself fortunate to have the team of Murphy and Wilson in the starring roles...
I Spy
Release Date: November 1st, 2002
The 70's spy classic TV show is brought to the big screen under the directorial overseeing of Betty Thomas ("Dr. Dolittle," "28 Days") and promises a James Bond adventure with buddy-movie comedy. And while the action is done very effectively, sadly the belly laughs came far too far apart.
Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson team up to reprise the roles made famous by Robert Culp and Bill Cosby, namely secret agent Alex Scott and renowned boxing champ Kelly Robinson. Scott, an inept but marginally effective spy, is sent on a mission to Hungary to retrieve a stolen prototype stealth jet from an arms dealer (Malcolm McDowell) due to auction the plane off during his hosting of a championship boxing match. The downside, aside from the fact that his superiors assigned him this mission due to the lack of anyone else more qualified, is that his cover is as the personal assistant to Robinson, one of the fight's participants. Making matters worse, Robinson is an egomaniacal media-whore who seems bound and determined to both continue his long winning streak and break the Rock's record for referring to oneself in the third-person within the span of two hours, despite all concern for the mission. Teamed with fellow spy Rachel Wright (Famke Janssen), these two clashing personalities must find a way to work together and find the plane before it's sold to one of any number of enemy interests.
It seems that Thomas felt that Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy worked better together when they were just allowed to be themselves. And she was right. Wilson and Murphy play off one another beautifully, so much so that nine-tenths of their dialogue seems improvised. The two have some hilarious exchanges together, which serve only to speak volumes for their comedic timing and skill. The action sequences proved a little more than adequate, but were nicely supplemented by the costars' by-play.
Sadly, those moments were very few and far between. Most of the comedy felt like it was taking a back seat to the story, which quite honestly isn't something we haven't seen a thousand times before. The plot was heavily predictable, almost to the point of being able to easily guess the one or two twists that creep up. McDowell was also heavily underused as the movie's bad guy, which is sad considering how great a heavy he can portray. It was a refreshing change, however, to see a film of this type where the day was saved only "kinda-sorta," as it seems Wilson and Murphy often have to settle for bittersweet victories.
The 411: "I Spy" does do an effective job of presenting a fun and fast-paced action comedy that should count itself fortunate to have the team of Murphy and Wilson in the starring roles. The movie is less a remake of the TV show than a movie that stands on its own aside from the fact that the title and main characters happen to be named after those from the series. The plot unfortunately suffers from a massive dose of predictability that the starring cast does a fair job of bolstering, and it seems the other cast members are just "there." "I Spy" is a fun if sometimes silly spy romp that won't win any major cinematic accolades but it'll definitely be a fun time at the cineplex.
