“I Spy” was a popular television series that ran in the
1960’s. It starred Bill Cosby and Robert Culp as fellow secret
agents; one being black, the other white. The new version, put
to film, also called I Spy, stars Owen Wilson and
Eddie Murphy. It offers a few laughs and a good time, but is
lacking originality. We get the old humor that Wilson and
Murphy chose to continuously use, the now boring and
repetitive secret agent wannabe scheme and a couple of laughs.
With Austin Powers in Goldmember, xXx,
and Bad Company, it isn’t possible for the
filmmaking industry to once again swiftly squeeze in another
secret agent parody into the mix.
The film opens up to a secret agent
running from some crazed villagers in a foreign country during
very low temperatures. The agent, Alexander Scott, played by
Owen Wilson, is extremely klutzy and can’t get his numerous
gadgets together. The video then focuses its attention back to
headquarters, where they are discussing a new mission that
Alexander will be head of. He will be teamed up with Kelly
Robinson (Eddie Murphy), the top boxer in the country of
America. Robinson
will be fighting for the champion’s title in
Budapest the next week. He
is a happy man and is full of himself, but takes on this job
at the government when they tell him he is the only one who
can do the job and will be a hero if he succeeds in doing so.
The night before his match, an invisible spy plane, called the
“Switch Blade” will be auctioned off at privet party. If this
plane is left in the wrong hands, many bad things could
happen, though the script doesn’t exactly specify what. The
reason why Mr. Robinson will be able to get into this party is
because it is disguised as an advertisement for the boxing
event. Mr. Scott, the real secret agent will pretend to be his
butler, and sneak into the room where the bids are being
exchanged and logged on a computer. By doing this, he will
hopefully find a way to steal the plane and get it back to the
FBI. There are some laughs along the way caused Wilson and
Murphy’s constant improvisation and well written comedy.
I Spy is fun and entertaining, but is too much of
a rehash to give a strong recommendation.
I did like the special effects,
which are seemingly necessary to making a good comedy these
days. There are some cool gadgets and great pickup lines to go
with them, though it is nothing we haven’t seen before. The
chase scenes and skits which involve “The Switchblade” are fun
to watch and despite the farfetched sense of realism, they are
delectable to watch. I especially liked a scene where Murphy
and Wilson were riding a motorcycle-like vehicle. It made me
smile, and respect the effort put into it all at one time,
which is hard to come by.
To reach a conclusion, I must state
that I Spy is worth a watch, but never grasps the
concept of “good” filmmaking. Murphy and Wilson are able to
make us laugh in a couple of scenes but not nearly as much as
in their previous works. There are some creative and visually
entertaining images that are able to make us chuckle, but not
break out in laughter. The flick is clever, but not inventive.
If you aren’t expecting a Zoolander or
Nutty Proffessor, than I Spy will definitely
dish out a good time at the movies for you and your
companions.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews