Spy review

SPY:

00-DOUBTFIRE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

20^TH CENTURY FOX

Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, and Melissa McCarthy in the new action comedy, Spy

            Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat, St. Vincent) join forces once again to bring another laugh out loud action comedy to the big screen, Spy. Think of it as James Bond meets Mrs. Doubtfire, literally that’s pretty much what the film is, but I don’t mean that in a bad way, the film is hilarious all the way through and even manages to throw in some fun action as well as some drama and it never feels overstuffed and it always comes back to the spy action comedy we were promised.

            McCarthy plays pudgy deskbound CIA analyst, Susan Cooper and partner of top agent, Bradley Fine (Jude Law-The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Aviator, Sherlock Holmes). When Fine falls off the grid and another top agent, Rick Ford (Jason Statham-The Transporter trilogy, Crank, Furious 7) is compromised, Cooper volunteers to go undercover as a middle-age woman and infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer (Bobby Cannavale-Blue Jasmine, Chef, Annie) and his daughter (Rose Byrne-Bridesmaids, Neighbors, Annie) and prevent a global disaster involving a nuke.

            Overall, Spy, like Bridesmaids and The Heat is a very funny action comedy, the action is well choreographed, the cast and characters are all memorable especially McCarthy, Statham, and Byrne, and the humor and writing are witty and almost always get a big laugh. Melissa McCarthy is basically just acting as herself, much like her performances from films like The Heat, Identity Thief, and Tammy, but it works and even in mediocre films like Identity Thief and Tammy, there’s just always something so funny and likable about her that you just don’t care, she will make you laugh and thankfully the script and writing for this movie give her a lot to work with.

            Now for the big shock, what really amazed me about the film was how funny Jason Statham is in this flick. Like most of his action movie roles, he’s the man of action who just wants to get things done, but what’s really funny and actually kind of clever about his character is that he’s completely full of himself, is frequently angry, and can even be a klutz once in a while and he delivers it very well, it’s very refreshing to see him do something outside of traditional action films.

            If you’re a fan of Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy’s previous films together, Bridesmaids and The Heat, chances are you’ll love Spy, from the James Bond style opening credits sequence to the mid-credits scene at the end that will have you laughing like a hick. It’s a mission of thrills and laughs you’ll be glad to accept and with the talent of Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Jude Law, and Rose Byrne, it’s sure to be a winning mission of laughs and excitement.