I Spy
By a show of hands, who agrees that buddy-cop/spy movies have far surpassed their optimal freshness date? After a while, they're all the same movie; two men (at least one is a cop) are forced to work together. In almost all cases, the two partners have different backgrounds and heritages. They resent the situation and each other until they inexplicably overcome their differences. Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour are two of the best specimens from the buddy cop sub-genre. 2002's Bad Company and Showtime were decent, but they exemplified the staleness of the movie type.
In I Spy, Special Agent Alexander Scott's (Wilson) newest mission (after almost botching the last one) is to recover a special fighter jet called The Switchblade. The Switchblade can turn nearly invisible, avoiding radar and human-eye detection. Sounds sweet! An arms dealer has stolen this jet from the United States and is offering it to the highest bidder.
SA Scott's unwilling partner is undefeated boxing champion Kelly Robinson (played by comic superstar Eddie Murphy). Robinson's job is to get Scott into the arms dealer's party/secret auction so Scott can do his spy thing. Before that can happen, the two diametrically opposite heroes must agree on a few things, such as anything at all. Scott has difficulty getting cocky Robinson to cooperate with him.
The casting is predictable. Owen Wilson often plays modest or comically odd characters (Meet the Parents and Armageddon, respectively), but you can't help but like him. Eddie Murphy's characters are always loud, jive-talking, and quick to threaten someone with an ass-kicking. After 20 years of films, Murphy never fails to make me laugh, even though his recent choices of roles are becoming more tame. X-Men's Famke Janssen co-stars as Scott's colleague and love interest. She is absolutely hot in this movie, even hotter than usual (yes, that is possible). Her character has the depth of a Backstreet Boys song, but who's gonna notice? Malcolm McDowell, who plays the arms dealer, has been playing villains in forgettable films (like this one) for a long time. Every time he was on screen, I wondered how he digressed from the potential he showed in A Clockwork Orange. McDowell is probably wondering the same thing.
I Spy is similar to the recent James Bond movies in that all are predictable. You know who the double agents are and who faked his or her death. However, this movie relies more on the comic interactions between Scott and Robinson for its entertainment value.
Overall, I Spy is a good time. The laughs are steady, and the spy tricks are pretty cool. However, it's not a pinnacle of anyone's career. You and your wallet are better off waiting to rent it.
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This action-comedy neglects the art of hard-core drinking. That's too bad, because a scene with Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson drunk off their asses would be a laugh riot.
In one scene, Owen Wilson serenades Famke Janssen with a comically inept performance of "Sexual Healing". Watch and learn, fellas!
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1) Meet The Parents
2) A Clockwork Orange
3) Tommy Boy
