[Movie Review] Spy (2015)
Director: Paul Feig
Writer: Paul Feig
Runtime: 120 min
Main Cast:
- Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper
- Rose Byrne as Raina Boyanov
- Jason Statham as Rick Ford
- Morena Baccarin as Karen Walker
- Jude Law as Bradley Fine
Guest Review: by Erika T
Admittedly I am typically not a Melissa McCarthy fan. Sometimes I find her funny, but most of the time she’s too over the top. Her films were beginning to become predictable as well. She always has to team up with another star as if she can’t hold her own. So I got accustomed to expecting that from her, but sometimes trying something over and over again will eventually strike the right chord. And that’s exactly what happens in this film.
Though she possess great skills in field training, CIA analyst Susan Cooper (played by Melissa McCarthy) decides to help from the sidelines, working as an analyst to guide her designated special agent Bradely Fine (played by Jude Law) through missions. He’s handsome and crafty and they make a great team. She inevitably finds herself in an unrequited love situation. Using state of the art hidden spy equipment to keep in contact, their secret to success is discovered by a formidable foe. Bradley is taken out by Rayna Boyanov (played by Rose Byrne) an arms dealer looking to score a lot of cash to sell a nuclear weapon to the highest bidder. This leaves the CIA in a pinch with no choice but to use Susan as a spy to bring Boyanov to justice and avenge her friend. Fellow operative Rick Ford (played by Jason Statham) is not a fan of this idea and makes plans of his own to solve the case.
What I Liked:
Well, it’s a comedy, so the idea is to laugh. I was expecting only a couple of chuckles, but I found myself laughing out loud early on, through the middle, and at the end of the film. So in that sense it’s a complete triumph. This is easily McCarthy’s best work. They toned her down a little to be more relatable which likely helps us connect to the character.
Jason Statham helps make this movie. They were an unlikely team up and the final product pays off big time. They play so well off one another. I didn’t realize he was capable of being so funny while portraying a character with the same bravado we’re used to from his other action films.
It’s also re-watchable. I finished it looking forward to watching it again. That’s not always an automatic reaction for me.
What I Didn’t Like:
Honestly, I was having too much fun to think about what bugged me. But now that I’ve given it a couple of days perhaps it would have been nice to see Statham do more action scenes. We were mostly told what he did rather than shown. While the film still works without it, that definitely would have made it even more fun.
Summary
If you’re in the mood to laugh then Spy will deliver. I recommend it. And like most spy movies, this is designed to allow for sequels. I hope they make a great one…or several.
User Review
( votes)You can find more of Erika’s work at Your Urban Fantasy
Images Courtesy of IMDB
