I Spy (2002)

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers (WGA):

Morton S. Fine (characters) &
David Friedkin (characters) ...

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

Attitude meets espionage

Plot:

Based on the 1960's television series I Spy. A professional athlete (boxer - Eddie Murphy) has to help a U.S. government agent recover a missing jet.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Boxing | Espionage | Top Secret | Parody

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Kelly
Owen Wilson	...	Alex
Famke Janssen	...	Rachel
Malcolm McDowell	...	Gundars
Gary Cole	...	Carlos
Phill Lewis	...	Jerry
Viv Leacock	...	T.J.
Keith Dallas	...	Lunchbox
Tate Taylor	...	Lieutenant Percy
Lynda Boyd	...	Edna
Bill Mondy	...	McIntyre
Larry Merchant	...	Vegas Commentator
Sugar Ray Leonard	...	Vegas Commentator
Jimmy Lennon Jr.	...	Vegas Ring Announcer
Joe Cortez	...	Vegas Referee

Also Known As:

I-Spy (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hungarian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ | USA:PG-13 (No.38103) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (cut)

Filming Locations:

Buda Castle, Várkerület, Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The dog in the final scene is Famke Janssen's dog Licorice.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening of the scene at the top of the bridge in Budapest, the water in the bottom-left corner of the screen has ripples that reflect the lights of the city. However, due to the fact that this is a soundstage backdrop, the ripples do not move.

Quotes:

Alexander Scott: I'm going to need a couple of jars of jelly on the plane and two parachutes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in I Spy: The Slugafest (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Látod zokog a szívem

I Spy no chance of a sequel

Another Hollywood offering based on the time honoured principle of remaking classic TV shows to guarantee financial returns. However, unlike some that still managed to flop, I Spy for the most part delivers.

The story is typical Bond-style spy action: Someone has stolen a top secret invisible plane from the American government and is selling it on the black market, and it's up to our heroes to get it back. The story is secondary to the comedy in this movie, mostly between its two stars - Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson. Murphy reprises his wise-cracking sidekick role, last seen in Shrek. Instead of a talking donkey though, this time he is a world-champion boxer. If you can with-hold your disbelief of this concept for ninety minutes his performance is fairly enjoyable. At times there is a glimpse of great chemistry between his egotistical celebrity and Wilson's downtrodden spy in love.

Unfortunately this is a movie that suffers from an identity crisis: Is this a spy thriller with jokes, or is it an all out spoof of the genre? Because of this the movie falls somewhat uncomfortably between the two, with long periods with no jokes at all followed by hilarious set-pieces.

Having said all this, I Spy is still fairly entertaining, and if you're just looking for a film to fill a friday evening you could do a lot worse than to choose this one.