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I Spy (2002)

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132 comments in total

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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice and sometimes funny, 10 January 2003
Author: FcPoliFan from Timisoara, Romania

I had to decide: go and see Sweet Home Alabama, or go and see I Spy? I took the decision I took, because I like Owen Wilson and I also like Eddie Murphy, so I thought, in the case in which the movie would be worth nothing, I'd still get to see some friendly faces. I'm pleased I can say it was about what I expected.

I put this movie in two categories, and I think I placed it right: it's a nice comedy, with parts of what tries to be an action movie. The main part is, in my opinion, or tried to be, the comedic part. You will get to laugh at some scenes, but unfortunately not as much as you'd like to laugh at a comedy.

The story isn't something really new, but it has quite a few plot twists which can become funny. The funny character is Kelly, who really beats up all his opponents, but he is just such a smart guy, that it can actually make you laugh. It's always just about him, and him and him...

The actors have their charm and I won't really go into this as most people have seen at least one of them in other movies. Wilson could've been a little more convincing, but he's quite the same character in all the movies I've seen with him.

The special effects could've been better, as the explosions weren't really amazing...it's too bad.

Budapest looked great though, and I am happy to see such a beautiful city is to be seen in movies. It's worth it.

The film isn't great, but it's OK...no "brilliant" ideas, or anything like that, just the usual comic stuff.

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12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Slight and nothing new, but enjoyable nonetheless, 20 September 2003
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

When a top secret camouflaged plane is stolen and hidden, secret agency BNS needs to get an agent into Hungary to uncover and prevent the sale of the weapon. Agent Alex Scott is selected to go undercover with civilian boxer Kelly Robinson and use his upcoming fight to gain access. However Kelly is less co-operative than first hoped and the mission risks being compromised. Can they stay out of trouble long enough to stop the sale?

Take a little bit of Shanghai Noon, a little bit of Rush Hour, remove the oriental spice from the stew et viola! – you've got I Spy! By mixing the essence of Jackie Chan's sidekicks from both these films and putting the resultant stew into a comedy spy movie you have this enjoyable if unspectacular film. Wilson does his usual stuff but is still effortlessly funny, Murphy does his best Chris Tucker impression and does a good job playing a little dumb and is funny as well.

The plot sees them doing, well, it doesn't really matter what they're doing, just that Wilson is Wilson and Murphy is playing up to good effect! The plot just about provides enough material to keep the film going, but the odd moment where the comedy banter quietens down, the weaknesses of the plot are immediately laid bare. This is not to say it isn't good enough for this type of film, but just that at times it is all very slight and a bit thin. The comedy is more based on banter than anything else, so if you like the two aforementioned Chan movies then this should be enjoyable as the humour is of the same vein.

The support cast are all pretty average. Janssen does an OK job looking pretty but Malcolm McDowell just shows his face to no great effect. The funniest cameo is Gary Cole who plays an Irish spy playing a Cuban – he is just so unexpected in his actions that I had to be amused (of course he is helped by Wilson'' reactions to his character).

Overall this was kinda overlooked at the UK box office and I think it was because it was very slight and flimsy. However for gentle laughs based on good banter rather than set up jokes, this is a surprisingly fun comedy despite not sticking in your mind for longer than 15 minutes after you watch it.

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14 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining, But Murphy's Act Getting Old, 11 October 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

This is a re-make of sorts, not from a movie but from a television series that made history when Bill Cosby became the first black actor to star (or co-star) in a regular TV show. He and Robert Culp played in the show of the same name.

Here, Eddie Murphy plays Cosby's role and Owen Wilson takes over Culp's character. As funny as Murphy has been over his film career, I, for one, have gotten tired of his loud and abrasive characters. It's getting tiresome. Even in the animated hit, "Shrek," Murphy was loud, too talkative and obnoxious. He can't seem to get away from that kind of character. Wilson was more likable in this film and Famke Janssen was interesting.

There are a few wild action scenes in here and this film is played strictly for two things: comedy and action. Another thing: it should have been rated "R," not PG-13. Overall, the story is lame but it is entertaining so, for that, it's worth a rental.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
This teaming could've been funnier, 21 October 2005

Author: tastyhotdogs from Australia

Every ten years or so, a comedy comes along that redefines Movie Comedy. Police Academy, Coming To America, Wayne's World & Austin Powers are some recent examples. This isn't another one.

It's fair to say I hadn't been as excited about the pairing of Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson since Pacino and DeNiro in "Heat". The movie seemed to have all the ingredients, but an ordinary script and the "max factor" of Kelly Robinson made sure this movie never reached it's potential. Don't get me wrong, there's a few gems, most notably when Eddie's character helps Owen pick up a woman and when the two have a brilliant heart-to-heart in a sewer. Unfortunately there's not enough of these moments and we're left wanting more. Still worth seeing though.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious sometimes, annoying at others, 18 July 2003
Author: Andrew DiMonte (monte_man167) from My House, Canada

"I Spy" is an action comedy starring Owen Wilson as the opposite of your usual James Bond, and Eddie Murphy as the cocky boxer assigned to help him. Wilson and Murphy are pretty funny together, but sometimes their constant arguing gets overdone and rather old.

Still, the two have good chemistry and you will always be sure to laugh when you put on "I Spy". About the action, well, it's okay. It sure isn't as good as "Bad Boys" or "Bad Company", but that's not really what this film is geared for anyway. Plus, Murphy and Wilson are STILL ARGUING during the action (this is when it gets old!).

Entertaining, but a little annoying, I give "I Spy" a 6.5/10.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
I Spy no chance of a sequel, 9 February 2004

Author: Adrian Smith (trouserpress) from Eastbourne, England

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.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
An unfairly bashed, but still routine pop action/comedy., 22 November 2002
Author: Spider-Lou from Bristol, CT

We all know Eddie Murphy's classic scene in "48 Hours" when he sings The Police's "Roxanne" off key. Now about 20 years after, in this movie he sings Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" on key! While the scene he did so in "I Spy" was amusing, it was not what the 48 Hrs scene was. So let's face facts, Eddie ain't what he used to be.

He once again parodies himself in a role, albeit in a lesser way than in "Bowfinger" and "Showtime". I don't care much for Owen Wilson, but he actually plays off Eddie well as a straight man. The two have decent on-screen chemistry. If this movie did a little more business, these two could talk sequel.

As for the movie, there are actually funny scenes, where Wilson's character Alex is given second-hand spy gadgets; Kelly Robinson teases his boxing opponent in a pre-fight; a plane dive to coerce Kelly into working. Plenty to go around. The action scenes are not bad, with the exception of the silly balloon sequence. That part should have been rewritten. And of course, I cannot neglect Famke Jannsen in her underwear.

It would have been better if "I Spy" had copied the more serious, realistic and dramatic TV series of the same name. Alas, it is much like soda, acceptable only because the vastly superior "48 Hrs" exists to wash its pasty aftertaste out of our mouths.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Only half bad., 21 December 2003

Author: P Carr (pavel@fan.com) from Topeka, KS

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

**Warning! Mild Plot Spoilers Ahead!!

I expected nothing out of this movie, due in large part to Eddie Murphy's recent string of disasters. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the enjoyable first half, before it degenerated into the trite and less clever finale.

Being a relative young 'un, I have no idea how this version of "I Spy" compares to the television series. The story here involves Eddie Murphy as Kelly Robinson, a braggart boxer recruited to help save the world. Murphy is teamed with Owen Wilson, a semi-inept special agent, and Famke Janssen, his partner in the field. Together they must find an invisible jet that an arms dealer is auctioning off to the highest bidder. It's your basic spy movie plot.

Walking somewhere between James Bond and Austin Powers, I Spy lives in a Bond type spy world, but with second-rate employees in all aspects. In one scene that is a complete spoof, Wilson maneuvers through the gadget factory as the usual wacky experiments are ongoing. But most of them backfire, as a technician firing a gun is blasted backwards without explanation, etc. That's an example of the off-the-wall humor prevalent through the good parts of the flick.

The humor is why the film is half good. Murphy and Wilson play themselves, using the same outlandish humor (Murphy) and dry jokes (Wilson) that we've come to expect from them. It's not surprising, but they are both at the top of their games. Wilson, as he has been for several years; Murphy, at his best since at least 1999's Life and possibly since the late 1980s. The reason, as explained in one of the featurettes, is that director Betty Thomas let the pair improvise frequently. The movie definitely has that feel, and the duo's wacky chemistry appeals and entertains.

The movie takes a wrong turn at almost exactly the halfway point, following a watchable if mostly unoriginal chase scene. Wilson and Murphy are trapped in a sewer for some time, and with nothing else to do, decide on the typical males-baring-their-souls talk. This sequence and the next few that follow, including an awkward semi-seduction between Wilson and Janssen, are like puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together, but are forced to coincide anyway. These lead up to a decent final confrontation in which everyone arrives to figure out who is on whose side. The first couple double-crosses seem cliche, but as they continue to pile up, the comedy continues to rise, eventually reaching a chuckle-inducing point.

The DVD is pretty good, containing a quartet of short-but-sweet four-minute featurettes that examine various movie aspects like location, costumes, and special effects. The commentary, featuring Thomas and a few other crew members, is fine. Composed largely of stories about Murphy and Wilson, along with other behind-the-scenes tales, the track concentrates on how the movie was made rather than the film itself.

Bottom Line: It's not a great movie by any means, but the charisma and humor of Murphy and Wilson make it worth a rental on a night that you want mindless entertainment. 5 of 10.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
much funnier than expected, 17 October 2002

Author: drew23 (Shelman23@gmail.com) from S. Lake Tahoe, CA

I went with a friend to one of those preview screenings, and it was full to capacity. I was thinking just another buddy movie, but the chemistry between the two stars Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson, was dead on. These guys ad-libed a lot which was obvious, which made the film even more enjoyable. I have to see it again because i missed so much while I was laughing so hard. This movie might not open big, but the word of mouth will keep the people coming back. Oh, and it really has nothing to do with the TV series it is supposedly a take off of. I highly recommend this film for someone who would really like to laugh hard non-stop. Go see it November 1st when it opens. You will come out of the the theatre still laughing of some of the hilarity that ensues. Oh and don't forget, you never really know who is good or bad, especially at the end which the characters don't either, which makes it even funnier. Editing a couple years later. OK I'm not going to change what I wrote then, but I don't know what I was thinking. After seeing this again I still chuckled at a couple scenes but overall this really is bad. So I just thought I would say what I think of it now, but I like to keep my review for posterity. I would skip this, just like everything else Eddie Murphy has done in the 21st century.

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Owen Wilson is Bad, James Bad., 12 February 2008

Author: Adam Kane from Canada

Donkey! Whoops, this isn't Shrek, it's I spy with Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson. I thought this was a decent comedy. I usually hate Owen Wilson but this time around I liked his acting. Playing a not so stylish, stripped down James Bond. He partners with World Heavy Weight Champion Kelly Robins (Eddie Murphy). Robins in Budapest for an important fight battles not only other boxers but Spy's and Bad Guy's! This movie kind of reminded me of Rush Hour with the odd pairing of actors that just seems to work right and be funny at the same time. I have seen Eddie Murphy in way better movies and the same for Owen Wilson. This film is not a laugh your guts out comedy. It's a good movie but no better then a rating of one thumb up and a bag of half burnt popcorn!

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