27 September 2023

Spy

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Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.

Director: Paul Feig, 20th Century Fox, MA 120 Minutes.

After directing Melissa McCarthy in ‘Bridesmaids’ Paul Feig has reunited with the comedic actress in this hilarious sendup of the Bond franchise, including a Miss Moneypenny character who provides the behind the scenes backing to a Bond-like secret agent.

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) appears as an unassuming deskbound CIA analyst in the movie, acting as the eyes and ears for the debonair field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law – ‘Black Sea’), until the day he suddenly disappears and is presumed dead.

With many agents compromised and known to their enemies Cooper’s boss Elaine (Allison Janney – ‘Tammy’) reluctantly calls on Susan to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, locate a nuclear device, and catch the perpetrator responsible for Bradley’s death.

Cooper’s mission is to track down Rayna Boyanov (Aussie actress Rose Byrne – ‘Bridesmaids’), the conceited daughter of a notorious Bulgarian arms dealer, who’s suspected of killing Bradley and in possession of a nuclear warhead that she intends to sell to the highest bidder.

Besides being required to wear a series of outlandish outfits as part of her disguise Cooper must contend with the antics of the sidelined agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham – ‘The Expendables’) who is constantly upstaged by her tactics.

The crunch comes in the closing stages of the movie as the mayhem reaches a crescendo when Cooper confronts Rayna and her associates in a riotous shoot-out resulting in what can best be described as a fitting conclusion.

Despite her less than pleasing performance in ‘Bridesmaids’ McCarthy is perfectly cast as a spy in Feig’s enjoyable satire.

She demonstrates how effective an agent she is by outsmarting and then outfighting her opponents.

However, it is mainly McCarthy generating most of the laughs with her enjoyable performance which is pleasingly complemented by the portrayals of Byrne, Law, Statham, and her somewhat awkward work colleague Miranda Hart (TV’s ‘Miranda’).

Feig’s spy spoof certainly comes over as a Bond movie, with shooting mostly in Hungary and other international locations but it is the comedic storyline and the several funny situations involving McCarthy that makes it such an entertaining experience.

Spy is to be televised on Channel 7FLIX at 8.30pn on Friday 12 March.

Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars

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