Spy
Desk bound For her entire career as a CIA analyst, Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is thrust into the action when her number one partner in the field, Bradley Fine (Jude Law), is killed. Now in the center of excitement Susan will have to use her unusual style and average looks to get close and thwart evil doer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). Meanwhile, meathead agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) has his own plans on how to stop Rayna. Co-ordinating their efforts will take special effort, but will their efforts be enough?
Written and Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat), and fueled by decades of spy cinema fodder, Spy makes for an interesting mix of humor dashed with action; interesting in that for its comedic nature there’s actually a fair amount of graphic violence spattered throughout, meanwhile, the actual laugh count remains at a relative low for Feig. As for the cast, McCarthy serves as a worthy foil for the part, Byrne’s knack and ability to play kitschy evil shines with just the right edge, and there is essentially no stretch for Statham, British tough guy it is. Perhaps that’s part of the difficulty of Spy, with none of the actors being challenged, there’s also a lack of surprise in their comedy; with a runtime of two hours, that unfortunately translates into a slightly overstayed welcome. A dash of less polished special FX also holds the power to pull the viewer out of the experience, but some graces can be granted, this is after all to be taken lightly. Maybe a matinee, more of a rental, Spy is rated R.