I Spy
(2002)
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When the Air Force's newest stealth bomber disappears complete with cloaking device, secret agent Alex Scott (Owen Wilson) is sent to Budapest to find it. To Scott's dismay, he is teamed with undefeated middleweight champion Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy), who is slated to fight in Budapest where suspected Stealth thief, arms dealer, and boxing fan Arnold Gundars (Malcolm McDowell) is throwing a party in honor of the boxers. Scott uses cool spy equipment to encourage the egotistical Robinson to work with him. Initially at odds with each other, the two eventually bond as they're chased through Budapest by Gundar's henchmen, using spy tools and street smarts to foil the bad guys. To complicate matters, Scott has a crush on sexy agent Rachel (Famke Janssen), who may or may not have her own agenda. Gary Cole plays superstar agent Carlos, the envy of the other agents and the guy with the coolest spy toys. Directed by Betty Thomas (28 DAYS, DR. DOOLITTLE), the film is loosely based on the 1960s television series of the same name starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. |
This routine reworking of the 1960s Robert Culp/Bill Cosby TV espionage series has US secret agent Alex Scott (Owen Wilson) going undercover as the assistant to boxing champion Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy). Scott uses Robinson to get close to a billionaire industrialist (Malcolm McDowell), who is intent on selling an invisible plane to the highest bidder. The laid-back Wilson and the motormouthed Murphy have an engaging on-screen chemistry — the movie is at its best during their obviously improvised bouts of bickering — and there is some fun spy gadgetry on display. However, the likeable twosome are sold short by witless writing, predictable plotting and bog-standard action sequences that fail to spark this action comedy into any sort of life.