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Update: May 22, 2015
Dragonlord's Review of Melissa McCarthy's SPY (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: A fun spy comedy flick bolstered Melissa McCarthy's non-obnoxious lead performance, some decent action and a great supporting cast especially Jason Statham's hilarious turn.
Synopsis: Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, desk-bound CIA analyst, and unsung hero behind the agency's most dangerous missions. She is also in love with her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law). But when he falls off the grid and top agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) is compromised, Cooper volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of deadly arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne).
Review: Actress Melissa McCarthy has her fair share of detractors. The hate is not surprising since she seems to specialize in playing obnoxious, offensive loudmouth characters film after film (though I did enjoy Bridesmaids and The Heat). But in Spy, she does the complete opposite and plays a sweet, intelligent, kindhearted CIA analyst Susan Cooper who is always looked down upon or completely dismissed. McCarthy's brash, potty mouth persona does show up later on but only as a temporary cover.
From her boss, her colleagues, to the bad guys, Susan Cooper is always underestimated. And that's a big part of the charm of the movie (who doesn't like to root for the underdog?). There's even a funny running joke of her being constantly given crappy, stereotypical identity covers on her missions. And then there's the hilarious scene where their version of Q supplies her with unglamorous spy stuff.
People will be surprised how funny Jason Statham is in this film. Statham plays as an intense, hardcore special agent, and he and McCarthy have good chemistry together. The lovely Rose Byrne (mine!), who excelled at playing the cold, snotty antagonist in Bridesmaids, plays it similarly and just nails it again. Peter Serafinowicz is also amusing as the horndog secret agent Aldo. Allison Janney, Jude Law and Morena Baccarin are also good in their respective roles.
There are some surprisingly pretty good action scenes throughout the film. Looks like writer-director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) has another hit on his hands. On a related note, I believe Feig's Spy is one half of the reason (the other is Sacha Baron Cohen's Grimsby) why Matthew Vaughn exited X-Men: Days of Future Past to work on Kingsman: The Secret Service so that he could get ahead of the pack.
Overall, a funny and entertaining spy comedy flick bolstered Melissa McCarthy's non-obnoxious lead performance, some decent action scenes and a great supporting cast. Probably would have rated it a bit higher if the superior Kingsman wasn't still fresh on my mind. There's still a chance the rating would rise a decimal higher in future viewings at home.
Rating: 7.5/10
Dragonlord's Review of Melissa McCarthy's SPY (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: A fun spy comedy flick bolstered Melissa McCarthy's non-obnoxious lead performance, some decent action and a great supporting cast especially Jason Statham's hilarious turn.
Synopsis: Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, desk-bound CIA analyst, and unsung hero behind the agency's most dangerous missions. She is also in love with her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law). But when he falls off the grid and top agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) is compromised, Cooper volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of deadly arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne).
Review: Actress Melissa McCarthy has her fair share of detractors. The hate is not surprising since she seems to specialize in playing obnoxious, offensive loudmouth characters film after film (though I did enjoy Bridesmaids and The Heat). But in Spy, she does the complete opposite and plays a sweet, intelligent, kindhearted CIA analyst Susan Cooper who is always looked down upon or completely dismissed. McCarthy's brash, potty mouth persona does show up later on but only as a temporary cover.
From her boss, her colleagues, to the bad guys, Susan Cooper is always underestimated. And that's a big part of the charm of the movie (who doesn't like to root for the underdog?). There's even a funny running joke of her being constantly given crappy, stereotypical identity covers on her missions. And then there's the hilarious scene where their version of Q supplies her with unglamorous spy stuff.
People will be surprised how funny Jason Statham is in this film. Statham plays as an intense, hardcore special agent, and he and McCarthy have good chemistry together. The lovely Rose Byrne (mine!), who excelled at playing the cold, snotty antagonist in Bridesmaids, plays it similarly and just nails it again. Peter Serafinowicz is also amusing as the horndog secret agent Aldo. Allison Janney, Jude Law and Morena Baccarin are also good in their respective roles.
There are some surprisingly pretty good action scenes throughout the film. Looks like writer-director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) has another hit on his hands. On a related note, I believe Feig's Spy is one half of the reason (the other is Sacha Baron Cohen's Grimsby) why Matthew Vaughn exited X-Men: Days of Future Past to work on Kingsman: The Secret Service so that he could get ahead of the pack.
Overall, a funny and entertaining spy comedy flick bolstered Melissa McCarthy's non-obnoxious lead performance, some decent action scenes and a great supporting cast. Probably would have rated it a bit higher if the superior Kingsman wasn't still fresh on my mind. There's still a chance the rating would rise a decimal higher in future viewings at home.
Rating: 7.5/10
