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Spy – Film Review

Extra Extra! Read all about it. Hollywood has finally managed to make some movie fans’ dreams come true by giving us a lovable, hilarious female spy character, Susan Cooper, flaunting a personality larger than life, vividly acted as only Melissa McCarthy can do. I must say, this has been long overdue.

Despite being an avid spy film lover for the past fifteen years or so, I have to admit I have never watched a spy movie quite like ‘Spy’. Spy follows the same pattern of other spy satire films like ‘Get Smart’ and ‘Johnny English’ where the glorified agents’ identities are compromised and an unsung rookie agent, usually the brains behind the brawn becomes a super spy and saves the day. CIA analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) volunteers to go undercover when her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law) goes off the grid and other agents are endangered.
Now before you feel that you have watched too many films that follow that storyline, allow me to whet your appetites to watch what I deem as one of the best comedies to have hit the big screen in the last decade. Spy is not like other films, it is interesting to watch and very very funny. It is actually everything every average comedy lover hopes for in a film.
Who needs James Bond when you have Susan Cooper. McCarthy is one fast, furious and full of laughter femme fatale. She does not follow the rules, instead she follows her gut regardless of what anyone says. What makes ‘Spy’ a great film is not just its excellent script but the execution by the actors. The actors, main and supporting, are all funny, even Statham who rarely does comedy, is funny in this film. He plays the role of arrogant turtle-neck wearing agent Rick Ford who is more eccentric than he is a good spy.
The camaraderie between the actors is refreshing, and the killer punch-lines produce non-stop fits of laughter. We have Miranda Hart who plays Cooper’s overzealous confidante who does very unusual things that sometimes can lead to the most surprising of consequences. Jude Law who is known for more serious roles is also a tad goofy, adding that extra oomph or panache to the film and making it even more watchable, (yes ladies Law is not just easy on the eye he is hilarious too). As far as the supporting cast goes, Peter Serafinowicz who plays boob-loving Italian agent Aldo and Rose Byrnes who plays the no-nonsense villain selling an incredibly sought-after weapon of mass destruction, are simply awesome. Throw in rapper 50 Cent who just adds more craziness to the mix and you have one heck of a good comedy.
The film is sure to have you laughing from the word go and the action scenes will keep you glued to the screen making this first edition not only worth a watch, but worthy of a sequel. Trust me, there is just too much goodness in ‘Spy’ for it to end here. I am calling for a sequel, maybe with McCarthy married to Bradley Fine or Aldo or even the overbearing Rick Ford. Now would that not be something!
Despite having a similar plot to other comedy spy films, ‘Spy’ delivered all that I expected to get at the first watch which is humor, lots of humor. It’s action-packed with real action, and get this, the closing credits for the film are just as hilarious as the story itself. I see myself watching it again and again. Hey I might even meet you at the cinema.

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