20 replies to this topic

[Emrayfo]

It seems that 2015 is turning into the Year of the Spy Film! It is possible we haven't had such genre saturation since the spy genre heydays of the 1960s. And I'm loving it!

 

So far I count six movies, in no particular order: 'SPECTRE' (top of my list of course); 'Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation'; 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'; 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'; 'Spooks: The Greater Good'; and now 'Spy'. (Apparently a declarative title followed by an enigmatic byline is popular in spy film titles these days).

 

While Kingsman and The Man from UNCLE are both firmly placed in a comedy-action vein, and SPECTRE (based on internet speculation) and MI:5 (based on Ghost Protocol) are expected to have some dashings of humour throughout the film, Spy is the only one representing strict play-it-for-laughs slapstick farce.

 

 

 

I caught the preview for this one last night when I went to see Mad Max: Fury Road. While I don't really go for this type of Deuce Bigalow/Dumb & Dumber idiot comedy, the underlying premise for the film probably isn't too bad:

"Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, desk-bound CIA analyst, and unsung hero behind the agency's most dangerous missions. But when her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law) 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), and prevent a global disaster."

 

The cast is pretty good and the Director Paul Feig has decent films behind him like Bridesmaids and also has the Ghostbusters reboot on the horison. Unfortunatelty, the conception and execution of this movie looks deeply flawed and, I suspect, is likely to result in a very unpleasant and unenjoyable viewing experience for many.

 

Here is the preview for you to form you own judgement:

https://www.youtube....h?v=YrY3v1eDmQY

 

We possibly haven't seen something this bad since 2002's Eddie Murphy/Owen Wilson vehicle 'I Spy', winner of the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble. But maybe I'm completely wrong.

 

Cheers all,

Emrayfo

 

 

 

 

[Blofeld's Cat]

Judging by the cover of the latest Entertainment Weekly mag, I wonder if they're trying the capture that Bond vibe? 

 

http://www.ew.com/ar...-plus-exclusive

[Emrayfo]

Judging by the cover of the latest Entertainment Weekly mag, I wonder if they're trying the capture that Bond vibe? 

 

http://www.ew.com/ar...-plus-exclusive

 

Or Entertainment Weekly is! But the preview definitely tries to trade on Bond associations - the Jude Law character clearly is a Bond clone and an Aston Martin even features.

[Safari Suit]

The trailers have some laughs, along with some duds (eating a hot towel etc.). Statham and Law both look to be on good form, although it does seem a bit strange to have Law affect an American accent when he's playing as an obvious Bond surrogate.

 

And I must admit I enjoyed the Murphy/Wilson I Spy in my teens, and though I'm doubtful it would hold up I still recall the trailer, which was on seemingly every DVD I rented in the early-mid noughties, vividly and with great affection

[tdalton]

As usual from Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy, this film looks like garbage.  I wonder what they'll try to ruin next.  They're going to do their best to ruin the spy genre with this film and I cringe to think of what Ghostbusters is going to look like.  

[Navy007Fan]

So far, the critics are liking this film:

 

http://www.rottentom...com/m/spy_2015/

[SecretAgentFan]

For my taste, spoofing the spy genre is so 90´s.  Especially with Bond himself spoofing the era of "exploding pens".

 

But I guess, making another "Austin Powers" or "Johnny English" with McCarthy was one package the studio could not say no to.  And it will run like gangbusters in middle America.

[Simon]

It does look hilarious...

[SecretAgentFan]

Well, if a big woman working as a spy rocks your boat 

[Call Billy Bob]

I'll wait for the long-gestating Austin Powers 4... hopefully from Dr. Evil's point of view, according to Myers.

[quantumofsolace]

Why Spy is better than Bond http://www.bbc.com/c...etter-than-bond

[tdalton]

The fact that critics seem to like this film is enough to make you begin to lose your faith in humanity.

[SecretAgentFan]

Why Spy is better than Bond http://www.bbc.com/c...etter-than-bond

 

That is one of the dumbest reviews I´ve ever read.  To say that putting McCarthy in this role is a celebration of feminism - in contrast to Bond films - is so hilariously misguided that it´s not even funny anymore.  Making fun of an overweight woman and afterwards claiming that she actually is so wonderful is great for female empowerment?  It´s the marketing of a currently successful actress in a most cynical way.

 

The reviewer´s main idea obviously was to get clicks with mentioning Bond (that always works).

[Emrayfo]

So I'm interested, had anyone in the forums gone to see it? Thoughts.

Personally I think I'll be going back to see Mad Max a second time this weekend.

[Syndicate]

Yeah the Year of the Super Spy(aka super hero type spy) films. Not a mix of that and the close to the real spy world type movies or just the close to the real spy world type movies.

[tdalton]

 

Why Spy is better than Bond http://www.bbc.com/c...etter-than-bond

 

That is one of the dumbest reviews I´ve ever read.  To say that putting McCarthy in this role is a celebration of feminism - in contrast to Bond films - is so hilariously misguided that it´s not even funny anymore.  Making fun of an overweight woman and afterwards claiming that she actually is so wonderful is great for female empowerment?  It´s the marketing of a currently successful actress in a most cynical way.

 

The reviewer´s main idea obviously was to get clicks with mentioning Bond (that always works).

 

 

Even more laughable is giving it 4 out of 5 stars.  

[Safari Suit]

For my taste, spoofing the spy genre is so 90´s.  Especially with Bond himself spoofing the era of "exploding pens".

 

There are some elements which I found very old hat; I groaned when an opening title sequence with sillouettes (but get this, with men instead of women!!!) came on accompanied by a generic "brassy" title song.

 

I saw this at a free preview screening, and my audience seemed a little cold until (spoiler?) McCarthy starts her usual shouty, sweary act. But they got into it, and I quite enjoyed it as well. It escaped my memory fairly quickly, not least as I went to see Fury Road immediately afterwards, and the 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes may seem a little high, but I'd say the 7/10 average score is about right. It's nothing revelatory, but it isn't quite the film you might expect from the trailers; the towel eating gag I groaned at in the trailers is actually rather well done in the full film. Both times. As expected, Statham is rather good at sending himself up. And the film actually does have a well-handled feminist angle, and one more prominent than that of Fury Road (a far better film I wish to make clear) which has generated so many column inches and memes

[dtuba]

I like Melissa McCarthy. And yes, a big woman doing spy stuff does rock my boat...(ducks thrown rotten fruit).

 

Probably won't pay to see it though. Will wait for cable or Netflix.

[Emrayfo]

My girlfriend saw this yesterday with some mates - she said they found it reasonably funny and entertaining but for her part it was just dreadful; basically tiresome, heavy-handed and just un-funny - two hours of her life she'll never get back. Makes me glad I declined the offer to join them, but I am sure whether this movie appeals to you or not it depends on how you like your humour. This one seems to be pitched more towards the 'Dumb and Dumber', 'Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo' or 'The Watch' end of the comedy spectrum. i.e. lots of overt sight gags and slapstick. Just a harmless bit of bubblegum, really. But the strangest thing (according to my gf) was the length of the film, which seems very long for a movie of this type. She claims this made it drag on when some astute editing might have made it a bit snappier. 

[Safari Suit]

Comedies have regularly been clocking in at the 2 hour plus since Judd Apatow's films got popular, often not for the better. But then there was a phase in the 60s where they were semi-regularly nipping at the THREE hour mark.

[Emrayfo]

That's true. I guess you only notice the length of a film if you are becoming bored or distracted.