Spy (2015) - Film Review

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne & Jude Law

Screenplay: Paul Feig

Directed By: Paul Feig

Certificate: 15

  

While the current film landscape is adapting and becoming more diverse, in terms of race, gender, sexuality etc., there is still a lack of diversity in certain genres. One of these genres is action films, or in this case, spy films. Think back, before this film was released, how many spy films featured a central female protagonist? It's in this knowledge that Spy, coming from acclaimed director Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy, is very welcome with me, and it looks set to be one of the funniest films of the year.

 

Desk-bound CIA agent, Susan Cooper acts as the eyes and ears of fellow agent Bradley Fine while he is out in the field. While trying to discover the location of a tactical nuke, Fine is shot dead by Rayna Boyanov. The CIA need to send another agent into the field, but Rayna knows all of their top agents, and it's at this point that Susan volunteers herself to go into the field, much to the disgust of agent Rick Ford. Assuming a false identity, it's up to Susan to track down Rayna and recover the location of the nuke to prevent a terrorist attack.

 

Going into Spy, one of my worries was that the first main female spy agent seen in mainstream cinema, would end up being a bumbling idiot, and the only laughs that the film would offer would be Susan messing up shoot-outs and car chases. That's the impression you're likely to get from watching the trailers, but what makes Susan Cooper a great and funny character is that she is a fully trained spy, equipped in self-defence and completing missions. Susan's a strong character as she can hold her own, but where a lot of the comedy comes in, is seeing how everyone else perceives and treats her. For instance, Susan's fellow agent Rick Ford and her boss Elaine both see her as a “cat lady”, and throughout the film, Rick is adamant that she is going to mess up her mission. Part of what makes Susan so great is a strong performance from Melissa McCarthy. While Melissa McCarthy appears to be something of a Marmite comedy actor, this film is proof that when she has good material to work with, she excels.

 

Spy is also one of the straight-up funniest films that I've watched this year. Honestly, there was not a minute that went by where I didn't laugh, and when re-watching it, it's just as funny on repeat viewings. The segment of the film with the most laughs comes about when Susan is having to act as Rayna's foul-mouthed bodyguard, with Susan having to chase a drive-by shooter through the city being utterly hilarious. For me though, and I can't really explain this, the funniest moment of the film is when the CIA is preparing Susan to go out in the field. Susan's reaction to being given high-tech gadgets disguised as fungal spray, haemorrhoid wipes and stool softener is just priceless and it leaves me in stitches.

 

One of the biggest surprises of the film is how funny Jason Statham is here. Making his comedic debut, while Jason Statham might essentially be playing a comedy version of himself, and he might not have the biggest supporting role of the film, his character is still brilliant. Macho agent Rick Ford has apparently had his arm ripped off completely, and reattached with his other arm, convincingly appeared in public as Barack Obama, swallowed enough microchips to create a computer and has driven a car off the free-way onto a train, whilst he was on fire. Yes, he's over the top and ridiculous, but really funny, and Jason Statham works really well with Melissa McCarthy. Another great performance comes from Rose Byrne as Rayna Boyanov. Rayna is something of a spoilt child, but Rose Byrne's performance makes the character a genuine and intimidating threat. But at the same time, Rayna is just as funny, particularly when she is subjected to having Susan and Nancy as bodyguards.

 

Spy really is a film that never gets dull, and the script provides a good pace for the film, never staying in one place too long and hopping from location to location, including Paris, Rome and Budapest. Another reason for the film never growing boring is thanks to the different undercover personalities that Susan has to play. Whether it be the cat lady going around Paris or the diva in the Rome casino, each one makes for different laughs and set pieces. Spy is even more surprising when it comes to the action and fight scenes. There's a surprising level of gore, particularly during one of Susan's knife fights, and the action reaches a great climax between Susan, Rick and Fine working against De Luca as he tries to escape with the nuke.

 

If you haven't yet guessed, Spy is a terrific film. If there are any problems with it, they're relatively minor and are very unlikely to dent how much fun you have while watching. For me, one thing I wasn't quite sure about was the cameo appearance of rapper 50 Cent towards the end of the film. I don't really understand why he was here, and while crucially Nancy was able to use his helicopter, I still don't understand why a fictionalized performer couldn't have been used. Perhaps more seriously, the film's direction occasionally feels a bit flat. While it is impressive during many action and fight scenes, whenever there are two characters or more just talking on screen, the picture is often static and uninteresting.

 

So to conclude, Spy is a comedy I can't recommend enough. There is barely a minute that goes by where you're not left breathless with laughter, or your face hurts from smiling so much. Paul Feig has written a terrific script and created some great characters, which are bolstered even further by great lead performances from Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne and Jason Statham. There are the occasional minor problems, but nowhere near enough to detract from how much pure fun this film really is.

 

 

Spy



8/10