Dir.
Betty Thomas, 2002, US, 96 mins
Cast:
Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson
Back in the sixties, there was a TV programme called I Spy, which starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. Remember it? No, not that many people do. Fast-forward thirty odd years and it's now the latest offing out of the retro-TV-remade-into-a-film stable. And the radical twist is that Eddie Murphy is reprising the Robert Culp character, Kelly Robinson - a champion boxer now instead of the tennis player he was in the TV series - while Owen Wilson takes on the Alexander Scott role that once belonged to Bill Cosby - all very post-modern Robinson is due to fight in Budapest where the evil Gundars (Malcolm McDowell) just happens to be residing.
Gundars has stolen the 'Switch Blade', an invisible spy plane, and it is down to Scott to get it back and thus avert his dastardly plans. The Robinson fight provides a very convenient cover, throwing together a mismatched duo with, quite often, laugh-out-loud results. Along the way, there is some rivalry with slick Latino superspy Carlos (Gary Cole), a bit of love interest in the shape of Rachel (Famke Janseen), and a lot of confusion as to whose side everybody is on!
The plot is not the most original but it does mirror nicely the corny TV spy plots of yesteryear to which the film pays homage, and the pyrotechnics of the staged explosions are very nice. However, it is neither the plot nor the action that take centre-stage but the Murphy/Wilson combo. Murphy's ego and upper body seemingly swell to bursting as he plays the loudmouth, cocky, ultimate bling-bling prizefighter.
He could make mincemeat out of his new colleague and he knows he it. Wilson is more genteel, quite conservative, yet debonair, like any good spy should be. Imagine James Bond and the plan not going according to plan, not having a plan B up his sleeve - what would he do? How would he react?
This is Wilson's spy. Wilson's spy is the one they send in when the top guy is otherwise engaged, and this makes for a surprisingly well-rounded character. The odd couple head down the well-trodden Hollywood path of mismatched partners who bring out the insecurities of the other but ultimately developing a mutual respect along the way. Their verbal sparring is what raises this film to slightly better than the average comedy-by-numbers, and reminds us that Murphy is still a great comedy actor, and that Wilson's star is deservedly in the ascendant.
Jean Lynch
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