“I Spy” makes a valiant attempt to celebrate the “Lethal Weapon”-esque “buddy cop” (or, in this case, “buddy spy”) genre by borrowing the title and character names of what could be called the wellspring of all buddy films. This is its mistake.
An otherwise-entertaining low-grade action comedy pales when compared to the 1960s Robert Culp/Bill Cosby series on which it is very loosely based.
The original TV series was notable for several reasons: It was well-written and performed, it introduced Bill Cosby as television’s first prominent black leading actor, and, most significantly, it did not dwell on race as an issue.
Culp and Cosby were agents who posed as a professional tennis player and his coach, and went about doing spy things with a constant undercurrent of friendly banter.
In this “I Spy,” Owen Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) plays special agent Alexander Scott, who is inexperienced but capable — at least occasionally. He is teamed with a civilian — narcissistic, undefeated middleweight boxing champ Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy, “The Nutty Professor”) — to try to recover a stolen stealth jet before it is auctioned illicitly to an unfriendly nation or terrorist group.
Following buddy-movie formula, the two characters initially clash. This makes for a slow opening half-hour as we wait for chemistry to develop. Luckily, it eventually does. Wilson and Murphy are both charismatic, and their combined appeal is what makes this film enjoyable.
Director Betty Thomas is known for light fare, such as her other “borrowed-material” Eddie Murphy film, 1998’s “Dr. Dolittle.” In “I Spy,” she manages the complexities of exotic-locale, fast-paced action sequences adequately and maintains the humor while doing so. The beautiful Budapest backdrop doesn’t hurt her cause, and she uses it effectively.
The problem is Wilson, Murphy, Budapest and some decent comedy-chase scenes take up the entire film, leaving little room for much development of plot and other characters. With the introductions now done, a sequel (a Hollywood inevitability) might actually be a better film.
Famke Janssen (“X-Men”) plays Alex’s fellow spy and love interest and does well with a fairly complex but largely humorless role. Malcolm McDowell, on the other hand, like in “Star Trek: Generations,” “Milk Money,” and so many diverse films in the last decade, is once again meant to seem menacing just by being the Malcolm McDowell of “A Clockwork Orange.” He is given neither a character nor any motivation for his supposed evil.
There is as much plot as is needed for what is primarily a comedy. Indeed, the comedy genre is forgiving; as long as we laugh, other shortcomings are easily overlooked. And there are some genuine laughs in this movie. Given the cast, we may want to expect more; all the principles have done better work and will do better work in the future. But “I Spy” entertains, which is all it sets out to do, whatever the borrowed title may imply.
Grade: B
