I Spy (2002)

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers (WGA):

Morton S. Fine (characters) &
David Friedkin (characters) ...

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

Attitude meets espionage

Plot:

Based on the 1960's television series I Spy. A professional athlete (boxer - Eddie Murphy) has to help a U.S. government agent recover a missing jet.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Boxing | Espionage | Top Secret | Parody

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Kelly
Owen Wilson	...	Alex
Famke Janssen	...	Rachel
Malcolm McDowell	...	Gundars
Gary Cole	...	Carlos
Phill Lewis	...	Jerry
Viv Leacock	...	T.J.
Keith Dallas	...	Lunchbox
Tate Taylor	...	Lieutenant Percy
Lynda Boyd	...	Edna
Bill Mondy	...	McIntyre
Larry Merchant	...	Vegas Commentator
Sugar Ray Leonard	...	Vegas Commentator
Jimmy Lennon Jr.	...	Vegas Ring Announcer
Joe Cortez	...	Vegas Referee

Also Known As:

I-Spy (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hungarian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ | USA:PG-13 (No.38103) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (cut)

Filming Locations:

Buda Castle, Várkerület, Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When making a reservation at the Hotel Gellert, 'Owen Wilson''s character supposedly speaks in Hungarian; however, his pronunciation is so poor that few if any Hungarians would understand what he is saying.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening of the scene at the top of the bridge in Budapest, the water in the bottom-left corner of the screen has ripples that reflect the lights of the city. However, due to the fact that this is a soundstage backdrop, the ripples do not move.

Quotes:

Kelly Robinson: Hey, what's this? It looks like a sock.
Alexander Scott: It's a secret spy mask.
[Kelly puts it on]
Kelly Robinson: Hey man, this is a sock!

Movie Connections:

References Goldfinger (1964)

Soundtrack:

Fox Sports Radio Theme

An unfairly bashed, but still routine pop action/comedy.

We all know Eddie Murphy's classic scene in "48 Hours" when he sings The Police's "Roxanne" off key. Now about 20 years after, in this movie he sings Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" on key! While the scene he did so in "I Spy" was amusing, it was not what the 48 Hrs scene was. So let's face facts, Eddie ain't what he used to be.

He once again parodies himself in a role, albeit in a lesser way than in "Bowfinger" and "Showtime". I don't care much for Owen Wilson, but he actually plays off Eddie well as a straight man. The two have decent on-screen chemistry. If this movie did a little more business, these two could talk sequel.

As for the movie, there are actually funny scenes, where Wilson's character Alex is given second-hand spy gadgets; Kelly Robinson teases his boxing opponent in a pre-fight; a plane dive to coerce Kelly into working. Plenty to go around. The action scenes are not bad, with the exception of the silly balloon sequence. That part should have been rewritten. And of course, I cannot neglect Famke Jannsen in her underwear.

It would have been better if "I Spy" had copied the more serious, realistic and dramatic TV series of the same name. Alas, it is much like soda, acceptable only because the vastly superior "48 Hrs" exists to wash its pasty aftertaste out of our mouths.