I Spy (2002)

A professional athlete has to help a U.S. government agent recover a missing jet.

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers:

Morton S. Fine (characters) (as Morton Fine), David Friedkin (characters)

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States' top spies, Alex Scott, is called to action. What he doesn't expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson, on a dangerous top secret espionage mission. Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars, one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers, and foil his treacherous plans for the plane.

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Plot Keywords:

stealth | boxer | top secret | espionage | spy | 

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Taglines:

Attitude meets espionage

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The task of turning the national monument of the Buda Castle into villain Arnold Gundars' private palace fell to the film's production designer Marcia Hinds-Johnson. She said: "I wanted the place to appear lavish, but on a human scale. I didn't want Gundars' private living quarters to look institutional, so I gave it a warm, lived-in feeling with comfortable furnishings and personal touches that reflected his wealth and taste." In the larger, more open public spaces, Hinds-Johnson fashioned the film's central party scene with costumed guards on horseback, beautiful bikini-clad women in the central fountain, and a regulation size boxing ring in which Kelly Robinson and his opponent playfully spar on the eve of the big fight.

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Goofs

When Kelly and Alex are sitting in the BMW Convertible on the car-transporter they are driving to the north on the quay of the Pest side of the river, but when they drive off the car-transporter they are heading to the south at the Buda side. Note the "Freedom statue" on the right at the top of the hill (Gellérthegy) and the bridge (Erzsébet-híd) in front of him.

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Quotes

Alexander Scott: [to Kelly] That's the type of thing we're gonna be doing on the mission.

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Alternate Versions

The UK release has 1 second cut from the film (shot of a knife entering someone's leg and then being removed) to avoid a '15' rating.

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Connections

References Rain Man (1988)

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Soundtracks

Cash, Money, Cars, Clothes
Written by David Davinch Chance (as David Chance), Dante Chi Jordan (as Dante Jordan) and Memphis Bleek (as Malik Cox)
Performed by Ruff Endz featuring Memphis Bleek
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

This teaming could've been funnier

Every ten years or so, a comedy comes along that redefines Movie Comedy. Police Academy, Coming To America, Wayne's World & Austin Powers are some recent examples. This isn't another one.

It's fair to say I hadn't been as excited about the pairing of Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson since Pacino and DeNiro in "Heat". The movie seemed to have all the ingredients, but an ordinary script and the "max factor" of Kelly Robinson made sure this movie never reached it's potential. Don't get me wrong, there's a few gems, most notably when Eddie's character helps Owen pick up a woman and when the two have a brilliant heart-to-heart in a sewer. Unfortunately there's not enough of these moments and we're left wanting more. Still worth seeing though.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures - storyline and trailers

Country:

USA Hungary

Language:

English Hungarian Russian

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

I-Spy

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,752,803, 3 November 2002

Gross USA:

$33,561,137

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,386,477

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Tall Trees Productions, C-2 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1