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:

Get another field of view

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The warped and reflective invisibility of the "Switchblade" fighter plane was inspired by warped and reflective mirrors seen in circus and side-show funhouses.

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Goofs

When Kelly gets a call from the president to get his assignment, the girl sitting next to him on the left is wearing a black dress. In the next shot, a few seconds later, another girl wearing blue dress sitting next to Kelly - she was sitting behind him and the black dress girl is gone.

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Quotes

Alexander Scott: This man is Arnold Gundars, premiere arms dealer. We believe he has the switchblade.

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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 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

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Soundtracks

You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)
Written by Willie Cobbs and Bo Diddley (as Ellas McDaniel)
Performed by Dawn Penn
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

A Decent Laugh

I always liked Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy, so I thought, in case the movie is worth nothing, I'd still get to see some friendly faces. For better or worse, I can say it was about what I expected.

I put this movie in two categories, and I think I placed it right: it's a decent comedy, with parts attempting to live up to an action movie. At its heart though it tries to be comedic and funny, so that's upon what it should be judged. Thankfully, you will get the chance to laugh out loud, but unfortunately not as much as you'd like to laugh out loud at a comedy. I won't even mention rolling on the floor.

The story isn't something really new, but it has quite a few humorous plot twists. The so-called funny character is Kelly, who really inflicts a fair amount of pain on his adversaries, but he is just such a nicely drawn, egocentric guy, that it actually works on a comedic level. It's always just about him, and him and then some more.

The actors have their charm but I won't really dwell on this as they are as high profile as it gets, Hollywood style, so you know what you get. Perhaps Wilson could have spiced up his game with a bit of the unexpected, but all in all he does what he does best.

I did feel a bit let down by the special effects, with some flimsy looking explosions placed here and there. However, the host city of Budapest looked really gorgeous throughout, making it well worth it's money shots.

To draw the line, the film isn't great, but it's fine enough. No brilliant ideas, or anything like that, just the usual comic stuff.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures - storyline and trailers

Country:

USA Hungary

Language:

English Hungarian Russian

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Espion et demi

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