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:

Espionage with attitude.

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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

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:

$50,732,945

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the series, Bill Cosby portrayed a tennis pro and, for a time, the filmmakers considered making the character of Kelly Robinson in this movie version an international tennis champion. Basketball was also considered, though Producer Jenno Topping considered both sports too visually confining for the purposes of a big screen story on an international scale. It was Eddie Murphy who suggested that his character of Kelly Robinson be a championship boxer, a sport to which he was well suited. Murphy said at the time: "I've done some boxing and my father was a boxer, so I already had a background in the sport." Murphy trained in boxing for several months prior to this picture's production. Betty Thomas said: "Having an actor with a natural ability for a sport was a real asset. It opened up the film in a much more exciting way than tennis or basketball. Having Eddie getting the blows and making the hits had a lot more impact than creating shots in which I would have to rely on stunt doubles." Stunt Coordinator Brent Woolsey added: "Eddie was so coordinated that it made the boxing sequences much easier to execute."

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Goofs

A nuclear warhead would not float and so could not be used as a flotation device. It's obvious that the "nuclear" device is just an empty plastic barrel with Russian wording on the side.

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Quotes

Alexander Scott: Oh, my gosh.
Kelly Robinson: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

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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

Referenced in Hollywood and the Muslim World (2003)

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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

Entertaining, But Murphy's Act Getting Old

This is a re-make of sorts, not from a movie but from a television series that made history when Bill Cosby became the first black actor to star (or co-star) in a regular TV show. He and Robert Culp played in the show of the same name.

Here, Eddie Murphy plays Cosby's role and Owen Wilson takes over Culp's character. As funny as Murphy has been over his film career, I, for one, have gotten tired of his loud and abrasive characters. It's getting tiresome. Even in the animated hit, "Shrek," Murphy was loud, too talkative and obnoxious. He can't seem to get away from that kind of character. Wilson was more likable in this film and Famke Janssen was interesting.

There are a few wild action scenes in here and this film is played strictly for two things: comedy and action. Another thing: it should have been rated "R," not PG-13. Overall, the story is lame but it is entertaining so, for that, it's worth a rental.