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I Spy

  • 2002
  • PG-13
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
54K
YOUR RATING
Famke Janssen, Eddie Murphy, and Owen Wilson in I Spy (2002)
Home Video Trailer from Columbia Tristar
Play trailer0:31
3 Videos
64 Photos
Buddy CopParodySpyActionAdventureComedyThriller

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

  • Director
    • Betty Thomas
  • Writers
    • Morton S. Fine
    • David Friedkin
    • Marianne Wibberley
  • Stars
    • Eddie Murphy
    • Owen Wilson
    • Famke Janssen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    54K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Betty Thomas
    • Writers
      • Morton S. Fine
      • David Friedkin
      • Marianne Wibberley
    • Stars
      • Eddie Murphy
      • Owen Wilson
      • Famke Janssen
    • 161User reviews
    • 84Critic reviews
    • 35Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 6 nominations total

    Videos3

    I Spy
    Trailer 0:31
    I Spy
    I Spy Scene: Scenes
    Clip 0:51
    I Spy Scene: Scenes
    I Spy Scene: Scenes
    Clip 0:51
    I Spy Scene: Scenes
    I Spy Scene: B-Roll
    Featurette 5:03
    I Spy Scene: B-Roll

    Photos64

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    + 57
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    Top cast71

    Edit
    Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy
    • Kelly
    Owen Wilson
    Owen Wilson
    • Alex
    Famke Janssen
    Famke Janssen
    • Rachel
    Malcolm McDowell
    Malcolm McDowell
    • Gundars
    Gary Cole
    Gary Cole
    • Carlos
    Phill Lewis
    Phill Lewis
    • Jerry
    Viv Leacock
    Viv Leacock
    • T.J.
    Keith Dallas
    Keith Dallas
    • Lunchbox
    Tate Taylor
    Tate Taylor
    • Lieutenant Percy
    Lynda Boyd
    Lynda Boyd
    • Edna
    Bill Mondy
    Bill Mondy
    • McIntyre
    Larry Merchant
    Larry Merchant
    • Vegas Commentator
    Sugar Ray Leonard
    Sugar Ray Leonard
    • Vegas Commentator
    Jimmy Lennon Jr.
    • Vegas Ring Announcer
    Joe Cortez
    Joe Cortez
    • Vegas Referee
    Gordon Racette
    • Europe Referee
    Steve Albert
    • Europe Announcer
    Bobby Czyz
    • Europe Announcer
    • (as Bobby Cyze)
    • Director
      • Betty Thomas
    • Writers
      • Morton S. Fine
      • David Friedkin
      • Marianne Wibberley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews161

    5.454.4K
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    Featured reviews

    bob the moo

    Slight and nothing new, but enjoyable nonetheless

    When a top secret camouflaged plane is stolen and hidden, secret agency BNS needs to get an agent into Hungary to uncover and prevent the sale of the weapon. Agent Alex Scott is selected to go undercover with civilian boxer Kelly Robinson and use his upcoming fight to gain access. However Kelly is less co-operative than first hoped and the mission risks being compromised. Can they stay out of trouble long enough to stop the sale?

    Take a little bit of Shanghai Noon, a little bit of Rush Hour, remove the oriental spice from the stew et viola! – you've got I Spy! By mixing the essence of Jackie Chan's sidekicks from both these films and putting the resultant stew into a comedy spy movie you have this enjoyable if unspectacular film. Wilson does his usual stuff but is still effortlessly funny, Murphy does his best Chris Tucker impression and does a good job playing a little dumb and is funny as well.

    The plot sees them doing, well, it doesn't really matter what they're doing, just that Wilson is Wilson and Murphy is playing up to good effect! The plot just about provides enough material to keep the film going, but the odd moment where the comedy banter quietens down, the weaknesses of the plot are immediately laid bare. This is not to say it isn't good enough for this type of film, but just that at times it is all very slight and a bit thin. The comedy is more based on banter than anything else, so if you like the two aforementioned Chan movies then this should be enjoyable as the humour is of the same vein.

    The support cast are all pretty average. Janssen does an OK job looking pretty but Malcolm McDowell just shows his face to no great effect. The funniest cameo is Gary Cole who plays an Irish spy playing a Cuban – he is just so unexpected in his actions that I had to be amused (of course he is helped by Wilson'' reactions to his character).

    Overall this was kinda overlooked at the UK box office and I think it was because it was very slight and flimsy. However for gentle laughs based on good banter rather than set up jokes, this is a surprisingly fun comedy despite not sticking in your mind for longer than 15 minutes after you watch it.
    6robo8

    Actually quite okay....

    I was expecting something really lame when I slipped this DVD in. However it turned out to be quite okay. Eddie Murphy is in really good shape and Owen Wilson delivers.

    It is well made from a comedy point of view, but surprisingly also fairly well made in the action aspect (for a comedy that is). It has good pace and doesn't leave you bored for long. I actually found some really big laughs in this, especially from Wilson.

    I'm not a big fan of director Betty Thomas, I thought "28 Days" was really flat. I thought she was a weird pick for this one - however, she surprises me with both comedy and action skills that I've never seen before (but in truth I haven't seen much of her rather extensive work for TV). I tip my hat of to the lady who brings this plane in for a sufficiently smooth landing.

    If you like action comedies and don't expect anything more then to pass an hour and a half, you should be quite fine with this one.
    Gordon-11

    It's funny but a bit annoying too

    This film tells the story of two people who were tasked with stopping a secret sale of a stolen airplane in Budapest.

    The film is funny, but Kelly is quite annoying too. His ego is very big, and is quite overwhelming for me. If he's a little more restrained, I would have liked the film more.
    MLDinTN

    No wonder I Spy died at the box office

    This movie was terrible and filled with many plot holes. I still don't understand why a boxing champ would be picked to work with spies. It made no sense. And Eddie Murphy is his usual annoying self. Plus, they had some ridiculous spy gadgets: an invisible jet; a eye contact that is a camera. It was silly. And the whole double agent plot at the end was just more confusing. I guess it was supposed to be funny, but nothing was funny about this movie.

    FINAL VERDICT: Don't watch this yet another bad Eddie Murphy movie.
    6ma-cortes

    An average buddy movie with action , thrills and amusement

    It's a typical action , modern film . Owen Wilson plays a good and serious CIA agent , Eddie Murphy plays a humorous and foul mouthed boxer . They are called to action on a risked top secret espionage mission and both of whom join forces to vanquish the evil and nasty person , Arnold Gundars : Malcolm Mc Dowell , who has stolen a supersonic and invisible airplane and to foil his treacherous schemes for the aircraft . Famke Janssen and Gary Cole play other agents , we don't know if they are good or bad guys until the end . Attitude meets espionage .Espionage with attitude . Get another field of view .

    The movie blends action , fun , humor , giggles , emotion , comedy, tongue-in-cheek and results to be quite funny and entertaining . Two protagonists carry out a dangerous assignment , their mission , to catch one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers : using equal parts skill , action and humor . The characters from the TV series are reversed in this film version . As some roles have diffferent attitude , experience and personalities to the the original TV series. Eddie Murphy , as always , playing the same role , a foul-mouthed as well as sympathetic person , Owen Wilson and Famke Janssen are rightly portrayed . Support cast is pretty well , such as : Gary Cole , Malcolm McDowell, Phil Lewis, Leacock and Lynda Boyd . Good and atmospheric cinematography by Oliver Wood . Thrilling and moving musical score by Richard Gibbs . Direction by Betty Thomas(28 days , Troop Beverly Hills , Dr Dolittle , Alvin and the chipmunks the squeaksequel ), is ordinary , fitting to action film . Rating 6/10 . Average but amusing.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Will Ferrell was the voice of American President George W. Bush when speaking to Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy) over the telephone. Ferrell impersonated Bush on Saturday Night Live (1975).
    • Goofs
      After Alex puts the pilot in Kelly's plane to sleep, he descends the plane to persuade Kelly to go to the party at 8pm, however, a steep descent as shown in the film is not only impossible, as they went from apparently 36,000ft to around 1, 000ft as shown on the altimeter a few seconds later, but would also make the plane exceed its structural load limit and disintegrate. In addition, it would make everything inside the plane weightless due to the negative G-forces.
    • Quotes

      Rachel: I'm with B.N.S.

      Kelly Robinson: Yeah, what's B.N.S. stand for? Bitch that Needs some Slapping?

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in HBO First Look: I Spy (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Rock The Party
      Written by Raymond Scott, Mario Winans and Michael Carlos Jones

      Performed by Benzino (as Benzino)

      Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

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    FAQ22

    • How long is I Spy?Powered by Alexa
    • Is 'I Spy' based on the original TV series?
    • What is 'I Spy' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1, 2002 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Sony Pictures
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hungarian
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • I-Spy
    • Filming locations
      • Buda Castle, Várkerület, Budapest, Hungary(aka Royal Castle)
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Tall Trees Productions
      • C-2 Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $70,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $33,561,137
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $12,752,803
      • Nov 3, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $51,386,477
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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