Not too many action-comedy movies can pull off both its genres’ requirements, easily, and it will be a lot harder to maintain proportions between the conflicting elements and still able to come out with something, that’s both fun and crazy. But SPY, a deliriously hilarious comedy and an exhilirating action extravaganza, is a stand-out exception.
Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) doesn’t strike as someone fit for a field agent work. She’s forty-something and fat (she might prefer the term BBW), and she’s stuck behind a desk at a basement in a CIA headquarters. For many people, she may seem nothing, but for special agent Brad Fine (Jude Law)—whom she works for as his eyes and ears, using every possible technological marvels to relay real-time information—she’s a fatal weapon. Being stuck on that job works fine for her, but when Fine suddenly gets assasinated, she volunteers to be sent to the field so she could avenge her partner’s death.
SPY may come across as a Kingsman: The Secret Service reminiscence. It teems with brutal action and bloody stunt demonstrations, but presents an even more near-fatal doses of comedy, that would surely send you to the edge of your seat, while laughing your ass off. Melissa McCarthy proves to be the strongest asset of this movie, coming out as fully capable of carrying out the demands of her role. Her transition from a timid analyst to an aggessive and cunning secret agent is fast and seamless, but once she’s on duty, she becomes something impeccably ready for deadly action. However, it wouldn’t feel right to dismiss the efforts of her equally capable co-stars.
Jason Statham is a delight to see as the irritable and churlish agent, Rick Ford. He possesses an irresistable charm here, pulling him out of the shadow of the totally opposite vengeful character he played in Furious 7. Miranda Hart as Nancy, who takes Susan’s role, when Susan takes Fine’s, provides unmissable comic efforts, while Rose Byrne (Rayna Boyanov), and an equally dangerous bunch of villains, are on the other side to make the level of threat at a steady high level. Jude Law has a shorter exposure as field agent, but his deadly verve and intellect (reminiscent of James Bond), is enough to leave a lasting impact. His early demise would actually be the one thing to propel our heroine, Susan, into action. These actors prove the juggle of action and comedy an easy task, making their spotless effectivity transcend past its somewhat flawed storyline. The narrative tracks a deterioting trajectory, but it’s easy to drown this flaw out, once the excitement and deafening laughter dominate.
There’s a plenty of humorous displays even at moments when death is uttering hello at the scene. Both McCarthy and Statham are both stand outs delivering these efforts, and so is Law, being able to toss up themselves into the claws of danger, while still able to make fun of their incredibly gruesome situations. This proves the film of having an outstanding grip of its elements, managing to keep the proportion between the action and comedy, acceptable. The incrediblly well-choreographed fight scenes and exquisitely captured settings, add up to the level of greatness that this film has, to make it arrive into something never less than satisfying. There’s no telling whether the showcase of fun and action is going to end , nor there’s any hint of it slowing down at any moment. It’s insane, I mean, with all those surprising twists and turns you wouldn’t expect, it’s beautifully insane. In the end, regardless of its narrative shortcoming, SPY emerges in its strongest form, being able to deliver no less than pure fun and action.
SPY may be easily branded as merely another attempt to duplicate the successes of its predecessors, an action comedy spy flick with heavier leaning on the funnier side. But SPY is also everything else. It’s a suppressed love story about a fat middle-aged woman, harboring an intimate yet unrequited feeling for her partner. It’s also a story of an inferior’s struggle trying to get past a career level where she’s been long stuck at. The development in the latter proves to be a lot more rewarding for Susan, as it transforms her to something she’s long wished to be, giving her the chance for her talent and skills to be demonstrated.
This rings truth for McCarthy, too, who surfaces here, with her most impressive comic showcase, yet.
This is 8/10 for me. (JE)
