I Spy Starring Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson Directed by Betty Thomas Rated PG-13 for action violence, some sexual content and language **3/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B

Theatrical Release: November 1, 2002

Running time: 102 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Directed by Betty Thomas ("Dr. Dolittle," 1998, "Private Parts," 1997), "I Spy" was a funnier-than-anticipated buddy movie that blended well-produced action scenes with enjoyable humor.

Owen Wilson ("The Royal Tenenbaums, 2002) played Alex Scott, a special agent who was assigned to track down an invisible stealth military jet that was stolen from the U.S. government. Alex acquired the assistance of Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy), an undefeated boxing champion whose next fight was to be in Budapest, the same location where the U.S. government thought that the missing plane could be found. As Kelly rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful prior to the fight, Alex tagged along to look for clues.

From the moment Alex and Kelly met, there was an immediate sense of comedic chemistry between the two actors. It was a love-hate relationship, a lot of which seemed to be adlibbed. It was enjoyable with these two actors, and I found myself laughing throughout the film. One of the funniest scenes involved a contact lens spy cam that Alex wore when he attempted to seduce his fellow spy, Rachel (Famke Janssen). He listened with an earpiece as the smooth talking Kelly Robinson watched and fed him lines. This was one of the more pleasing things about the film; it took the time to set up its humor and didn't cut it short or use five-second jokes to avoid the risk of having something on the screen for too long that the audience might not laugh at.

Although the story could have been a little more engaging, "I Spy" offered a nice mix of action and humor, and both elements were equally enjoyable. The film went from explosion filled car chases to humorous scenes of comedic discourse without losing the audience. Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson blended well together, and even the scenes that didn't get me laughing at first often had me chuckling in the end. "I Spy" maintained a light comedic tone while not taking itself too seriously. It made us aware of this from the beginning, and we were delivered an amusing action-packed film whose comedic resonance stayed with us until the very end.

"I Spy" Review written October 31, 2002, CTF.

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