I Spy

On By In Reviewss

Travis Willock reviews

I Spy
Distributed by
Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

    Region 2 DVD info at Cover

  • Cert: PG-13
  • Cat.no: 00950
  • Running time: 97 minutes
  • Year: 2002
  • Pressing: 2003
  • Region(s): 1, NTSC
  • Chapters: 28
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (Eng only)
  • Languages: English, French
  • Subtitles: English, French
  • Widescreen: 1.85:1; Full Frame: 1.33:1
  • 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: No
  • Disc Format: DVD 9
  • Price: $27.96
  • Extras:Filmmaker’s Commentary, 4 Featurettes, Theatrical Trailers

    Director:

      Betty Thomas

Screenplay:

    Marianne Wibberley, Cormac Wibberley, Jay Scherick, David Ronn

Cast:

    Kelly Robinson: Eddie Murphy
    Alex: Owen Wilson
    Racheal: Famke Janssen
    Gundars: Malcolm McDowell
    Carlos: Gary Cole

And so comes another film to be remade from a TV show.The one thing these movies never accomplish (save the Brady Bunch films which BettyThomas also directed) is staying true to the show. A typical episode ofone of these shows runs 20-or-so minutes and its plot is a cut andpaste conclusion at best. I have to say that I Spy comes off as a TVshow really, having a cut and paste villain, and an airy plot. Does itmake it good? Somewhat.

Owen Wilson plays spy Alex who is sent on a mission to retrieve aprototype jet with stealth capabilities called “Switchblade”. Turns outthat world renowned boxer Kelly Robinson, played by Eddie Murphy, isgoing to Budapest where the mission is set to go down. President Bushrecruits Kelly (in one of the funniest president impersonations over thephone: “I’m just kicking it with Putin”) to go with Alex and completethe mission. If I lost you with that part I don’t blame you as the filmgives no background as to why Kelly is called upon by the president fora top secret mission. It’s a TV show movie so we can look past it.

Alex and Kelly team with Rachael (Famke Janssen) to take down theSwitchblade’s thief Gundars (Malcolm McDowell). But you know thiswouldn’t be a buddy flick without the two going at each other’s necks thewhole time though right? What follows is mostly comedy with the equalamount of action mixed in. It’s the typical buddy flick, love it or hateit.

Eddie Murphy stands out in this flick and I might go as far to say thisone of his best performances. There’s something about his portrayal ofegotistical Kelly Robinson that comes off as the highlight of this film.Murphy’s performance alone forced me to like this film just a bitbecause it’s pretty standard really. I mean, Malcolm McDowell has been avillain in what.. 50 movies by now? And we’ve all seen this plot before adnausea. But I Spy comes off as very dry and bland as if not enoughattention was put into it’s production. This is a very mediocre film butMurphy makes it tolerable.

Columbia Tristar presents ‘I Spy’ in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreentransfer that looks great. Columbia has been improving in theirtransfers as of late and this is a perfect example alongside theirrecentHalf Past Deadrelease. Colors are very sharp and the film’swarm palette shines with depth. Pixelization is very minimal and edgeenhancement is kept low. If I had one complaint it would be that thereseems to be a murky feel at times especially in darker areas like thewarehouse. Overall though this is a great transfer. There’s also aworthless full frame transfer on the same disc (of course).

Audio is handled well on this release as well. Offered in a DolbyDigital 5.1 track this gets agressive at times. The film’s one car chasegets hectic in the channels and other areas excel as well. Not tooshabby.

Considering how this film didn’t exactly ignite the box office I can seewhy extras were kept to a minimum but geez these are pretty bad. Here’show it stacks up:

  • Filmmaker’s Commentary: Several of the crew members are here including director Betty Thomas. Slightlyinteresting but not recommended as it kind of drags in some areas.
  • “Cloak and Camouflage”: Runs 4 minutes and is non-anamorphic. A shortfeaturette that resembles a commercial. Focuses on the wardrobe.Considering how the wardrobe is simple this is kind of boring.
  • “Gadgets and Gizmos”: Runs 4 minutes, non-anamorphic. All about the props but again the spy gadgetsused are pretty lame so this is boring as well.
  • “Schematic and Blueprints”: Runs 5 minutes, non-anamorphic. Looks atthe location in Budapest. This one’s okay and worth a watch.
  • “The Slugafest”: Runs 4 minutes, non-anamorphic. Focuses on how EddieMurphy became a boxer for the role, also claims that his character wassupposed to be a basketball player originally. This one’s worth a watch.
  • Theatrical Trailers: Adaptation, Blue Streak, Formula 51,National Security, Punch-Drunk Love, and I Spy are here. Allare anamorphic, sans Blue Streak.

All in all these extras are pretty damn empty and pretty disappointingreally.

Packaging is amaray and features a slightly altered version of thetheatrical poster as it’s cover which isn’t too bad. There are 28chapters and menus are static with music in the background.

Overall, I’d have to say I Spy is only worth a rental at most forEddie Murphy’s performance as this is very average. The DVD is prettygood in terms of video and sound but the extras are not at all. Prettymediocre at the end of the day.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL
Review copyright © Travis Willock, 2003.

EmailTravis Willock

Loading…

No related posts.