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Eddie Murphy does some of his funniest work in years, but the idea of an African-American spy paired with a white guy for espionage just isn't that novel anymore, and the joke gets old.
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2002
The television series I Spy deserved to be turned into a feature film about 35 years ago when the notion of pairing a hip African-American hero with a white actor was a breakthrough rather than a cliche. Before espionage became nothing but explosions and plots were more than just linkage for wacky banter.
That was then, when Bill Cosby showed African-Americans in a completely new, positive light to a mass audience, and Robert Culp was cool enough to make viewers accept it. This is now, when Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson have the cosmetic contrast of Cosby and Culp without their significance -- good for society but bad for a movie -- or their methodical wit.
Only the names haven't been changed to protect the original. Wilson plays Alexander Scott who, in this version, is a second-rate Bureau of National Security agent getting just enough spying done to keep his job. His latest assignment is to locate Switchblade, an invisible aircraft prototype stolen by an arms dealer (Malcolm McDowell) for sale to the highest terrorist bidder. The deal is going down at a Budapest soiree under heavy security, so Scott needs a good cover to infiltrate.
Murphy plays Kelly Robinson, now a champion of boxing instead of tennis. He gets a call from President Bush (a funny homeboy voiceover) asking for a favor, to work with the bureau on this Switchblade problem. Robinson is fighting in Budapest, Scott can pose as his assistant and nobody keeps the champ from a party.
Director Betty Thomas briskly sets up the caper, giving Murphy plenty of room to play brash and mouthy, with some choice unsportsmanlike conduct and a child's delight at the spy toys. The first half of I Spy is the funniest work he's done in years. Wilson's surf-puppy personality is a good foil for Murphy's exuberance, but both actors maintain their single notes for the entire film, beating the mismatched-buddy gags into the ground.
The movie amuses for a while until it exhausts viewers with a relentlessly hectic pace, disjointed double-crosses and transparent ploys to allow Murphy to ramble and Wilson to mumble. Laughter seldom seems like such a chore. We get the idea after 30 minutes of Thomas' movie, then she doesn't come up with another one for over an hour.
I Spy contains some funny moments, mainly Murphy's bluster (although the third-person references get very old) and Gary Cole as Carlos, a super-special secret agent with a reputation Scott covets. Other scenes last too long, like the spies sharing personal confessions in a sewer and Robinson coaching Scott through seducing a fellow agent (Famke Janssen) using Marvin Gaye's lyrics. But we've seen it all before. The new I Spy is just another example of Bad Boys with Lethal Weapons in creatively congested Rush Hour traffic.
Grade: C
Director: Betty Thomas
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole
Screenplay: Marianne Wibberley, Cormac Wibberley, Jay Scherick, David Ronn
Rating: PG-13; violence, profanity, sexual situations
Running time: 97 min.