Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is a CIA desk jockey and the brains behind the sleek career of the Bond-alike operative Bradley Fine (Jude Law). When Bradley is killed by arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), Susan volunteers to finish the mission. This does not play well with bumbling office tough nut Rick Ford (Jason Statham) but Susan’s ability to pass as a midwestern cat-fancier does allow her to go deep undercover. Her efforts to hunt down the villainess and a missing nuclear device are assisted by formidable comic talents Allison Janney and Miranda Hart.
Writer-director Paul Feig has recalled half of his Bridesmaids cast for this thoroughly likeable espionage caper. Shot on locations across Hungary, France and Italy and jollied along by a plot that makes more sense than the last two Bond films, Spy has heaps of fun with genre and tropes.
Just when you think that McCarthy is going to fumble through the bad guys, she gets in the zone and kicks proper arse. It falls to Statham to channel Peter Sellers’ Insp Clouseau and he does so with no little aplomb.
It sounds churlish but, if anything, there are too many good comics in Spy and not enough time or zingers to go around. It would have been nice to get more banter between McCarthy and Hart. Or McCarthy and Janney. Or McCarthy and Statham. But one suspects such potential delights are being held over for the inevitable sequel. We can wait.
