Any movie that has Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen and Malcolm McDowell should have an idiot-proof path to success. Murphy and Wilson have each proven themselves to be A-list comedic talents in similar buddy movies to \I Spy."" Malcolm McDowell, cast as the villain, has shown his ability to invoke fear and power time and time again. Then you have Famke Janssen. Another hope for this film lies in its supposed origins. ""I Spy,"" the television series, starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby back in the 1960s. The duo was not only funny, but also broke new ground by having both black and white stars.
So, with all that going for it, ""I Spy"" still fails beyond comprehension. The blame must inevitably fall on director Betty Thomas and the writers behind the screenplay (four people are credited). The film doesn't allow Murphy and Wilson to be funny, McDowell to be evil, nor Janssen to be beautiful. Further, it shares very meager connections with the television show. With so little in common, calling this modern big-screen revamp by the same name is a blatant attempt to rake in a few more box-office dollars.
The plot is minimal at best. Kelly Robinson (Murphy) is a loudmouth champion boxer, recruited to assist special agent Alexander Scott (Wilson) in a mission. The goal of that mission is to investigate Arnold Gundars (McDowell), an international bad guy who has a chameleon-like stealth plane. This plane, stolen from the United States, is going to be secretly auctioned to the highest bidder at a pre-bout party thrown by Gundars; Robinson's sole purpose is to help Scott gain entry to the party using his celebrity status. Action and comedy are supposed to ensue, but they never do.
There are a few aspects that this film shares with ""I Spy"" the TV show'the names of the main characters remain, as do their professions and their race. However, Cosby was the spy in the original, while Culp was a professional tennis player. There is no real legitimate reason why Murphy was put into the athlete role, nor why he was turned into a boxer (apparently no one told the writers that there are black tennis players now). Strip away the names and professions and this is just another spy movie that could have been named something else'and no one would notice.
The rare funny moments of the movie are when Wilson or Murphy are given the chance to spread their comedic wings. For example, early in the movie Wilson complains about his poor spy equipment, saying, ""My stuff looks like it's from Radio Shack in 1972."" It's established early that he's envious of super-spy Carlos (Gary Cole). He plays the scene well, and the material itself is not too bad. Later in the movie, Murphy tries to assist Wilson as he hits on fellow spy Rachel (Janssen) by guiding him to sing Marvin Gaye's ""Sexual Healing"" to her as she lies on a cot. Both Murphy's over-the-top delivery in song and Wilson's frustrated, spoken recantation are hilarious.
In other scenes where the two are given time to work off one another, the chemistry is apparent; Murphy and Wilson could make an incredible comedy together. However, ""I Spy"" never slows down for them. It bowls along, never waiting for the joke to settle in or even stopping to play it out in full. Thomas directs the movie as though it was more action than comedy; the problem is that the action is sub-par at best. Besides, who goes to see an Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson picture for the action? ""I Spy,"" disappointingly, is a mere glimpse of the movie that could have been.
