Spy

I went to see Spy this afternoon. It concerns Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy), a desk bound CIA agent helping to direct her partner in the field, Bradley Fine (Jude Law) to locate a nuclear bomb which is to be used to blow up New York City. On a mission to ascertain the weapon's location, Fine is terminated by Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) who informs the CIA that they possess intelligence on each of its currently active field agents. The CIA then agree to send Cooper undercover to observe and report. A great deal of action and hijinks subsequently ensue.

I enjoyed this a good deal more than I expected to. It's refreshing to see an action comedy that genuinely delivers on both counts. McCarthy is a fine comedic talent, but here she demonstrates an ability to carry a film with a well rounded likeable character. Byrne also excels as the part spoiled brat, part psychotic killer Rayna. Jason Statham nearly but not quite steals the show, showing an aptitude for self-parody as Rick Ford, a lunatic British operative. The scene where he appears in Cooper's French hotel room and rattles off a list of implausible events during his time as an agent is one of the film's highlights.

Miranda Hart also has a much more prominent role than I had anticipated, ostensibly playing "Miranda" but with a smattering of decent lines and an unlikely romance to boot. It's not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination and the plot is somewhat all over the shop, but it's the funniest comedy film I've seen at the cinema for a couple of years at least.

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