Review: 'Spy' (2015)

Twentieth Century Fox

Power couple? I wouldn’t go that far but the relationship between Paul Fieg and Melissa McCarthy and their comedic collaborations at the cinema in recent years have gained plenty of attention. Fieg has seem to find his go to as his first three directorial efforts now have featured McCarthy in a big way and his Ghostbuster reboot is also set to have her involved. But for now, Spy is the duos latest project. Even though Spy, a spoof on the espionage genre, maybe be Fiegs most outlandish effort yet it still shows a level of reserve and resistant’s to being an all-out mockery of something but instead choosing to focus more on its lead character, allowing McCarthy to take charge as a result.

McCarthy’s Susan Cooper is technically the title character but things do not start out this way. Susan is an agent for the CIA, working under humorless director Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney), but only at a computer, feeding important information into the ear of a field agent. The field agent she assists is Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a sleek, confident and skilled agent. It is not until Agent Fine is killed on a mission and the fear that other agent’s identities, including Jason Stratham as Agent Ford, are blown that Susan becomes a field agent for the first time as she attempts to finish the mission that Fine started.

Susan is no slouch when it comes being a respectable agent but the fact that she is embarking on something that she has little experience at like what comes with being a field agent makes this a fish-out-water type of story. Spy, while an obvious spoof on the genre that it shares its name with, chooses to focus more on aspects of its lead character and her journey within the story rather that making a point to constantly remind you that this is a satire of the genre.

Susan is thrown into a situation that she must be quick on her feet or think outside the box. When this takes place, things are at their most refreshing point. Even though Susan is doing things she has never had to do before as an undercover agent, a strong and smart individual still comes through. At the same time though she is grieving but also redeeming Fine and in the process realizes that she wasn’t as special to him as he was to her. Feig weaves these character aspects through his humorously toned atmosphere seamlessly; never weighing things down with sentimental mush but adding just enough heart and soul to the character and story that helps contain an otherwise outlandish experience.   

McCarthy in role is allowed to take over the picture unlike never before and once again Feig gets a highly entertaining performance. What makes McCarthy such a valuable comedic actor is how she is able to be the self-cautious or confident character and bring the same level of humor either way. With Spy’s Susan she is able to showcase this range as the role requires her to be the ‘fish out of water’ but also the one in charge when she is undercover. Because of this, she has no trouble completing the task of moving the film along in a way that you have no problem seeing what is in store next for Susan scene after scene.

With that said though, it would be unfair to Jason Statham and Miranda Hart to say that McCarthy does it all. Statham as the disgruntled Agent Ford, strongly disagreeing with the decision to put Susan in the field, gives one of his more humorously entertaining performances. Ford makes it clear that his way of doing things is always the extreme and as he often explains his methods and past experiences with great detail and Statham gives each of these explanations the right level of anger and frustration charged energy needed. However, it is Hart that brings the most energy as Nancy. Nancy is to Susan as Susan was to Agent Fine. As Nancy, Hart plays loose to McCarthy’s straight (if you can believe that) and it couldn’t work out better. Whether it is 50 Cent falling for Nancy or her non-work related commentary when guiding Susan, Hart in the role never lets up on the gas with the her bubbly persona, making the funny things she says even better.

With Spy, Feig makes it clear, if he hadn’t already, that the projects he takes on are going to feature a central theme. Leading the way in a Feig picture is a funny but also a strong and smart woman or women and while I do not need to tell you how great this is, it is noteworthy considering this is happening within the comedy genre. In a genre dominated by men and their buddy cop premises (a subject Feig has already took on), to see women given these chances to not just prove how funny they can be but absolutely crush it at times is as meaningful as the jokes they are landing which says a lot.                          

Grade: B

Review: 'Furious 7' (2015)

Universal Pictures

It quickly becomes clear that Furious 7 is going to play more like a highlight reel rather than another story in the franchise. It doesn’t waste any time with a plot or even a whole lot of talk, almost as if director James Wan and screenwriter Chris Morgan realized that none of this is the reason that the franchise has only became stronger with each entry.  So where does its success come from. What the Fast and Furious franchise does best is explosive, large-scale action sequences. Furious 7 highlights this strength by amping the action up way beyond any level it has reached before, to the point that it completely takes over.

Furious 7 picks up where the Fast and Furious 6 credits scene left off with Owen Shaw’s brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) going after Dom, Brian and the rest of the crew that was responsible for the death of his brother. It is made very clear early and often that Deckard is even more ruthless than his brother. He successfully kills Han (Sung Kang) in Tokyo (the credit scene in Fast & Furious 6 but depicted here as well) but fails to kill Brian and his family after blowing up their house and only manages to put Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in the hospital after he somehow survives a massive jump from a building exploding at the hands of Deckard.

This prompts the crew to go into all out protection mode while attempting to get to Deckard before he gets to them. This catches the attention of Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), an off the record type of government agent that is after a dangerous computer program called ‘Gods Eye’ before it gets into the hands of a terrorist by the name of Jakande (Djimon Hounsou). Seeing an opportunity to help each other get what they want, Mr. Nobody offers to help get Shaw for Dom if Dom and the others will get him ‘Gods Eye’. After agreeing, the crew, keeping up with the world traveling theme the previous films have done, find themselves in Dubai but end up back in Los Angeles for a massive showdown with Deckard.        

And what a showdown it is. You have the Rock, after surviving a ridicules fall, flexing out of a cast to break out of the hospital in order to help the crew by firing off countless rounds from a gun even bigger than him. While this is happening, Dom rolls his car a thousand times and just when you may think this is the one that did him in he pulls through like there is nothing to it. This all seems ordinary though given what takes place leading up to this Expendables-esque finale.

The action sequences have become more and more elaborate and over the top with every minute this series continues. But as these moments take over something has to take a back seat. So, going along with the fact that the backseats in the vehicles featured in these films are pointless, that thing doesn’t get put in the back seat, it gets moved to the trunk. That thing is a script. When it comes to Furious 7, saying that the script gets put in the trunk is rather generous. It is clear that one of the few things Furious 7 wants to accomplish is being the best mindless, outlandish action piece it can be. And that’s exactly what Furious 7 does, never allowing any details to get in the way, only breaking for brief phrases that are always dumber than the last but never take away from the several entertaining moments of the film. These moments include Dom and Brian driving through three sky scrapers, Brian barely grabbing on to a the spoiler of a car as he jumps from another vehicle as it is quickly going off a cliff and, in a moment that some this experience up nicely, Mr. Nobody winking at Dom right after he is shot. Immediately after this, my first thought was I hope he survives this because I want him in the next one. My second thought was that it is clear that everyone involved in making this movie understands how outlandish it is so I guess I’ll fully get on board with it. 

Of course though there is some kind of theme here, and as you are probably already well aware, that theme is family. I have been calling this group a crew but Dom makes it clear early and often that it is a family. It uses this theme nicely, not weighing the film down but managing to give a proper farewell to Paul Walker. Furious 7 is able to honor the life of Walker in a thoughtful way that also blends well into this notion of family.

            

            With the action first approach that Furious 7 takes it becomes clear that the Fast and Furious franchise is one that is able to adapt. You’re not watching The Fast and the Furious for the seventh time, which is rare when it comes to these long lasting franchises. This franchise though has been able to successfully change the formula slightly from entry to entry all while remembering that the most important aspect is its sequences of big time action. Furious 7 is no exception, making clear that this is a franchise, even after fourteen years, is still on the rise as it shows no signs of slowing down.     

Grade: B