Film Review: Spy

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Spy. Rated MA15+ (strong violence, coarse language and brief nudity). 120 minutes. Written and Directed by Paul Feig.

Verdict: A star turn from Melissa McCarthy manages to maintain our interest.

With his smash-hit romp Bridesmaids (2011), Feig launched himself, and one of the film’s stars Melissa McCarthy, into the heights of the comedy stratosphere. Bridesmaids became one of the most talked-about films of the year, gleefully dividing audiences straight down the line between those who adored its ribald, no holds barred hilarity, and those who found it all too obnoxious, crude and over-rated.

Whatever side of the Bridesmaids debate you were on may well define exactly how much you enjoy Feig’s modestly enjoyable plundering of the espionage genre.

Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is the ‘voice in the ear’ of one of the FBI’s celebrated field agents Bradley Fine (Jude Law). Using state-of-the-art tracking software at FBI HQ, Cooper guides Ford through a dangerous mission to discover the whereabouts of a nuclear device that the mysterious Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) has on the market to the highest bidder. When Ford is assassinated and the identities of all the other undercover FBI agents (including Jason Statham’s wonderfully resentful, rogue agent Rick Ford) are revealed, a guilt-ridden Cooper volunteers to take on the challenge of uncovering the bomb’s location to save the world from nuclear annihilation.

Feig’s screenplay is a good deal more ambitious than he is capable of delivering directorially, and while there are certainly some unforgettable sequences and some hilarious dialogue, the film struggles to maintain the breath-draining pace and equilibrium that it needs in order to feel like the gold-plated comedy experience it is trying a little too hard to be.

McCarthy, though, is brilliant, and Spy would be instantly forgettable if it wasn’t for her exceptional clowning skills and the extent to which she wholeheartedly throws herself both at, and into, the role of the endearing agent Cooper.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Fast & Furious 7

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Fast & Furious 7. Rated M (action violence). 137 minutes. Directed by James Wan. Screenplay by Chris Morgan.

Verdict: Paul Walker’s final film is a fine tribute.

During a filming break for Thanksgiving in 2013, Fast & Furious 7 star Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas were killed in a car accident. The coroner reported that their 2005 Porsche Carrera GT was travelling at speeds of up to 160km per hour.

Even though Fast & Furious 7 was eventually completed using stand-ins (including Walker’s two brothers) for Walker’s popular character Brian O’Connor, it is the circumstances of the star’s untimely death that haunt this movie more than anything that Morgan’s screenplay might have dreamed up.

But dream big Morgan certainly has, and Malaysian-born Australian director Wan (Saw, TheConjuring), is more than equal to the task of bringing the explosive, fast-paced story to the big screen. What is impressive about Wan’s departure from the horror genre (in which he has worked exclusively until now), is how inventive some of the sequences are – particularly the sensational car chases that take place on every available surface of a mountain range and the gob-smacking sequences that star Abu Dhabi’s trio of monumental glass skyscrapers.

Picking up where Fast & Furious 6 left us, regulars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Dwayne Johnson return in now reliably robust form to defeat villain Deckard Shaw’s (Jason Statham) quest to avenge the death of his brother Owen, while also trying to get his hands on state-of-the-art surveillance software.

At just short of two and a half hours long, Fast & Furious 7 comes perilously close to outstaying its welcome, but with its exceptional big action set pieces and its generous number of laughs, it undeniably rewards our attention. And by the time the filmmakers say goodbye to Walker at the end, it feels like a perfectly fitting tribute to the Fast & Furious films’ star who, tragically, died too young.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.