Product Details

• Actors: Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole
• Directors: Betty Thomas
• Writers: Cormac Wibberley, David Friedkin, David Ronn, Jay Scherick, Marianne Wibberley
• Producers: Andrew G. Vajna
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: March 11, 2003
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000085EFK
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,111 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Eddie Murphy

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Eddie Murphy needed a comeback after The Adventures of Pluto Nash, but I Spy didn't provide it. As with his previous turkey, Murphy's the least of this movie's problems; his spitfire delivery begs for better plotting and dialogue, and his teaming with Owen Wilson had even more promise than Wilson's Shanghai comedies with Jackie Chan. But this unfunny hash--bearing no resemblance to the 1960s Bill Cosby-Robert Culp TV series that inspired it--undermines Murphy and Wilson at every turn, stranding them in scenes that play well in isolation but never form a coherent action-comedy. It's not that director Betty Thomas is incapable; she just seems uninterested, going through the motions while Eddie, Owen, and Famke Janssen play spy games in Budapest, chasing after a villain (Malcolm McDowell, wasted again) who's stolen a sleek, invisibility-cloaked jet bomber called the Switchblade. Explosions, shootouts, double-crosses... ignore it all, and find what pleasure you can in Eddie and Owen's aimless banter. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
WHEN THE SWITCHBLADE, THE MOST SOPHISTICATED STEALTH FIGHTER EVER CREATED, IS STOLEN FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, ONE OF THE UNITED STATES' TOP SPIES IS CALLED IN TO ACTION. WHAT HE DOESN'T EXPECT IS TO GET TEAMED UP WITH A COCKY CIVILIAN BOXING CHAMPION.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I SPY: Suffers in Comparison with the Original, February 18, 2008

By	Martin Asiner "Adjunct College Instructor" (Jersey City, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For those who come to the recent film version of the hit 1960s I SPY, there is the inevitable tendency to compare them, with the film coming off as a pale imitation. In the television series, the focus was on the delicate and artful blending of comedy and action with the magic chemistry of the actors. Viewers simply accepted the reality of a pair of government spies, only one of whom was an athlete. The viewer of the movie has a much harder job since the blending of comedy and action here is badly off center with jokes and ad libs serving as distractors rather than as advancers of the plot. There is also the tendency to see Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson in the same light as Chris Rock and Jackie Chan who played much the same pair but with far more success. In I SPY, Eddie Murphy is the too cool inner city athlete who is co-opted to be a spy by Owen Wilson. In Murphy's case, his interpretation of Kelly Robinson marks him as an overage rapper wannabe whose only focus is on impressing the ladies. In Wilson's case, he comes off as way too young and geeky to be taken seriously as a head spook. Their overly frequent head butting is supposed to entertain but too often annoys. Malcom McDowell also disappoints as the bad guy plane dealer. He seems to have forgotten how good he was in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE or in TIME AFTER TIME. Famke Janssen generates most of the tension and interest as the leggy spy whose motives are suspect. What emerges from I SPY is the dulling realization that a great deal of misplaced talent was wasted in a film that could not decide where to draw that fine line between action, humor, and brainlessness.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They spy!, January 23, 2007

By	andy8047 (Nokomis,Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson delighted audiences in late 2002 with this action-packed film based on the 1965-68 NBC adventure series starring comedian Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. This is one of the best action films since the LETHAL WEAPON series. Scott Kelly(Wilson) and athlete Alexander Scott(Murphy) are partners in crime. You can call them cops,P.I.'s,FBI agents,whatever. This is a reunion between Murphy and director Betty Thomas who is late of the NBC crime drama Hill Street Blues. Previously,Thomas directed Murphy in the remake of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and the remake sequel. Thomas' previous films include THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE and PRIVATE PARTS.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great surprise!, June 17, 2005

By	PLC (Houston TX USA) - See all my reviews

What a good time I had watching this movie. I've watched it for the fourth time this week and it keeps getting better. Quick witted, good chemistry between Eddie Murphy & Owen Wilson, exciting chase scenes -- just a lot of fun. Don't listen to the critics on this one or you'll miss a great couple of hours.