Spies in Disguise Film Review

Is Will Smith even funnier as a bird?

by Casimir Harlow

Spies in Disguise Film Review

Will Smith and Tom Holland are on great form in this hilarious and action-packed animated spy caper from Ice Age's Blue Sky Studios, that's worth a look on its digital release.

Sure, the trailer may contain some funny moments, but it doesn't really encompass just how much fun this animated spy vehicle is, enjoying more than a little James Bondian influence but also trading in the same kind of witty dynamic that made Downey Jr's Tony Stark / Iron Man and Tom Holland's Peter Parker / Spider-Man such a great duo across a number of MCU entries. It's one of those clever features that both revels in everything that makes the genre great - in this case spy actioners - whilst also enjoying a distinctly self-aware laugh at every turn, dialling the action and comedy up to 11 to tremendous effect.

 

Spies in Disguise elicits one of the most honestly relaxed and effortlessly cool performances from Will Smith in quite some time

Smith's Lance Sterling is the world's greatest spy. Holland's Walter Beckett is just a geeky tech nerd working in the basement. But when Sterling's latest mission goes awry and he gets framed for a crime he didn't commit, Walter turns out to be the only person in the world who may be able to help him clear his name, and may just find a use for his inflatable hugs in the process.

Spies in Disguise

Spies in Disguise elicits one of the most honestly relaxed and effortlessly cool performances from Will Smith in quite some time - something he halfway accomplished with his surprisingly good turn as the genie in Aladdin and which he tried his best to bring to bear in the belated Bad Boys for Life, but which has otherwise eluded him for years. Part of this is thanks to the fact that he gets to finally play Bond, and part of this is because he doesn't actually have to be Bond, revelling in his transformation into a very different kind of spy, and enjoying all the hilarity that ensues.

Holland is playing to his strengths here - it'll be interesting to see just how long he can keep up this nerdy and naive run he appears to excel at before he has to change gear, but it works perfectly here opposite Smith's so-sure-of-himself-he-could-be-Tony-Stark spy. Of course it helps no end that, whilst these two carry the majority of the movie on their shoulders, there's plenty of room for some superb sideways shenanigans from the rest of the cast - Tag's Rashida Jones, Jumanji's Karen Gillan, and Rogue One's Ben Mendelsohn on typically villainous form - and then there's the dialogue-less birds, who perhaps get some of the best laughs.

 

A surprisingly well slow-played emotional core holds it all together, and comes out just when you need it

The animation is suitably flashy, but never looks to impress in a Pixar kind of way, instead content to remain larger-than-life and over-the-top at every turn, staging some colourfully explosive setpieces with imagination. That doesn't mean that the show doesn't have any heart though, with a surprisingly well slow-played emotional core that holds it all together, and comes out just when you need it. A very nice little bit of fun, funny, family entertainment, Spies in Disguise - if you missed it at the cinemas - is well worth checking out.


Scores

Verdict

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8

8
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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