Pretty good for a spy comedy

Let’s face it the Spy parody sub-genre has been done umpteen times in the past. There’s been the original 1960’s Casino Royale,Top Secret, Spy Hard, the Austin Powers movies to name but a few. It's almost been done to death. However given the very positive reviews this gained I wouldn’t go so far as saying that this was a great comedy although it was better than I might have expected. Ultimately the movies script is mediocre at best but a charmingly cheery performance from Melissa MacCarthy in the lead role. She capably, makes the transition from the unassured yet dedicated agent, to confident badass without overdoing it. Jason Statham is indeed on fine form as the gung-ho, over-zealous agent and all too competitive maverick agent with fellow Brits, Jude Law (who is essentially a U.S. version of James Bond) and Miranda offering solid support).

It’s swiftly enough paced although it suffers from not being as funny or knowingly self referential as it thinks it is. And Feig who both wrote and directed it does allow himself to become a tad self indulgent with one of two of the actions action sequences and with some of the knowing winks at the audience. The opening credits sequence being a blatant pastiche of those of the Bond movies. Then there’s the less than subtle or inspired gags revolving around the spy gadgets. It also relies on some unnecessarily naff slapstick at times, while a couple of the plot twists were predictable. It’s largely down to the first rate performances from a generally excellent cast and Feig’s direction which is for the most part adroitly handled. Overall it made for a decent, undemanding yet flawed afternoon’s entertainment.