SPIES IN DISGUISE
***
Directors: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane
Screenwriters: Brad Copeland, Lloyd Taylor
Principal cast:
Will Smith
Tom Holland
Ben Mendelsohn
Karen Gillan
Rashida Jones
DJ Khaled
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 102 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2020
Previewed at: Event Cinemas Bondi Junction, Sydney, on 15 December 2019.
Spies In Disguise is the latest film to come from Blue Sky Studios, the makers of the highly successful Ice Age series of animated movies, and the first release from this production house since the Walt Disney Company purchased 20th Century Fox from Rupert Murdoch. The business machinations of the two Hollywood giants was apparently responsible for a delay of almost 12 months in releasing the title, which was originally due to come out last (Australian) summer. Will any of this matter to its target audience of boys and girls? Not in the slightest, although it might affect their parents. The disappointing Will Smith action movie Gemini Man hit our screens only a few months ago, so it might still be fresh in the grown-ups’ memories and put them off seeing another Will Smith spy film so soon - even an animated one.
In Spies In Disguise Smith plays super-spy Lance Sterling, who’s been set up by arch-villain Killian (our very own Ben Mendelsohn) to look like he’s betrayed his employer. Fleeing the security forces, Lance seeks the help of pacifist scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) because he has been working on a new invention, a serum that can temporarily change your appearance into any kind of animal. When Lance downs the liquid prematurely, however, he is instantly turned into (drum roll) … a pigeon. Even worse, he can’t fly! When human, Lance is smooth, suave and debonair, always dressed in a dinner jacket, while the dorky Walter is introverted and studious (“Science is cool,” is his motto), but now the opposites must unite to save the day, catch the baddy, prove that Lance is not a traitor and return him to his usual form. As if this wasn’t enough, the pair constantly clash over how to make all this happen - Lance’s default position is to go in hard and violently, while Walter has developed a suite of non-lethal weapons, preferring to take a more peaceful approach to problem solving - and this difference in style provides many of the movie’s laughs, and its message.
Freely inspired by a 2009 short film called Pigeon: Impossible (geddit?), the computer-generated, heavily stylised animation suits the wacky premise of Spies In Disguise, especially Lance’s appearance. He’s all angles and sharp edges, from his neatly trimmed goatee to his over-expanded torso and narrow hips and legs. Conversely, Walter’s lines are rounded and smooth, which serves to highlight all their other differences. The script hits all the usual tropes of this kind of spy movie; Lance has a tricked-out, flash car and the demeanour of a James Bond, while Walter is the lab-coat wearing ‘Q’ figure, a behind-the-scenes operator unused to emerging from the confines of his laboratory. The voice cast is impressive; in addition to the three leads, there’s a lot of talent in the supporting roles. Uber producer Mark Ronson is the film’s music producer and there is even a six-track EP available of the new songs written for the movie, plus an updated version of the ‘80s hip-hop classic, It Takes Two.
Spies In Disguise is a slickly-made, fast-paced bauble as against a long-lasting diamond. Still, younger ones will enjoy it and get a few laughs and it has positive messages about collaboration and problem-solving. Any film that suggests to kids that violence isn’t a good idea should be OK with their parents, too.
Screenwriters: Brad Copeland, Lloyd Taylor
Principal cast:
Will Smith
Tom Holland
Ben Mendelsohn
Karen Gillan
Rashida Jones
DJ Khaled
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 102 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2020
Previewed at: Event Cinemas Bondi Junction, Sydney, on 15 December 2019.
Spies In Disguise is the latest film to come from Blue Sky Studios, the makers of the highly successful Ice Age series of animated movies, and the first release from this production house since the Walt Disney Company purchased 20th Century Fox from Rupert Murdoch. The business machinations of the two Hollywood giants was apparently responsible for a delay of almost 12 months in releasing the title, which was originally due to come out last (Australian) summer. Will any of this matter to its target audience of boys and girls? Not in the slightest, although it might affect their parents. The disappointing Will Smith action movie Gemini Man hit our screens only a few months ago, so it might still be fresh in the grown-ups’ memories and put them off seeing another Will Smith spy film so soon - even an animated one.
In Spies In Disguise Smith plays super-spy Lance Sterling, who’s been set up by arch-villain Killian (our very own Ben Mendelsohn) to look like he’s betrayed his employer. Fleeing the security forces, Lance seeks the help of pacifist scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) because he has been working on a new invention, a serum that can temporarily change your appearance into any kind of animal. When Lance downs the liquid prematurely, however, he is instantly turned into (drum roll) … a pigeon. Even worse, he can’t fly! When human, Lance is smooth, suave and debonair, always dressed in a dinner jacket, while the dorky Walter is introverted and studious (“Science is cool,” is his motto), but now the opposites must unite to save the day, catch the baddy, prove that Lance is not a traitor and return him to his usual form. As if this wasn’t enough, the pair constantly clash over how to make all this happen - Lance’s default position is to go in hard and violently, while Walter has developed a suite of non-lethal weapons, preferring to take a more peaceful approach to problem solving - and this difference in style provides many of the movie’s laughs, and its message.
Freely inspired by a 2009 short film called Pigeon: Impossible (geddit?), the computer-generated, heavily stylised animation suits the wacky premise of Spies In Disguise, especially Lance’s appearance. He’s all angles and sharp edges, from his neatly trimmed goatee to his over-expanded torso and narrow hips and legs. Conversely, Walter’s lines are rounded and smooth, which serves to highlight all their other differences. The script hits all the usual tropes of this kind of spy movie; Lance has a tricked-out, flash car and the demeanour of a James Bond, while Walter is the lab-coat wearing ‘Q’ figure, a behind-the-scenes operator unused to emerging from the confines of his laboratory. The voice cast is impressive; in addition to the three leads, there’s a lot of talent in the supporting roles. Uber producer Mark Ronson is the film’s music producer and there is even a six-track EP available of the new songs written for the movie, plus an updated version of the ‘80s hip-hop classic, It Takes Two.
Spies In Disguise is a slickly-made, fast-paced bauble as against a long-lasting diamond. Still, younger ones will enjoy it and get a few laughs and it has positive messages about collaboration and problem-solving. Any film that suggests to kids that violence isn’t a good idea should be OK with their parents, too.
