neumu [ cinematronic ]




	I Spy
	Betty Thomas Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole 2002		Another terrible film version of a vintage TV show that should have been left to cable reruns and DVD box sets. "I Spy" is a badly written, stultifyingly dull, laugh-free attempt at an action-comedy based on the '60s series that starred comic Bill Cosby as Kelly Robinson, the first African-American television hero, and Bob Culp as WASP-y Alex Scott. Robinson and Scott were partners with panache, accomplished secret agents fighting evildoers. There's no panache in the update, just embarrassment for Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson. Murphy and Wilson play Robinson and Scott, but the characters resemble the originals in name only: Scott is a clumsy spy forced to partner with loud, overbearing boxing champ Robinson. Their mission? Retrieve a stolen U.S. stealth bomber from a criminal mastermind (Malcolm McDowell) before he auctions it off in Budapest, site of Robinson's next bout. Co-star Famke Janssen's modern Mata Hari amounts to a mannequin with judo moves. Since "I Spy" follows Murphy's previous screen abomination "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," you could say his film career is on a roll — downhill.