Spy

Parodies of the spy film and in particular the James Bond movies have been around for as long as the genre has existed, with notable entries being Johnny English and the Austin Powers movies. But these parodies have never really been executed too well using American characters (although Austin Powers were Hollywood movies, the character was still British), so I had little faith in Spy, something that was soon proven wrong.

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is a CIA agent who handles field agent and super-spy Bradley Fine (Jude Law) from the CIA headquarters in Washington. After a mission goes wrong where Bradley is killed and the covers of all CIA field agents is blown, Susan is the only person who can go undercover and recover a nuclear weapon being sold by villainess Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). Susan must also contend with the arrogant rogue agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) who doesn't believe she can complete the mission on her own and wishes to garner all the glory.

The film parodies a lot of the elements of a James Bond movie, and quite well too. Everything from the cars to the gadgets to the glamorous women appear. The opening title sequence is even a perfect match to one of those films. The movie does try to delve into some of the more in-depth subplots that involves a double CIA agent that is played by Morena Baccarin. This seems a little out of place and only adds confusion to a rather simple and enjoyable plot.

The film however is very self-aware and sure of itself as a spy parody. It understands all of the ridiculous elements of the movies and each character is an archetype of those movies. Jude Law's Bradley Fine is very much the gentleman spy and Statham's Rick Ford is a cross between Jason Bourne and his own character from Crank or The Transporter films. Susan Cooper is very much the tough female protagonist and it was quite cool to see Melissa McCarthy kick ass, although her reactions to when she kills someone could have been removed.

So while McCarthy does play a strong character, she still is playing the same crass woman that she has been, although it was rather dialled back in this film. Rose Byrne shouldn't really venture into mainstream comedies like this. While she's good in quirky and offbeat comedies, I think she should just stick to serious roles. I'm sure Jude Law was glad to have a chance to play James Bond in this movie and he looked like he was having a fun time. It is refreshing to see Jason Statham return to comedy after almost twenty years because it seems everyone has forgotten that he made his debut in two great comedies (as the characters of Bacon and Turkish). Miranda Hart makes for great support with Allison Janney as Susan's boss at the CIA. The real show stealer for me was Peter Serafinowicz, who was a delight in every single scene as Italian agent Aldo.

A surprising foray into the spy parody for Feig and McCarthy which pays of with some fun laughs, but mostly presented by the other characters. Jason Statham and Peter Serafinowicz shine in the supporting roles.

Furious 7

                                               "I can't believe we pulled that off"

The Fast and Furious is a wholly unique example of blockbuster film-making. In no other series could the sixth sequel of a franchise be both the highest grossing and the most critically-acclaimed in spite of a director-change and the death of one of the major stars. A franchise that's as lauded for the diversity of its main cast as for its outright lunacy and stupidity. As often as it is compared to the auteuristic style of "Bayhem", it is entirely separate, as the Furious 7 may be the only film of the decade to have an action set-piece that involves one Hispanic woman fist-fighting four hijab-clad bodyguards and an MMA champion all dressed in evening dresses and while a car flies between three separate sky-scrapers.

                                          "Time to release the Beast from its cage."

The climactic death of Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was a grim eventuality during his tenure in Fast Five and Furious 6, but at the end of the latter it was teased that his death was deliberately perpetrated by British ex-Black Operations psychopath Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). The motive being that by killing Han Shaw can bait Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his adopted "family" as revenge for them defeating his brother Owen (Luke Evans) in Furious 6. From this point onwards the plot modifies this over-arching revenge story with a Macguffin side-plot involving the enigmatic and enthusiastic "Mr. Nobody" (Kurt Russell) and the sexy & intelligent hacker (literally her only characteristics) Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel of Game of Thrones). Russell adds an extra dose of enthusiastic wit into the mix, Rhonda Rousey and Tony Jaa appear to (successfully) beef up the fight scenes, and Djimon Honsou continues his recent trend of intimidating villainous roles. This all builds upon Furious 6's James Bond-like jet-setting trend and growing reputation for choice casting, allowing for ridiculous action set-pieces to take place in vastly different locations, and truly allowing the individuality of this series to shine.



Australian director James Wan (most known for his horror films The Conjuring and Saw) gives some new depth to the madness but stays mostly true to the style Justin Lin built in his tenure from Tokyo Drift onwards.  Sky-diving cars? Sure. Iggy Azalea cameo? Why not. The Rock flexing his way out of a cast? Oh baby, yes please. But the over-editing of the fights, cringe-inducing dialogue, the too-strong foreshadowing of Brian's departure, the objectification of Nathalie Emmanuel's attractive, but otherwise very capable Ramsey, and certainly the abundance of product placement thin the growing divide between Furious 7 and its contemporaries. Wan also retains the near pornographic scene transitions, the lunatic action set-pieces, and thematic obsession with family, but builds on them in many small ways (most often through just effective mis-en-scene and camera-work) throughout the whole film. The fights incorporate interesting camera and editing techniques. the film concentrates on the dynamics and psychology of the "family" over the Statham's entertaining but one-dimensional villain, and the music unashamedly switches entirely from an obnoxious hip-hop soundtrack to an overcharged orchestral score between scenes. The introduction to Deckard Shaw is excellent in the way it establishes James Wan's role. The scene begins with a relatively touching moment of Statham visiting an unconscious Luke Evans in hospital and then in a single shot pulls out to reveal the destruction he wrought to get there, the destroyed ward, the dozens of dead and dying police and Statham's own deadly swagger. The scene contains the familial spirit, the excess of action and even ends with Statham speeding off in a sports car to hit all the hallmarks of the franchise, but the style of the reveal and structure of this scene is more than just pure spectacle.


                                   
                                                   "Woman, I AM the cavalry."

While it's tough to shoot around Paul Walker's death at that stage of the production, it's dealt with adequately with the asides of Dom and Mia (Jordana Brewster) contemplating whether Brian will accept domestication. These moments, alongside the similar aside that delves into the psychological aftermath of Letty's (Michelle Rodriguez) return to the "Family", allows for a welcome change in pace and an easy introduction to the eulogy for Walker. It's important for films to know what they are, not just who their audience is but what the film is, what it says and the way it says it. The Fast and Furious films were never meant to get this outrageously big, and it is clear on every level that the film-makers, producers, and most of all the actors know exactly what they're there to do: entertain. And in Furious 7 there is no shortage of ways to evoke that message, it comes through loud and clear.




Go and watch this movie now.