Spy

By: Robert Murphy

The world of being a super spy with a license to kill would definitely draw in anyone but we often forget that there are plenty of people working behind the scenes that make these spies the lethal players that they’re out in the field. This fact is exceedingly true for one Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) who joined the CIA to go on crazy adventures and get some excitement in her life only to end up in a vermin infested basement staring at a computer screen all day. She does however get to act as eyes and ears for one of the agencies top operatives Bradley Fine (Jude Law) and mostly does the brunt of the work while he spots out James Bond era one liners. This is until he gets taken out by the daughter of a notorious arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) who knows the identities of all the CIA’s current agents working in the field. It is then up to Cooper to take up the task of taking out this new threat before she unleashes a small portable nuke and get revenge for her torrid romantic interest and former team member.

McCarthy is proving to be a comedic force to be reckoned in the past few years with movies and TV shows alike which happily continues forward in Spy. Her character Susan Cooper is a soft spoken woman who wishes more than anything for people to notice her especially Fine who treats her like a buddy/errand girl rather than someone he actually notices. This translates over well in a number of scenarios throughout the first half of the story where McCarthy’s not the standard spy appearance takes a bit of a hit. Her fellow agents in the field get glamorous cars and gadgets disguised as pens of regular items where Cooper gets a grab bag of items disguised as items a middle aged woman would have in her bag. Items like stool softeners and hemorrhoid wipes get thrown into the mix but what’s worse is probably her not so appealing alter egos who included an ageing cat mommy and a divorced mother of three from Iowa. There is definitely no fancy tuxedo suits here as Cooper suffers the indignity of a old lady wig and sweater with a cat on it but she takes it all in stride.   

The dynamic changes up for her though near the halfway mark for the film as she must improvise her way out of ridiculous situations that were mostly caused by the rogue Rick Ford (Jason Statham) but it helps her finally gain some back bone. Cooper’s new persona is more of the badass spy character that she always dreamed of and it was secretly locked away inside her all along. This is where the action scenes start to pick up and it is wonderfully balanced with the scripts many comedic aspects. Cooper gets involved in a high speed chase but it is less impressive on a scooter and also gets into an impressively choreographed scene in a kitchen where she wields a frying pan in a knife fight. She even gets her very own eyes and ears as her friend Nancy (Miranda Hart) tries to lend a hand through her spy situations but ends up acting like a giddy house wife over the glitz and glamour which leaves Cooper completely exasperated. It is however a nice twist to the situation and really adds to the rich comedy gold present throughout Spy.

McCarthy doesn’t take all the credit, while she truly brings to life all of the jokes at her expense and the ridiculous action scenes she is also accompanied by some great supporting characters. Statham who I mentioned earlier is a completely ridiculous character this time around. He would normally make the perfect spy and has certainly proven his worth as an action hero countless times before but now his character has more bark than bite. His character doesn’t think that Cooper is up to the task and will screw everything up but she ends up saving him on countless occasions as he makes a mess of every situation he is put in. We then have Aldo (Peter Serafinowicz) who is a fellow agent that is stationed in Europe to help Cooper out in her mission but ends up being a ridiculous womanizer. He is constantly going on about how attractive Cooper is, even in her old lady and divorced mother disguises. The two have hilarious go betweens including a scene where he attempts to free her from her hands from rope by biting at them and ending up in a bizarre position with Cooper.

Things do start to become a grind though with all the stunts and exploits for the film. There are countless action throwbacks at nods to the audience that make a point to show that this is a spy film. Events like a private plane shoot out that leads to the plane spiraling out of control or a big club scene that features 50 Cent which aren't bad moments for the story but after awhile it bogs things down and there are plenty of scenes like it. I appreciated all of the moments that make Spy feel like the classic spy movies that I’ve scene over the years but one or two moments like that will do the trick not four or five.

Melissa McCarthy takes everything that is thrown at her and keeps on going in Spy. Her character Cooper plays a shy pencil pusher one minute and then completely transforms into a tough CIA operative with a mouth the next. McCarthy also is accompanied by some incredible supporting actors and actresses that add to this spy comedy experience. In the end, espionage has never looked quite so ridiculous but that’s certainly a good thing.

Good:

- Melissa McCarthy continues her comedic hot streak

- A great supporting cast

- Fast paced action mixed perfectly with quick witted comedy

Bad:

- A bit bogged down with the amount of spy references

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10  

Focus

By: Robert Murphy

There is something about a con man movie that makes you really understand people in this world, there is a science to just about everything and you can use it to your advantage. Some people, like Nicky (Will Smith), have been manipulating people their whole lives. He was born into the game of hustling, tricking and pulling one over on people and so when somebody else is trying to pull a con on him, he would instantly know. Enter Jess (Margot Robbie), who could probably pull one over on any guy with her looks alone, but she's trying her hand at striking it big with some small time cons of her own. When she tries to pull a classic play on Nicky, he plays along and pokes fun at just how terrible she really is at this sort of thing and she should probably quit while she's ahead. She, of course, doesn't take this advice and the two end up on a path filled with heists, twists and intense drama.

You could not find two people with better on screen chemistry than the one that goes on between Will Smith and Margot Robbie. Most of the time the two are together they act like old friends who know one another inside and out, laughing at one another and working together in sync. Will Smith perhaps needed this movie and great combination the most as his past few films haven't gone over too well. While talking about the premise of Focus with a few friends, I pointed this fact out and how Smith's character looked like a return to some of his earlier and top notch work. He saunters around on screen with plenty of confidence and emotion, using that trademark ability that I love from his work and that is the ability to make me laugh one minute and spurt out a tear the next. As for Robbie, she has already proven to be a great actress, The Wolf of Wall Street immediately springs to my mind and here she brings even more of her trademark style. She is an incredibly beautiful woman but that's not the only card she has to play with that smile and spunky personality that worked insanely well with Smith's Nicky character. 

The story goes through three sort of separate arcs. After Nicky and Jess get acquainted with one another, he jets off to New Orleans where he is putting together a massive get together of players. It's something that he's apparently done countless times before as everyone knows the infamous "Mellow" who runs the biggest trade for the area. Jess has followed him and ends up getting brought in on the action. There's a brief sequence of how plays are run for cons and the many different ways regular people get screwed over every day, getting credit card information stolen, wallets lifted and even stealing the filters on your camera for some reason. What's great though is Jess proves to be a natural at it all despite her initial ditsy confusion to everything being explained to her. She chats up guys and distracts everyone she comes across as you see the rest of Nicky's team come along and swipe their valuables. This gets Nicky's attention and from here you could probably tell what was going to happen next.

This leads to perhaps the most intense and intricate scheme that I have scene in a long time. Throughout the movie there are constant little cues and prompts to pay attention to, it's a tell just like in Poker to what will probably come next. Without giving this insanely cringe worthy sequence away, you will see Nicky has quite a gambling problem to deal with and in the suite at the Superdome, he lays it all on the line. A delightfully strange, Liyuan (B.D. Wang) joins in on the action here as well.

What lies next was a bit of a confusing part for me in Focus. The last scene that I mention gives off so much tension and intrigue that you could have ended the movie right then and there. What happens next is a three year time skip, Nicky and Jess had gone their separate ways but have now been reunited by separate cons but ones with the same mark. Nicky's part in this sequence is far more interesting in terms of what he ends up doing but the continued romance that takes place between Jess and him feels lack luster. When you end up finding out what Jess's con is too, you almost can't believe that it was what she was doing the entire time. Nicky's estranged father played by Gerald McRaney also gets shoehorned into this section of the film and just left me with a soar taste for the ending of the movie. 

For the most part though I truly enjoyed Focus. With con movies I am always on my toes and ever vigilant to try and figure out what may be going on for myself to see if I could spot the con. I have to say that I saw one or two things coming but I was genuinely surprised by some of the bigger picture ploys that Will Smith's character played on myself and others. Smith and Robbie were also excellent together, playing off one another and coming out strong in all their scenes. If Focus had ended after the Superdome scene in New Orleans, I would not have any problems with the movie because the rest just felt unnecessary additions to a great ending. 

Good:

- Great dialogue and premise

- Smith and Robbie's wonderful chemistry together

- The entire Superdome scene is incredible

- A great soundtrack

Bad:

- The last half of the movie could be chopped out and thrown away

- Weak ending that has an even weaker twist

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10