‘Spies In Disguise’ Review
Flying like a pigeon so under the radar in December, Spies In Disguise (directed by Troy Quane and Nick Bruno) threw its hat in the ring of animated films. Unashamedly having reference points in spy franchises of Bond and Mission Impossible, it follows a superstar spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and Walter (Tom Holland) in their fight against a terrorist and shapeshifting. There isn’t much that will surprise you as the movie definitely succeeds in being a kid distraction and doesn’t offer much else on top of that.
Plenty of humour here is smart and funny but at the end it does beg the question: who is it really for? There’s certainly some adult humour thrown in to get a laugh from the older crowd but at the same time they’re so wild that kids will be missing punchlines left and right. And when it is combined with visual gags (and at one pigeon point, i mean really gags) that’ll surely please the youngsters, parents will probably find themselves laughing at totally different points. The film does however narrowly avoid being a forgettable piece of entertainment as it does offer some academic lessons and teaches being proud of your interests, no matter opinions of others.
The specific animation style on the screen is very much subjective whether you find it pleasing. To me personally, the designs of characters’ bodies and buildings is an eyesore and the way they move in animation isn’t smooth to look at all. It’s done both better and worse before in other movies as well and I still don’t vibe with it. Speaking of other movies, Spies In Disguise follows the common story beats that you’ve seen before and as of writing this review, I find it really hard to remember anything special about it. The movie is perfectly fine entertainment for kids which is never a bad thing, I doubt though that rewatchability is high with this one.
Smileys: Humour
Frowneys: Animation, originality
Hard to believe that ”pigeons aren’t fun to follow in any movie” wasn’t the first item on the story document. Apparently no one said it.
2.0/5
