Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Director: Paul Feig

Writer: Paul Feig

Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jude Law

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster. (C) Fox

Actress Melissa McCarthy broke out into the movie world with the smash sleeper summer hit Bridesmaids a few years ago. Since then she has had mixed results finding herself as a big screen presence sometimes succeeding (The Heat, St. Vincent) and other times not so much (Identity Thief, Tammy). Paul Feig’s Spy will mark the turning point in her career where she displays maturity in confidence and acting on the screen. You see, Spy is a delightful and amusing, if not lightweight, action comedy anchored by Melissa McCarthy’s best performance since her Oscar nominated role in Bridesmaids. Bravo to her! Finally, Melissa McCarthy has a role that is worthy of her talent as she moves beyond the female Chris Farley schtick I was worried she was heading towards in the previously mentioned movies. She is becoming a complex character actor with multiple facets but mostly sticks to comedy.

Spy is a delightful and amusing, if not lightweight, action comedy anchored by Melissa McCarthy’s best performance since her Oscar nominated role in Bridesmaids.

Besides Melissa McCarthy’s acting, the strongest element about Spy is how it blends both comedy and action into a delicate balance equally serving fans of both genres to separate audiences. Audiences who adored Feig’s Bridesmaids and The Heat will like the feminine comedic moments (as will audiences who love to laugh). Likewise, guys would like the well choreographed action and enjoy the more thrilling and violent moments. Providing this equal amount is tough to do in most movies. In those other movies, one-dimensional characters make wise cracks during loud and distracting action set pieces or there is too much comedy without a lot of action. In this, we have a good mix of characters and plot with gags and jokes. The cast is up to the task to entertain. I don’t want to ruin any of the big moments, but be prepared for a lot of funny and thrilling moments in Spy.

I think Spy could be 21st Century Fox’s second spy comedy franchise from 2015 after this year’s wildly successful Kingsman: The Secret Service. Very rarely do you watch a movie and want to see a sequel. I hope we have more of these movies with McCarthy and Statham. I complain about sequels, but I want a Spy follow up with the cast members and director to come back, too. I think this is because Paul Feig is a talented filmmaker. And this industry better appreciate this. I’m now eagerly anticipating to see what Paul Feig can do with his female-centric Ghostbusters reboot. The boys version better have a director as good as Mr. Feig. Speaking of boys and girls in action movies, the most remarkable thing about Spy is how it embraces equality both in balancing the comedic and action genres as well as giving equal time to both gender to crack jokes and kick ass. This is something to celebrate which you can do by purchasing a ticket.

I rate Spy a 7 out of 10.