I Spy
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: November 1, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
13
Negative:
15
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
A loose, lighthearted romp that's a notch above the usual buddy comedies. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This is probably Murphy's best comedic performance since "Bowfinger." The adrenaline is pumping and the outrageousness is dialed all the way up. Murphy is often funny, and occasionally hilarious. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The missing ingredient, of course, is script. Read full review
60
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
No less than four screenwriters are credited, yet the script is filled with the usual clichés (hello, red digital readout!) and supposed twists that can be seen a mile away. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Between spy training and sensitivity training, the two (Murphy/Wilson) prove nicely matched comic foils. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
I Spy confirms Wilson's ability to turn mediocre, mercenary endeavors into fun crowd-pleasers. Of course, Wilson starring in I Spy is like Phil Jackson coaching a junior-high basketball team, but as long as the results are this entertaining, it's doubtful audiences will care. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
TV's ''I Spy'' knew how to swing. The movie 'I Spy knows only how to scramble and string together moments of Murphy braggadocio and Wilson stoner-ocity, and the sweat shows. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
It's precisely the lineup of familiar past work that makes I Spy pretty dull goods, invigorated mainly by the sharp interplay between Murphy and Wilson, both of whom shine best when they have a sidekick to work with. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Up against the wit and teamwork of the sparkling TV original, this lame vehicle sputters and fades. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie comes to life when Murphy and Wilson are trading one-liners, and then puts itself on hold for spy and action sequences of stunning banality. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Too much of the humor falls flat. Thomas' numerous chase sequences through the streets, over the rooftops and through the airways of Budapest seem numbingly repetitive, and the script's reliance on castration gags betrays its overall lack of imagination. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
We're talking mediocre-to-bad. Still, the film has at least two bits that are funnier than anything in many better films and a fair amount of mild amusement in between.
40
TV Guide MagazineSteve Simels
The real problem with the new film, however, is a certain lack of chemistry between the leads; Wilson is game, as always, but his part is seriously underwritten, and while Murphy raises trash talking to the level of a fine art, he seems to be operating in another movie altogether. Read full review
40
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
Spoof or tongue in cheek update, the movie squanders the lion's share of its time on tired, cartoon-quality sequences choreographed around ho-hum chases and explosions. None possess the satiric zip of Austin Powers-style parody. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Mostly I Spy, with more dead spots than a Jerry Lewis telethon, is content to mark time. That gives us, and perhaps the cast as well, the opportunity to reflect on how satisfying this film could have been if anyone had thought it worth their while to provide real material for the talent to work with. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Buffeted by the usual car crashes and explosions, Wilson and Murphy never develop any comic chemistry. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The sex bits are flat, the racial innuendo is flatter, and somewhere, Cosby is having a Pudding Pop and shaking his head in disbelief. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
I cry for I Spy— or I would if this latest and laziest imaginable of all vintage-TV spinoffs were capable of engendering an emotional response of any kind. Comas are physical, not emotional. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Their (Murphy/Wilson) exchanges and interplay are so campy and over the top that I kept expecting them to pull out frying pans and start bopping each other over the head with them. I Spy is one just Stooge short of homage. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The execution is so dumbed-down, so dumbfounding, that sophisticated moviegoers might confuse it for outtakes from "Spy Kids 2" and "XXX." Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
An overblown clunker full of bad jokes, howling cliches and by-the-numbers action sequences. Read full review
30
SalonCharles Taylor
The movie is so thoroughly lousy. It's loud, brash and obvious, full of car chases and explosions and gunplay. Read full review
30
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Something lazy, slow, shallow, stupid, amateurish, unfunny, unsuspenseful, uninformed, unspeakably dull and witlessly written, directed and acted (the special effects suck, too). Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Even the handful of moments that are amusing feel recycled from old sketches of Mr. Murphy's. Read full review
30
Village VoiceEd Park
Though ample time is spent mingling Murphy's jabberjaw locutions and Wilson's curveball spaciness, the film leaves only the bitter reek of a botched chemistry experiment. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Moves at a glacial pace. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Stinker doesn't begin to describe this movie's character -- both frenzied and dispiriting.
25
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Exhausts you with its derivative stupidity, leaving you weak and bored and weary of comedy that's not funny, action that's not exciting, dialogue that's not clever. It's not even an adequate rip-off of the TV show. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Hollywood's Thanksgiving turkey arrives today - 27 days early - in the gobbling guise of the heavily hyped, brain-dead comedy, I Spy. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Nothing is real, but at the same time, nothing is fake. Nothing is, period. You don't believe a second of it for a second, so banal and predictable is it. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Just plain dismal, an inexplicable mining of old, mid-level programming that has all the raging excitement of continental drift. Read full review
More From This Movie

35 Critic Reviews

3.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL