Spies in Disguise
Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: December 25, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 26, 2019
This is terrific family entertainment. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenDec 23, 2019
On the whole, “Spies” is a very nice trifle turning up just in time for the holidays for families seeking a kinder, gentler alternative to “Star Wars.” Read full review
75
Washington PostThomas FloydDec 17, 2019
The humor includes enough slapstick and gross-out gags to keep the kids entertained, but there are clever callbacks and meta-jokes for older audiences to chuckle at as well. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChristian HolubDec 16, 2019
It’s a proud piece of family entertainment with a good heart, an eye for inventive action, and a delightfully wacky sense of humor. Read full review
70
IGNJenna BuschDec 23, 2019
There may be a sort of cutesy premise, and the message about fixing problems without violence might seem a bit innocent these days, but Spies in Disguise is absolutely charming. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandDec 16, 2019
While the beats are familiar and even a film about animated pigeons can’t quite break out of the tropes that have long defined the spy film genre, it’s the kind of sweetly demented late-December diversion that should entertain plenty of holiday-weary families. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireDec 26, 2019
The ways in which the pigeons work wonders as a flock — to the point of becoming playfully weaponized in the name of good — is consistently inspired. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshDec 23, 2019
A strange tonal mashup that turns the hypermasculine and hyperviolent world of glamorous spies, in the vein of James Bond or “Mission: Impossible,” and turns it into kid-friendly family entertainment. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Anna SwansonDec 18, 2019
Spies in Disguise is often amusing, and it’s especially nice to see it convey a message of anti-violence, but the film falls short of being truly memorable. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 16, 2019
Smith’s easy way with a joke keeps the tone light, and for all the mayhem, this is still pretty fluffy and cute. It’s not “The Incredibles,” but it’s a reasonable and quite amusing facsimile. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDec 29, 2019
What keeps it from top-tier animation status is that, while the relentless killer drone army usually hits its targets, the jokes don’t always connect. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerDec 16, 2019
Better in conception than execution, Spies In Disguise never really gets the best out of its James Bond Is A Pigeon high concept. The result is entertaining while it lasts, but won’t lodge itself permanently in your memory bank. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 16, 2019
As with so many family animations right now, I felt that the script stays on the safe side, with fewer smart lines and ironic gags than I might have wished for, but this is a good-natured entertainment. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerDec 16, 2019
Spies In Disguise isn’t clever enough to reconcile the disingenuousness of setting off a litany of pointless explosions and battles before clarifying that this stuff is bad, actually. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 26, 2019
It’s a big-screen cartoon and, although it may work for its target audience – video game-consuming pre-teen boys – other viewers may find the production to be lacking in anything beyond a little visual razzle-dazzle. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonDec 21, 2019
Feels like a regifting of previous action adventure favorites, lifting elements from the “Mission: Impossible” series, “Skyfall” and, most of all, “The Incredibles.” It’s fast-moving, entertaining, kinda clever and instantly forgettable. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 16, 2019
Neither the humour nor the script is particularly sharp, although younger viewers may not mind the slapstick simplicity. Read full review
50
TheWrapCarlos AguilarDec 16, 2019
As unsatisfying as Spies in Disguise is because of its disregard for original design and the insufferable nods to disposable trends, its role as counterprogramming to toxic masculinity — turning ruthless spies into sensible beings with warmth as a moral compass — makes it ephemerally laudable. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennyDec 26, 2019
The lessons are so treacly, and their delivery method so single-minded, that the Valley Girl phrase “gag me with a spoon” springs to mind. But you have to give the movie credit for sticking to its lack of guns. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovDec 18, 2019
There’s nothing to fault animation-wise – Blue Sky’s penchant for migraine and/or dopamine-inducing color palettes and headlong pacing are consistently above par – but, for adults at least, the film’s mushy mediocrity can be a real drag. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 16, 2019
The trouble with a film like Spies in Disguise isn’t that it’s less than sparklingly animated but that as technically bravura as it is, there is never anything at stake. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyDec 16, 2019
Antic and frantic, Spies is very much a one-joke affair, which is fine for a short but woefully insufficient for a 101-minute feature. Read full review
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