Review of The Spy Next Door (2010) by Nathan C — 27 Feb 2011

Well, well, what do we have here? Jackie Chan in a family movie. Could it be proof that Jackie can act -- and fight -- in virtually any genre and be a versatile leading man, or could it be blasphemy in the sense that he shouldn't be doing those movies because they're "bad" for his career? Well, my verdict is that this latest movie of his is not so good, but has some redeeming qualities that lift it up a notch from, say, "The Pacifier". However, it'll be best enjoyed by the kids who are waiting to get a first impression of Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan plays as a guy who lives next to the house of a somewhat dysfunctional family. Well, of course as the title says, he's a spy, as always, working for the CIA to stop evil plots from being carried out. But, he's dating the *typical* single mother in charge of 3 kids: the eldest daughter who is irritating and (of course) has a problem, the middle son who (check this out) is unusual but smart, and the obligatorily cute little girl who is the most impressionable and won over the easiest by our hero. Mommy has to leave to do something (in this scenario, check up on a dying relative), and has Jackie babysit the kids (what else is he supposed to do?). At first, it's difficult but then it gets easier. In the meantime, there are some evil Russians who are plotting not to devise a means of nuclear warfare, but... to sabotage the oil industry! Of course, they figure it out and come to attack Jackie.

Ok, so, like I said, the movie has some redeemable qualities, those being Jackie Chan, a nice opening sequence displaying his legacy, a bit of kung fu action, and, surprisingly, some heart deep inside the movie. The movie's also partially funny and relatively free of gross-out humor, which will relieve the parents. The child actors ain't too bad either.

But there are some shortcomings in this (evidently) that prevent it from being recommendable. First off, the VFX are horrendous and pretty unnecessary. Actors that are adult and not Jackie Chan are wooden; Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez, what exactly are you doing here? Are you that desperate for a paycheck?

And the film dispenses with the stereotypes: eccentric Asian neighbors, bitchy teenage girls, and evil Russians. I mean, the first two you do kinda agree with. But the evil Russian part... it's virtually in every spy movie nowadays but the Cold War's been over for decades, so why not leave all that hatred of Mother Russia behind us? But, alas, Hollywood will still use that archetype. At least nothing about nukes was mentioned though.

Moving on to another topic, the plot is, as usual, cliched and predictable (any questions you may have had are usually answered within the opening credits if you've seen enough of these), but it's a family film. So what?

But, for all its gooeyness and sweetness, I can't help but be reminded of a better film. What is it? Oh, yeah. "Despicable Me". Yup, they're similar alright.

All in all, the whole show is ridiculous and silly at best, but with Jackie Chan, it doesn't completely fail. As has been mentioned, best for the younger crowd, especially the preschooler set. Results may vary for fans of Chan, based on their tolerance for family-friendly fare.