The Spy Next Door – Review

Before I start this review I want to go on record and say that I’m about to break all the rules in the book, as well as make myself a target for comment criticism galore. I’m tired of critics that want to take themselves out of the equation. I’m constantly reading rules that preach things like; don’t use “I” or no one cares what you think, just break the movie down and let the reader know what worked and what didn’t. Well I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to take myself out of the equation. I have an opinion when I leave the theatre, and God forbid I don’t hate films just because I’m supposed to. So without further rambling, let me get to the nitty gritty.

The Spy Next Door, the latest Jackie Chan flick delivers exactly what I thought it would. A family film that comes complete with some pretty smooth moves from a seasoned martial arts veteran. Chan plays Bob Ho, a Chinese spy on loan to the CIA who is ready to hang up his license to kill for a marriage license. Only the girl of his dreams has three children. Three children that hate him. So Bob seizes the opportunity to watch them while his lady takes care of a sick relative. Of course goofy Russian masterminds with world domination on the brain get in the way of his plans, forcing him to come clean about what he does for a living.

I’ll admit that the flick’s plot isn’t anything new. I’ll even admit that it’s a little stale, but Jackie Chan brings enough charm with him onto the screen to make it enjoyable despite  its tired plot. I know that other critics are going to rant on about how Jackie isn’t as agile as he once was, but I’d like to see any critic, myself included rock as hard as Chan does at 56 years old. The action isn’t as plentiful as it has been  in some of his past flicks, but his stunts are still pretty impressive. Every time I see Chan in action I’m amazed at how talented the guy actually is.

Speaking of talent, Jackie is joined by a cast of young hopefuls as well as a handful of Disney channel regulars including Billy Ray Cyrus, George Lopez, Lucas Till, and Magnús Schevin. All of the actors were solid and delivered the performances expected of them for this type of flick.

My kids laughed for the entire runtime and got excited during every fight sequence. While it’s true that I didn’t share in their enthusiasm, I did have a good time with the flick. I got to sit in a theatre (I still find that in itself a magical experience) and enjoy some quality movie time with my family. The Spy Next Door may not excite most of the critics that populate the world wide web or even the cream of the crop that call the fading world of print their home, but I’m man enough to say that it excited me. The Spy next Door is a heaping serving of entertainment that should be experienced with the entire family, it is positively a killer film.

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