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.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Book of Eli got a good boost for it’s opening weekend, grabbing about $31.6 Million despite the behemoth that’s taken over first place. The Hughes Brothers directed feature getting as much as it did was a feat among itself, putting into the equation the wide release of Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. The novel adaptation took in a decent share, $17 Million despite it’s $100 Million dollar budget. Depending on whether or not the film gets an Oscar nod will depend on if the film will get a bigger crowd.

Then we can go tap upon the fate of the Jackie Chan comedy The Spy Next Door, making about $9.7 Million on it’s opening weekend, not too impressive for the feature. Here’s the rest of the weekend box office from Box Office Mojo.:

Weekend Box Office (January 15-17)

1. Avatar  ($41.3 M)
2. The Book of Eli  ($31.6 M)
3. The Lovely Bones  ($17 M)
4. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel  ($11.5 M)
5. Sherlock Holmes  ($9.8 M)
6. The Spy Next Door  ($9.7 M)
7. It’s Complicated  ($7.6 M)
8. Leap Year  ($5.8 M)
9. The Blind Side  ($5.5 M)
10. Up in the Air  ($5.4 M)

Coming up for this next weekend in January comes limited releases of Creation and To Save A Life. Out of the mainstream releases are Extraordinary Measures, Legion and Tooth Fairy.

Bob Ho (Jackie Chan) is an undercover CIA superspy who gives up his career to settle down with his girlfriend Gillian (Amber Valletta) and win over the trust of her three kids. When one of her kids mistakenly downloads a top secret formula, Bob’s nemesis hunts them down so now he’ll have to juggle dealing with kids and making sure they live to see another day. The cast not only includes Jackie Chan but Amber Valletta, Madeline Carroll, William Shadley, with Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez.

The Spy Next Door sneaks it’s way into theaters on January 15th, 2010. Here’s the poster below.: