Spy 2015

Wesley Morris, Grantland: In Spy, she's playing a caricature that is almost a complete character. The movie isn't out to humiliate her. It wants to prop up a version of heroism that makes sense for McCarthy. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: If they do a sequel (teased in the final seconds), they should cut down on the endless, tedious chases and shootouts. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, TIME Magazine: Feig keeps his Spy machinery cranking so smoothly that nothing said or done feels as outrageous as, in fact, it is. The truth serum Spy drops into our fizzy drinks makes us feel so good that we don't even realize we've been schooled. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Melissa McCarthy gets the funniest, most versatile and sustained comic showcase of her movie career in this deliriously entertaining action-comedy. Read more

Jesse Hassenger, AV Club: Rare is the broad mainstream comedy that can goof on its bigger-budget Hollywood siblings while providing a few moments of sincere uplift. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Finally, after the promise shown in "Bridesmaids" but sold short since by weak scripts in films like "Tammy" and "Identity Thief," Melissa McCarthy gets a movie vehicle worthy of her talents. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: Melissa McCarthy doesn't just adopt guises to fool the bad guys in "Spy." Part of what makes the action comedy such a loopy blast is the identity shifts she pulls on the audience. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Hollywood is gradually figuring out what to do with Melissa McCarthy. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The fun of "Spy" comes in watching the right actors mess with their own images, blithely. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: McCarthy is not a one-size-fits-all talent; she needs the right vehicle. Here, Feig has given her precisely the right vehicle, and she shines. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Put the woman in any damn thing she pleases. She's that good. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: It's a globe-trotting tour of McCarthy's talent, throughout which she's practically always kicking butt. Who was that double-O-what's-his-face, anyway? Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Melissa McCarthy comes into her own as a comic star in Spy, stepping out from recent supporting- and co-headlining roles to become the big screen A-lister she promised to be in 2011's Bridesmaids. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: "Spy" may not be a great movie, but it is great fun. And at times it will have you wondering if there's that much of a difference. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: Spy is a call to arms for the cowed, and a riotous skewering of the workplace kings Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: Feig draws out McCarthy's best, and she's up to the challenge, whether it's expressing tenderness and anger or slapsticking her way through the physical humor. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: A breezy, enjoyable comedy, and an ideal vehicle for the endearing McCarthy. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Melissa McCarthy shines in this clever action-comedy showcase provided by the writer and director Paul Feig, but the movie's tightly contrived plot and uniformly positive emotions constrain her comic genius. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: [It] does have its moments, and it does have McCarthy. And while it's not worth much more than a rent, it does make us look forward to what she's going to do with "Ghostbusters." Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: Spy is actually quite funny. It even proves itself to be in the same league with the first two films in Feig's loose comic trilogy, Bridesmaids and The Heat ... Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Feig's cheerfully feminist script makes only as much sense as it absolutely must, while providing McCarthy with chances to crack wise, show vulnerability and class, and do some of the more elegant pratfalls you'll have seen in a while. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The intel is in: Melissa McCarthy can carry a comedy. Specifically, "Spy." Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The busy, silly script allows Ms. McCarthy to be her own best sidekick, in effect an entire sketch-comedy troupe unto herself. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: If a Spy sequel isn't already in the works, they better get cracking. Nefarious terrorists and numskull guys await. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The characters are one-dimensional. The narrative is flat and obvious. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: What does work, in every scene, is Melissa McCarthy's performance. She's as funny and as winning as anyone in the movies these days. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: McCarthy and director Paul Feig, are a dynamite team, with Feig's script a bonanza of zingers and femcentric subtext. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: McCarthy has much more to discover about herself as an actor and an avatar and a cultural signifier, and I hope she doesn't get trapped by one role, one genre or one franchise. But her campaign of conquest is going well. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Spy," plus popcorn, feels just right. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Everyone involved seems to have had a good time with "Spy," and so will the audience. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Spy lampoons sexism without abandoning sex-a tough tone for a comedy to strike but one that Feig and McCarthy manage to accomplish with both a sense of justice and a sense of humor. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's as if writer/director Paul Feig studied an Ian Fleming list of everything you're not supposed to do in a spy yarn, then did it all - thereby producing an excellent adventure movie so funny you can barely catch your breath between scenes. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: With the overlong, limp and lazy "Spy," Feig has lost his mojo. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Although this fish-out-of-water scenario might sound over-familiar, both the humour and action here are startling and visceral ... Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: One part parody, one part thriller, one part lethal satire of movie sexism. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: McCarthy and Byrne's scenes together are cruelly hilarious, with the kind of no-holds-barred insult humor that makes you instinctively drop your jaw and cover your mouth. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: The tricksy plot allows McCarthy to explore the full range of her comic persona, and Feig is smart enough to get out of her way as the mild-mannered Susan starts wielding f-bombs as comfortably as Bond whips around a Walther PPK. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: On her own, Melissa McCarthy is hilarious. So is Rose Byrne. Together, they're spectacularly funny. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Feig keeps throwing so much stuff at you - gross-out gags, chases, brutal violence, not to mention actors working their heads off - that he finally wears down your resistance. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Feig's movies aren't particularly stylish - the visuals in "Spy" are serviceable at best, and the makeup is particularly un-subtle - but they possess a silly, sweet streak that makes them irresistibly infectious. Read more