Yet another classic television series from the 1960s gets a big-screen update in this action-comedy inspired by the
Bill Cosby/
Robert Culp vehicle I Spy. Alex Scott (
Owen Wilson) is a federal intelligence agent who has been assigned to find a particularly expensive and valuable weapon which has gone missing: a special stealth fighter jet which can not only hide from radar, but also turn invisible to the human eye. Scott learns a rogue agent has sold the jet to Gundars (
Malcolm McDowell), a powerful and unscrupulous underground arms dealer. After blowing his opportunity to catch Gundars in the act, Scott formulates a Plan B -- it seems Gundars is a rabid boxing fan, so in order to get inside his organization, Scott recruits Kelly Robinson (
Eddie Murphy), a longtime middleweight champion whose ego nearly exceeds his talent in the ring. Robinson is excited by the prospect of a life of espionage, but Scott and Robinson's personalities are like oil and water, and matters are hardly helped by the efforts of less-than-helpful fellow agents Rachel (
Famke Janssen) and Carlos (
Gary Cole). This adaptation of I Spy was directed by a woman who starred in a memorable television series herself, former
Hill Street Blues regular
Betty Thomas, who has gone on to a successful career behind the camera. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide