critic's rating:  3.5/5

Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) is a daredevil agent, who is nattily dressed 24/7, carries a lot of hidden weapons on his person, loves exploding stuff a lot and always finishes his mission with a flourish, never failing to save the day. He's somewhat arrogant about the whole thing and treats all the other people working for his super-secret agency as being his minions. Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) is a weapons scientist working for the agency who wants to bring out a line of non-fatal gadgets. Their paths get crossed and Walter ends up transforming Lance into a pigeon. Killian (Ben Mendelsohn) is a powerful terrorist having a bionic arm and a tech with disguise capabilities. He wants to target every secret agent there is to avenge past wrongs and it's now left to Lance, Walter and their avian friends to defeat the villain and save their comrades...

The film is based on Lucas Martell's animated short Pigeon: Impossible (2009). As such, it's a spoof of every Mission Impossible film and every Bond film you've seen. The face change, for instance, is the hallmark of MI films. The bionic arm and the avenging villain can easily fit in any Bond movie. What's different is that instead of going for a solution where everything and everyone gets blown up, the film looks at pacifist ways to counter super villains. It preaches peace and non-violence and argues that good and evil are just terms. In trying to counter violence with violence, it's people who end up getting hurt. Hence, one should look beyond textbook solutions and find out ways which do minimum damage to everyone concerned.

The film makes use of buddy movie tropes as well, pitting Lance's flying solo routine against Walters' faith in teamwork. Though the formula has become so much used by now that we can predict the twists a mile off. The animation is imaginative indeed. The car chase sequence where Lance tries to steer his gadget-filled supercar in his pigeon avatar keeps you in the splits. Another sequence has a flock of pigeons rescuing Walter from certain death. And only in a kids movie would we see pink glitter, kitten videos and bubble gum being used to take out the bad guys.

All-in-all, Spies In Disguise is the perfect Christmas movie having something for everyone. It offers a unique spoof on spy films, packs in a powerful message and is graced with the star power of Will Smith and Tom Holland to boot. What more can you ask for, really?

Trailer : Spies In Disguise

Neil Soans, December 25, 2019, 1:00 AM IST

critic's rating:  3.5/5

Spies In Disguise Story: A super spy and a scientist need to work together when the former turns into a pigeon.

Spies In Disguise Review: Lance Sterling (voiced by Will Smith) is the self-proclaimed ‘World’s Greatest Spy’, and it isn’t an exaggeration. He handles impossible missions with flamboyance thanks to his skills, intelligence, charisma and some handy gadgets. Which brings us to Walter Beckett (voiced by Tom Holland) – a whacky scientist with a penchant for creating non-violent gizmos. Sterling prefers to work alone, but he’s forced to team up with Walter when he accidentally consumes one of the inventor’s concoctions and turns into a pigeon. Sterling and Walter now need to help each other as they take on Killian (voiced by Ben Mendelsohn), who threatens to expose all the spies.
Going by the film’s trailer, the pairing of Will Smith and Tom Holland promised to be its highlight, and it is! Both actors turn on their charm to the highest degree, which, combined with their chemistry, is reason enough to watch this animated film from Blue Sky Studios. The plot is almost entirely predictable; this is a combination of a spy-action spoof and buddy comedy, so its direction is pretty much spelt out. Similarly, the plot and character arcs can be outlined within the first act itself. However, there are a few surprises that the film’s marketing managed to conceal. A noticeable aspect is the film’s animation which is visually detailed and will appeal to both adults and kids alike. While the humour is undoubtedly more skewed to younger audiences, parents will find ample to laugh at.

Having said that, the novelty of the body-swap idea starts to wear thin after a point, especially when the jokes feel rehashed. But the cast of voice actors doesn’t let your attention waver for too long. Besides Smith and Holland, Ben Mendelsohn relishes yet another negative role as the baddie Killian. Rashida Jones, Karen Gillan and DJ Khaled voice a trio of agents in search of the missing Sterling, and they add to the mayhem. The film has an endearing message about misfits and non-violence which children could undeniably learn from. ‘Spies in Disguise’ may not be revolutionary in any way, but it is a fun and entertaining family film appropriate for the holidays.

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