Spies In Disguise Review

Animation fans we are finally at the last animated film to not only be released in 2019 but also the last one to be released in the 2010's. This is also the first film released by Blue Sky under the Disney banner and it's also a film that while I wasn't excited for it it was also a film that I wanted to see mainly just so I could see if Will Smith is a good voice actor or not and so here is my review of Spies In Disguise enjoy.

The plot of the movie is Lance is the world's best spy but when he's framed for a crime he didn't commit he has to turn to gadget maker Walter to help clear his name and save the world. The plot honestly isn't that bad and it's actually really refreshing since it's an original plot which is getting rarer and rarer but at the same time the story I felt to be pretty weak despite the strong premise but considering all of the other animated films that got a theatrical release this plot is pretty good.

Starring in the film is Will Smith as Lance Sterling , Tom Holland as Walter Beckett , Rashida Jones as Marcy Kappel , Ben Mendelsohn as Killian , Reba McEntire as Joy Jenkins , Rachel Brosnahan as Wendy Beckett , Former Doctor Who Star and current star of The Jumanji and Guardians Of The Galaxy films Karen Gillan as Eyes , DJ Khaled as Ears and that one lovable person from Heroes Masi Oka as Katsu Kimura.

In terms of what I thought about the acting it honestly wasn't that bad infact it was a lot better then what I was expecting it to be. It pretty goes without saying that Will Smith is solid in this I do believe that this is his second ever voice acting role and Tom is honestly really enjoyable as Walter and if i'm being honest I had no worries about Tom's voice acting because he also stared in the UK dub of Arrietty.

Now this is interesting because despite the film being produced by Blue Sky and released by Fox / Disney the actual animation for the film was handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks. I honestly feel that the animation for the film was really well done and the character designs were really nice but there is one thing that really bugged me about the animation and that's the fact that the use high energy / zany animation.

While that kind of animation might works for a comedy it doesn't work for a spy movie let alone a spy action movie. In this case I would have toned down the fast paced animation I honestly that in this case the animation should have been less energised and more like something you'd see in any other animated action film just because the fast paced animation while it helps with the comedy it doesn't help with the action.

I know that this is going to sound odd but I was getting some serious James Bond vibes from this film. Nowhere were these vibes more strong then in the opening title sequence which in my opinion was very much like the opening to a James Bond film hell all it was missing was the scantly clad women but I guess that kind of thing just wouldn't fly in a kids animated spy / action film but I can dream tho.

What I found to rather odd is that they chose to release this film on Christmas Day which is never a wise move. They also chose to release it the exact same day as the new Sam Mendes movie 1917 which doesn't really bold well for this film since alot more people would go to see his new film then a new animated film especially around Christmas time when alot of people won't be going to the cinema anyway I don't get why they didn't hold of on releasing this film until at least early January.

Lets us take a second to talk about the main characters Lance and Walter if i'm being honest they were pretty weak characters. Lance is the typical egotistical spy who has to learn to work as a team and Walter is the typical eager gadget maker who just wants to be out in the field if you've seen any movie with these kind of characters then you know right away what there arc's are and how it's going to play because it plays out exactly how you think it will.

Even the big third act emotional moment doesn't really work because we've seen that scenario play out a hundred times in better ways. I honestly feel that the film would have been better if the typical emotional moment wasn't included in the film because it really adds nothing to either characters arc and is there purely to pad out the film running time and nothing more plus anyone who has a single brain cell could see it coming and well know how it plays out.

Now then since this is an action comedy that does mean that we have to talk about about those aspects so let's start with the comedy. This film was honestly alot more funnier then it had any right to be don't get me wrong there's no laugh out loud moments in the film what so ever but there are a lot of jokes that will get a chuckle out of people and that was honestly something that I wasn't expecting.

Now that we've talked about the comedy let us now talk about the action that's in this action comedy shall we. I honestly feel that the action is perhaps the best thing about the film just due to how entertaining they are and there actually really creative with alot of them making good use of Walter's homemade gadgets which is again something you'd see in a James Bond film and I honestly wish that the film was more like these action scenes.

Overall this was honestly a lot better then it really had any right to be and it is a film that I can see alot of kids liking. However at the same time I do feel that this was released at the wrong time of year with it being an action movie surely it would have been better to release this film after Christmas and not during it and there are alot of faults with the film many of which i've mentioned and so the film gets a respectable 7 out of 10 from me.