SPIES IN DISGUISE
US, 2019, 102 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Ben Mendelssohn, Rashida Jones, Rachel Brosnahan, Karen Gillan.
Directed by Nick Bruno, Troy Quade.
The target audience is specially boys (of whatever age), an excuse for action-oriented fathers and grandfathers to offer to take their sons and grandsons to the movies!
This is a story of the humanisation of America’s most successful solo spy. Well, not exactly. He has to be transformed into a pigeon, experience quite some shock discoveries of what it is like to be a pigeon, and then changed back into a better human spy. He is Sterling, absolutely full of self-confidence, voiced amusingly by Will Smith.
At the beginning, we are introduced to a young boy, Walter, who loves science, is involved in all kinds of experiments, including glitter and the release of serrotin, their not always succeeding, his mother very tolerant even when he says that at school he is called weird. She supports him in his weirdness.
Then, 14 years later, Walter (Tom Holland in a voice variation on Peter Parker) has a job in advanced experiments, his lab, his pigeon who is a soulmate, a lot of projects going but not having great success. Then he encounters Sterling. Sterling, in fact, is on the run because despite his self-promotion and his extraordinary action expertise, he has failed in his mission and the internal affairs authorities are after him.
And, of course, this is where the pigeon comes in. If you were America’s best spy would you consent to be transformed into a pigeon? Well, all these difficulties have to be faced. Of course, there are some advantages, walking along a pool in Mexico past criminals who would not even notice a pigeon. Admittedly, there are some distinct disadvantages in being a small bird (even if he can still talk as Will Smith) only to lay an egg and suffers some toilet-going problems.
But, there is a distinct advantage in Venice, particularly in St Mark’s Square, pursued by the master criminal but able to call on a squadron of pigeons who descend on him while Sterling makes his escape!
Eventually, Sterling is back to himself, but has really depended on Water, who is a mixture of the ingenious and the ingenuous, always in hope for his experiments but continually coming to Sterling’s rescue.
And in case anyone was wondering about the villain wearing Will Smith’s face but with a robot hand, and especially about his accent, that is Ben Mendelssohn – villains can come from Australia!
As it goes along, the film speeds up, lots of comic gags, lots of action.
An alternative or an antidote to Frozen II!
1. Action and adventure? Boys Own thriller?
2. The animation, characters and their style, situations, action sequences, technology, complex, settings in Japan, the US, the North Sea, Venice?
3. The cast, voice styles, action and comedy? The musical score?
4. Introduction to water, young, his experiments, his relationship with his mother, who work in the police, use of glitter, experiments gone wrong, school boring, considered weird? His mother supporting him?
5. Sterling, the solo spy, expert, Will Smith’s voice? Look, in action, his mission, going to Japan, the confrontations with the villains, tactics, fights, escape?
6. Joyless and the supervisors? In Washington? Surveillance? Sterling and his return, the applause, the empty case, Marcy and the attack, his fleeing? The blow to his pride?
7. The encounter with water, Walter and his jobs, the experiments, the lab, his range of plans, talking to sterling, his being fired? Sterling’s return, wanting to disappear?
8. The transformation of sterling, drinking the chemicals, the agony of becoming the pigeon? Marcy pursuing, the car Chase and the dramatics? As a pigeon, the possibility for his mission, the pigeon jokes, look, sound, feathers, the flirting pigeon, the egg, a cloaca?
9. The villain, taking sterling’s face, his robot hand, in Japan, the confrontation, the fights? His stealing the list of agents? Possession of The Assassin? The threat? Ben Mendelssohn and his accent invoice?
10. The trip to Mexico, the fat connection, confronting him, melting him, the truth serum? Marcy and the attack?
11. The visit to Venice, the buildup to the confrontation, in St Mark’s Square, the mass of pigeons and Mark
12. the centre in the North Sea, building arms, the assassin, its capability, the agent list?
13. The buildup to the confrontation, sterling, becoming his self again? Walter and his range of devices, saving sterling? Marcy’s arrival, recognising the villain, her abrupt apology?
14. The bond between sterling and water, the home, the glitter, the cats and the sorority and effect?
15. Seemingly fired, Joyless reinstating them? Walter and his hope for the future?
