The Spy Who Dumped Me Movie Review: Kate McKinnon Steals the Show in This Engaging Action-Comedy

The Spy Who Dumped Me begins with an action sequence involving the 'spy' of the title. The whole scene feels gritty thanks to the greyish tinge and looks something straight out of a Daniel Craig-James Bond film.  In between, the scene is then quickly intercut with the 'Me' who is busy playing a shooting arcade game, while a boring birthday party for her is going in the background.  Unlike the action sequence, this scene is splayed with colours and a lively Kate McKinnon.  Well, that's Spy Who Dumped Me in a nutshell - a film with enough action sequences that doesn't want you to take itself too seriously.

So the movie begins with Audrey (Mila Kunis) still wallowing under the fact that she has been dumped by a mysterious Drew (Justin Theroux) for no apparent reason. Her whimsical BFF Morgan (Kate McKinnon) encourages her to burn all her ex's stuff in her possession to get him out of the system. Just as she tries to move away from her past, Audrey finds herself being tagged by shady secret agents and learns that Drew has been a CIA agent. Drew re-enters her life to drop a device, which, if it falls in wrong hands, could lead to disastrous results. However, he is killed in an ensuing shootout and it's up to Audrey and her over-exuberant friend to make sure the device gets in the right hands, even if it means running around half of Europe.

The Spy Who Dumped Me (a play on the title of the famous Jame Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me) is a movie for those who loved flicks like Heat (The Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy starrer), or Spy. It may aim to make you laugh, but doesn't shy away from showing the gory, queasy bits, thus justifying its mature rating. Also, it doesn't pull back on the action just so that the comedy comes in the forefront.

What surprised me the most about The Spy Who Dumped Me was the action sequences were really good. In fact, I loved the action scenes more than the comic ones. Right from the chase sequence in Lithuania in the start to the car chase in Verne to the warehouse fight, these sequences have been well-choreographed. So if Hollywood has in any doubt that a female director can't make a good action movie (they shouldn't, after Wonder Woman), then director Susanna Fogel just showed them her qualifications through TSWDP.

The humour department, meanwhile, has been an inconsistent affair throughout the film. Some jokes truly work. Like when the tied-up Audrey and Morgan began to blurt crazy truths about each other to a gymnast assassin (Ivanna Sakhno, making quite an impact here). Or trying to take digs at the usual tropes in such movies (a German recognises the protagonists as Americans just because they pull the guns at the slightest movement). But then some gags fall pretty flat, while others get stretched so much that it stops being funny anymore. A joke about a woman's secret hiding place goes on and on. Morgan's enthusiastic response to seeing MI-6 boss (X-Files' Gillian Anderson) feels very out of context.

It is thanks to the sometimes-dull humour that we feel there is a lag in the proceedings in the first act. But things do pick pace in the middle of the second act, as the narrative throws surprises at every turn. Not everything works; a couple of the twists, including the main villain reveal, make no sense at all. But they keep things interesting, even when the jokes don't work, and the pace is good in these portions. There is also an innovative circus act scenes, that is both nail-biting and hilarious at the same time.

It also helps that Kunis and McKinnon share an incredible camaraderie, which makes us root for them, even when Morgan annoys the shite out of us at times. Out of the duo, Mila Kunis has the more straight-faced character. It may not be a standout act, but she delivers what the role wants, nothing more. Even though she is at the risk of repeating herself, Kate McKinnon continues to be the scene-stealer here, as she was in Ghostbusters or Girls' Night Out or Office Christmas Party. Her jokes don't always work, but her Buster Keaton-like mannerisms and body language are endearing enough. The scene where she romantically manipulates a controversial real-life personality into doing some hacking for her is one of movie's workable comedic gems.

Sam Heughan as the helpful British agent is charismatic and plays well in the action scenes. His romance with Kunis feels under-developed, though. Justin Theroux shines in the opening action sequence, that also includes a Tom Cruise-like jump from a building.

Yay!

- Kate McKinnon

- The pairing of McKinnon and Mila Kunis

- The action sequences

- An engaging third act

Nay!

- The jokes and gags don't always work

- The first act takes time to build up steam

- Screenplay can be predictable at times

- Doesn't feel a standout in the genre

Final Thoughts

The Spy Who Dumped Me is, surprisingly, quite decent, mostly thanks to Kate McKinnon's scene-stealing performance, good action choreography and an engaging third act. A feel-good action buddy film that proves reasonable to its mature rating, but may not be a standout in its genre.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2018 01:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).