Spy
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: June 5, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonJun 2, 2015
It's a comedy of exasperation where, for once, the joke isn't on McCarthy, but on everyone who can't see her skills. Read full review
90
TimeLisa SchwarzbaumJun 6, 2015
As McCarthy and Byrne carry on a filthy volley of insults (with what is surely secret sisterly glee), Feig keeps his Spy machinery cranking so smoothly that nothing said or done feels as outrageous as, in fact, it is. The truth serum Spy drops into our fizzy drinks makes us feel so good that we don’t even realize we’ve been schooled. Read full review
90
SlateDana StevensJun 5, 2015
Spy lampoons sexism without abandoning sex — a tough tone for a comedy to strike but one that Feig and McCarthy manage to accomplish with both a sense of justice and a sense of humor. Read full review
90
NPRBob MondelloJun 5, 2015
It is, in short, a generous, smart, sexy comedy, surrounding this generous, smart, sexy star. About time. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 16, 2015
Laugh-stuffed and making excellent use of its marquee-grade supporting cast, it promises to be a home run in its early summer release. Read full review
90
VarietyJustin ChangMar 16, 2015
An uproarious blast of globe-trotting action-comedy delirium that doesn’t spoof the espionage-thriller genre so much as drop a series of banana peels in its path. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJun 5, 2015
Feig, who wrote the Spy screenplay, encouraging his actors to improvise along the way, has his own stealth mission. For all the over-the-top comedy, zigzagging chases, and choreographed fight scenes, Spy is very much a tale of female empowerment. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 4, 2015
All the actors come up aces. And let's bottle the delicious byplay between McCarthy and Byrne, whose comic timing is bitchy perfection. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 2, 2015
McCarthy’s mind just seems to race in a faster gear than her costars, allowing her to blast off arias of profane put-downs with such speed and demented originality that her mouth practically shoots sparks. As a physical comedian, she possesses the greatest gift of all: She’s totally unafraid of looking stupid. Read full review
83
HitfixDrew McWeenyMar 23, 2015
There is a giddy sense of glee that runs through most of this movie, making it feel like Feig can barely contain himself with all of the things he wants to do and show you in the movie. Read full review
82
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMar 16, 2015
Spy would be a standout if only for its ability to keep me laughing while also keeping me from figuring out who was really double-crossing whom. Add to that this extraordinary ensemble of actors (who knew Jason Statham could be this funny?), and you’ve got another memorable offering from McCarthy and Feig. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenJun 4, 2015
Spy may not be a great movie, but it is great fun. And at times it will have you wondering if there's that much of a difference. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 4, 2015
Spy is hilarious and heartfelt, a terrific movie. Read full review
80
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiJun 4, 2015
Spy never lets its genre conceit get in the way of its comedy, which delivers more laugh-out-loud moments than any other mainstream comedy so far this year. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 4, 2015
The busy, silly script allows Ms. McCarthy to be her own best sidekick, in effect an entire sketch-comedy troupe unto herself. Read full review
80
Total FilmEmma DibdinJun 2, 2015
A whip-smart blend of savvy parody, elegant slapstick and zinger-packed dialogue makes for the year’s most rewarding character comedy so far, and McCarthy’s best showcase to date. Read full review
80
EmpireOlly RichardsJun 2, 2015
The supporting cast is a kick. Law gets to send up the Bond role, something he could very well have played in his younger days; Allison Janney fills her boots as the angry head of the agency and Statham, frankly, should only ever play this role for the rest of his life. Read full review
80
The GuardianAlex NeedhamMar 17, 2015
Spy confirms Feig’s and McCarthy’s instinct for both the zeitgeist and the funnybone, and is sure to ramp up anticipation for Ghostbusters even higher – as well as being a delight in its own right. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonMar 16, 2015
This is a generous, consistently pleasurable comedy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 4, 2015
Nobody is better than McCarthy at over-the-top comic hostility. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaJun 4, 2015
As a distaff version of James Bond in Spy, Hollywood’s reigning empress of ha-ha Melissa McCarthy has a license to not just kill the audience with laughter but also to slay us with her acting skills. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittJun 4, 2015
Feig blends a keen sense of physical comedy and exquisite timing with all the requisite spy-flick tropes, from the trippy and stylish opening credits to surprisingly violent, bone-breaking action scenes that he refrains from playing for laughs. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 4, 2015
Spy is a foul-mouthed, often hilariously disgusting, slightly padded comedy that soars on the strengths of writer-director Paul Feig’s wonderfully idiotic script and nimble camerawork, and the bountiful comedic talents of Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne and Jason Statham. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoJun 4, 2015
The character is sweetly sympathetic — less “Tammy” than “Mike & Molly” — and the laughs and chaos are all the more infectious for it. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 4, 2015
The fun of Spy comes in watching the right actors mess with their own images, blithely. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJun 3, 2015
Spy, similarly, doesn’t exactly send up James Bond or Jason Bourne espionage thrillers, but it places McCarthy in the middle of the action while subverting the traditionally male domination of that arena. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneJun 1, 2015
It's the sustained, full-bodied mania of Melissa McCarthy's performance that anchors the film's many winning blind-alley gags. Read full review
75
The PlaylistDrew TaylorMar 16, 2015
Feig's commitment to the genre, and some truly wonderful set pieces, make Spy as lovable as its main character. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirJun 5, 2015
McCarthy has much more to discover about herself as an actor and an avatar and a cultural signifier, and I hope she doesn’t get trapped by one role, one genre or one franchise. But her campaign of conquest is going well. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJun 4, 2015
Some of the combat scenes work, including a kitchen-set hand-to-hand battle that's one of the movie's highlights, but more often they feel superfluous at best. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 4, 2015
The problem is that writer/director Paul Feig became too enamored with his storyline which, at best, could be described as a lame James Bond parody. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 4, 2015
As cinema, Spy is content to cater to its own conventions, hit the required marks and earn a few laughs along the way. As a cultural bellwether, it does something bigger and more important, without ever italicizing that fact. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 3, 2015
The fights and deaths are somewhat comical, the one-liners hit or miss and the stunts faked with less sleight of hand than a director experienced in action might have managed. And Feig can’t bear to end this thing, which goes on far past the point of endurance. But he’s done better by McCarthy here, and she has delivered a performance that’s more deft than her usual daft. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJun 5, 2015
Spy boasts tons of the type of low-humor that fuel so many Seth Rogen and Will Ferrell frat-boy movies. The difference here is that the laughs aren't at the expense of the fat kid. By the time the closing credits roll, McCarthy's character been built up, not torn down -- and we're rooting for her, not guffawing at her. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJun 4, 2015
Feig keeps throwing so much stuff at you — gross-out gags, chases, brutal violence, not to mention actors working their heads off — that he finally wears down your resistance. In the end, I admired him for keeping this ramshackle construction together, casting performers I adore, and proving that Melissa McCarthy can, indeed, hold a gun. A mixed victory. A definitively mixed review. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 4, 2015
The moments when Spy falls apart are when the film fancies itself the real thing. The times when it works are due to its leading lady. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid EhrlichJun 2, 2015
Though it’s been two years since they collaborated on "The Heat," Spy makes the case that Feig and McCarthy are still just warming up. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJun 3, 2015
This is a different sort of comedy that more or less succeeds on its own terms, despite that fact that you find yourself rooting for the post-Snowden CIA. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithJun 3, 2015
Alas, “sad case” is not how we want to see McCarthy; it’s frustrating to see her spend more than half the movie being the pathetic target of jokes rather than the dominating figure she was in “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat,” both of which are far funnier than this one. Read full review
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJun 4, 2015
With the overlong, limp and lazy Spy, Feig has lost his mojo. Read full review
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