The Spy Next Door (BD)

It is hard to believe that Jackie Chan is fifty-six years old, yet an energetic, ever-smiling Jackie Chan has been acting in martial-arts movies since the early Seventies. With age no barrier for him, he continues to fascinate moviegoers with his sheer display of acrobatic martial-arts skills, wherein he performs most of his own stunts. In the process, he has become an icon for action heroes in the Western world. He shot into limelight with the success of “Drunken Master” (1978), but his first major box-office hit came with “Police Story” (1985). Of course, “Enter the Dragon” (1973) takes honors for being the first Chinese martial-arts movie with a Western production company, but this does not lessen the fact that Jackie movies have been instrumental in introducing the Hong Kong Cinema to the Western world.

To this very day, Jackie Chan is still a superhero in Hong Kong. His movies are hugely popular, and some of them have become big blockbusters. Over the years, he has worked on transforming his image from more than just an action hero. He has always undertaken roles that mixed martial-arts action with a fair bit of comedy, but with “Shanghai Noon” and “Shanghai Knights” he preferred more comedy roles. His new movie, “The Spy Next Door” (2010), is another step in the comedy world, but with family and kids as its main theme, something he has not done before. The movie was an instant hit and the biggest for Jackie Chan in the U.S., grossing about $141 million at the box office.

Bob Ho (Jackie Chan) is an international spy who has decided to give up his espionage career after undertaking one last job. He plans to settle down with his neighbor and girlfriend, Gillian (Amber Valletta), and her three kids, Farren (Madeline Carroll), Ian (Will Shadley), and Nora (Alina Foley). By mistake, Ian downloads a secret formula from a Web site to his iPod. Meanwhile, Gillian has had to leave the town to see her sick father. Bob assures Gillian that he capable of taking care of the kids while she is away. Along the way, a Russian terrorist, Poldark (Magnús Scheving), is looking for the secret formula that Ian downloaded. Soon, Bob is pulled into the mess to save the kids. With the help of his buddy, Colton James (Billy Ray Cyrus), Bob faces Poldark and his goons and blows the cover of other rogue agents working at the C.I.A.

Jackie Chan in a role of a family guy and baby-sitting kids certainly adds a new dimension to his monotonous roles in the past. In this film, his character lacks depth and is uninteresting; however he more than makes up for this with his lively display in action sequences. In the acting department, he is fully aware of his limitation--the serious scenes are a struggle for him--but in comedy, he is definitely above average. Surely, there are moments that will put a smile on your face, especially in scenes where he is trying to connect with the kids. I felt the overall humor in the film was never forced; instead, the script employs real-life situations for its laughter and lighter moments.

The kids--a rebel teenager, Farrell; a curious boy, Will; and a mischievous young sibling, Nora--are probably acceptable in their roles. The script offered enough background on Farrell and Will that you end up feeling convinced by their actions and behavior. The firm and dumb mom, Gillian, played by Amber Valleta (“Gamer”), does not get much room to perform here. In fact, it is her sudden departure from her home that is the central aspect of the story. In her last movie, “Gamer,” even with an under-cooked script, her character was challenging, with dark undertones, which she portrayed gracefully. Here, Gillian comes across as an unintelligent mother, with no substance, deliberately shown as a one-dimensional character. We see her concerns, but we never get any insight into her past baggage. Maybe it was not required, considering this is a family movie; nonetheless, the script could have delved into this aspect a bit more. As a couple, Gillian and Bob Ho lack chemistry to be very convincing; they are just not into each other, emotionally. Nonetheless, Amber Valleta is a talented actress; she’s just wasted in a dull role.

It’s the action and interaction with kids that holds the movie together. Along the way, the kids act innocently, as one would expect, in a charming and pleasing way. The story is nothing new, yet it has enough going for it that it will keep kids and parents entertainment for a while. Just tone down your expectations accordingly.

Video:

Lionsgate present the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded in an AVC format. The movie opens nicely with colors that are vibrant and sharp and make the film pleasing to look at. There is a fair amount of grain present throughout, but it is never intrusive to the overall experience. The bright white interiors are rendered with a glossy look. The blacks are deep, but not as solid as one would expect. In addition, at times I found transfer to be softer than usual. Other than this, the skin tones retain their natural look with their true lifelike appearance. The detail and sharpness is retained and is never an issue.

Audio:

For the aural experience, Lionsgate has included a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. As expected, the dialogue gets a boost in this lossless track and is clear and crisp throughout. Since it’s a Jackie Chan movie, we can expect a plenty of acrobatic sequences--the mall, the car chase, and the climax all pack in a lot of oomph. In these sequences, we thoroughly feel the presence of the rear channels. Also included is the option to view the movie with English or Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Starting off the extras, we get a featurette, “Jackie Chan: Stunt Master and Mentor,” that is a collection of interviews with actors and stunt-masters talking about Jackie Chan’s passion for doing his own stunts in the film. They also talk about complex action shots in the movie.

Following this, there is an interview with the kids in the movie, “Adventures in acting with the Kid.” Basically, the young actors provide their thoughts on acting and how a child actor should begin an acting career. Through the discussion, they also shed some light on how they got into acting with the support from their parents.

Finally, finishing off the extras, we get a blooper reel segment.

This Lionsgate’s Blu-ray is labeled as “Blu-ray + DVD Combo” pack that houses two separate discs, one each for DVD and Blu-ray, and is not a flipper disc such as the ones we see from Universal Studios.

Parting Thoughts:

As an energetic action machine, Jackie Chan is still as young today as ever and always raring to go. With “The Spy Next Door” he is moving more to family territory, although with mixed results. The movie follows a very conventional path, but it still has enough entertainment value at least for kids.