The Spy Next Door (2010)

13% of critics liked it
(87 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(102,405 ratings)

Reminiscent of Kindergarten Cop, with a dash of Spy Kids, The Spy Next Door blends together an entertaining mixture of family fun and martial-arts comedy styling to form a familiar story that once again reminds us that even hardened action heroes have a soft side. Jackie Chan stars as Bob Ho, an… More Reminiscent of Kindergarten Cop, with a dash of Spy Kids, The Spy Next Door blends together an entertaining mixture of family fun and martial-arts comedy styling to form a familiar story that once again reminds us that even hardened action heroes have a soft side. Jackie Chan stars as Bob Ho, an international spy on loan to the CIA who gives up his job in hopes of leading a so-called normal life with his next-door-neighbor girlfriend and her rambunctious brood. There's nothing in Spy that the audience hasn't seen before from similarly themed incarnations (think The Pacifier), but, fans will appreciate director Brian Levant's homage to Jackie Chan's past Hong Kong movie blockbusters -- most notably, Police Story and The Legend of Drunken Master -- during the opening credit sequence, which is fitting considering many of the action sequences are derivative of those films.The main story centers on Bob's relationship with artsy single mom Gillian (Amber Valletta) and her three kids: precocious teenage stepdaughter Farren (Madeline Carroll), nerdy middle child Ian (Will Shadley), and adorably energetic Nora (Alina Foley). After an emergency sends Gillian away to Denver, Bob steps up and offers to watch the kids while she's gone. Ill-equipped to handle a situation that's clearly over his head, Bob utilizes his spy skills and gadgets -- video watch, GPS tracking, x-ray glasses -- to gain control over the situation in hopes of winning over the kid's affection, but when an old enemy escapes from prison and threatens his potential family, Bob must return to his 007 world of international espionage to protect them.Admittedly, there's a certain level of cheese in this film, especially when it comes to the Boris-and-Natasha-style villains, Poldark (Magnús Scheving) and Creel (Katherine Boecher), whose silly Russian stereotyped performances and running joke about American fashion unabashedly border on cringe-worthy territory. Not to mention, the thinly plotted storyline involving brainiac Ian, who accidentally downloads a top-secret formula for oil-eating ooze created by the bad guys, which propels the main action of the film. Adding to the pile are the supporting cast members: George Lopez as the traitorous CIA agent, Glaze, and Billy Ray Cyrus as CIA agent and Bob's BFF Colton James, who lends folksy witticisms like "As gone as rum cake at an AA meeting."Even so, Chan's charm wins out in the end, and The Spy Next Door's most effective sequences involve Bob's attempts to bond with the kids -- from taking little Nora shopping for a Halloween costume to helping Ian with school bullies and girls. These comedic moments more or less overshadow an otherwise simplistic narrative, and the audience can't help but smile to themselves every time Chan appears onscreen. Die-hard fans might miss the era of classic kick-ass Hong Kong action films, but Spy manages to fill that void as an entertaining alternative that kids and parents alike will enjoy. ~ Alaina O'Connor, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Brian Levant
Written By: Gregory Poirier, Jonathan Bernstein, Jim Greer
Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 15, 2010 Wide
On DVD: May 18, 2010
Studio: Lionsgate

Critic Reviews

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
At some point, the social mores that functionally banned most other forms of ethnic stereotyping will catch up with the Slavs, a sad day indeed for middling screenwriters.
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail
Chan's comedic gifts and still-nimble moves are wasted in a string of unimaginative household calamities and practical jokes.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
As for Mr. Chan, he has some passably choreographed bits with folding chairs, a bicycle and, later, some pots and pans at Gillian's house. But it's hardly enough to redeem -- or even make bearable -- this half-hearted hodgepodge.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The script -- which took three people to write -- is barely coherent, and it's unclear whether Brian Levant was even on set when he directed. All that's left for us to enjoy are the action scenes, and frankly most of those are a little depressing.
Bruce Demara, Toronto Star
Chan is actually a fairly likeable hero and his elocution, never great, is at least passable in this latest romp.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Duller than a Monday night at the cobweb museum...
Katina Vangopoulos, Cut Print Review
This film plays it too safe and brings you only a smidgeon of charm and laughter.
Simon Foster, sbs.com.au
An uncomfortable journey for everyone involved.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Though mixing espionage and family values in unraveling dysfunctional behavior among a bratty brood of siblings may be a stretch, Jackie Chan makes the most of it in his latest caper targeting unruly kids.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Though mixing espionage and family values in unraveling dysfunctional behavior among a bratty brood of siblings may be a stretch, Jackie Chan makes the most of it in his latest caper targeting unruly kids.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
This is the broad, silly kiddie exercise it appears to be.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Lame.
David Stratton, At the Movies (Australia)
The woeful screenplay, the mundane direction, by Brian Levant, and the indifferent acting all combine to sink a stupid plot which should never have got off the ground.
Annlee Ellingson, Moving Pictures Magazine
[The movie] is [likable], bringing a peppy energy to Bob's segue from international spy to babysitter.
Alicia Malone, FILMINK (Australia)
The slapstick comedy will amuse a young audience, but their parents will find it tedious.
Alexander Pashby, Little White Lies
Definitely one for the kids to watch on their own when it comes out on DVD.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
Chan has just enough friendly charm to transcend this rubbish.
Trevor Johnston, Radio Times
Tongue-in-cheek entertainment...
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
[It] may be a sign that age has finally caught up with this once most agile of action heroes.
Elliott Noble, Sky Movies
A movie that posits Billy Ray Cyrus as a techno-genius and allows the baddies to get away with Russian accents that would put most meerkats to shame.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

danny d

a silly premise and corny script actually works for a film like this. chan is fun to watch as always and my kids enjoyed it. an average and enjoyable family action comedy.
EightThirty .

26/02/2011 (DVD) A family buzz! Definitely a winner for the occasional family night in. Enjoyed it very much, the whole martial-art comedy thing is a plus and Jackie Chan is the right ingredient for that. This won't win any 'Oscar" but it will extract a giggle… More
26/02/2011 (DVD) A family buzz! Definitely a winner for the occasional family night in. Enjoyed it very much, the whole martial-art comedy thing is a plus and Jackie Chan is the right ingredient for that. This won't win any 'Oscar" but it will extract a giggle somewhere. I don't think I could watch this alone, its not that kind of movie to soak in, it's more of a groupie flick where you don't really have to concentrate while you watch it because everything is easy to catch and predictability levels are heightened due to the fact that this plot has been done several times but still... a fun time goodie for the clan. A one-time fun time experience for me but a definite recommendation for all. Honestly there are times in this flick where I'm like "I can't believe they left that line in or that scene" but I guess that's why I enjoyed it more... I sort like crap like that, it just makes me wonder and laugh and think whether they did that on purpose. I don't know?
Nate Z

I have seen hundreds of movies go bad. I've seen plenty try and cram a ham-fisted saccharine, entirely phony message about family values or whatever hackneyed lesson needs to be delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Rarely have I seen a movie that tries to cram in EVERY… More
I have seen hundreds of movies go bad. I've seen plenty try and cram a ham-fisted saccharine, entirely phony message about family values or whatever hackneyed lesson needs to be delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Rarely have I seen a movie that tries to cram in EVERY banal family message possible into one exasperated running time. There was one point where I counted three clichéd platitudes in a row. Rarely have I seen a movie fail at comedy so badly, even the generous definition of comedy in family films, a subgenre that haunts all those who crossover into it. Rarely have I seen one single family film try to do so much and succeed so breathtakingly little. The Spy Next Door is that movie. Jackie Chan stars as a retired Chinese super spy who the American government wants to keep contracting. He's also dating his neighbor (Amber Valetta) who has three rambunctious kids that fall into easy slots (surly teenager smarting from parent's divorce, dweeby tech kid trying to learn to stand up to bullies, precocious little tyke who makes a mess). Chan agrees to watch over them for a weekend to convince those kids they should give him a shot, or else it's splitsville between he and the mom. It's the Vin Diesel Pacifier movie but done with even less finesse, if possible. The comedy is nonexistent, which is saying something for being as broad as it is, the physical action shows how badly Chan is aging, and the plot is painfully predictable. This is just a sad, uncomfortable viewing experience; it reeks of desperation and despondency. No one looks to be enjoying themselves for a single second. That's probably because The Spy Next Door is a vacuum of fun; it's lazy, incompetent, but worst of all, devoid of any effort to be something other than a mind-numbing, head-scratching waste of 90 minutes. Nate's Grade: D-
Michael E

it was just a nice family friendly action comedy and i enjoyed it quite well
Dean M

Wonderful and hilarious family spy films with Jackie Chan as a retirement spy who wants to settle down with his girlfriend, Gillian and her annoying kids. Now the kids hate Chan and Gillian (Amber Valetta) has to leave for a couple of days in order to spend some time with her ailing… More
Wonderful and hilarious family spy films with Jackie Chan as a retirement spy who wants to settle down with his girlfriend, Gillian and her annoying kids. Now the kids hate Chan and Gillian (Amber Valetta) has to leave for a couple of days in order to spend some time with her ailing father. So who offers to look after the kids? It's not hard to see how clichéd the story is but it is Chan with his creative stunts who makes this a fun watch. The actor's flair for comedy has become common knowledge and he is as energetic as ever. Moreover, his pairing with the beautiful Valetta is refreshing. The action is lighter than most Chan movies but it is inventive and fun. The rest of the cast is forgettable. The child actors are initially very annoying. They sort of grow on you as the film proceeds.
Roy G

Only Chan's charm saves it.
Dead A

While watching this movie, I felt nothing was new. It's like the traditional movie of Jackie Chan. Loads of karate skills with funny scenes and a happy ending. This movie was both entertaining and boring which kinda depressed me as I like Jackie a lot. It's good as a family… More
While watching this movie, I felt nothing was new. It's like the traditional movie of Jackie Chan. Loads of karate skills with funny scenes and a happy ending. This movie was both entertaining and boring which kinda depressed me as I like Jackie a lot. It's good as a family movie and mainly for the kids.
Lanning :

It's Jackie Chan, it's fun. Maybe not his greatest outing, but entertaining enough.
KJ P

I completely disagree with whatever the critics concensus was towards this film. I don't love it, but it really isn't bad. From the good hearted story, to the cheesy dialogue, to the cool tidbits of action here and there, this film is actually concluded as okay in my book.… More
I completely disagree with whatever the critics concensus was towards this film. I don't love it, but it really isn't bad. From the good hearted story, to the cheesy dialogue, to the cool tidbits of action here and there, this film is actually concluded as okay in my book. Jackie Chan plays his part very well, although I didn't really care for who he was dating in the film. By the end of the movie, you will start to enjoy the entire cast, but you won't laugh much. It is supposed to be hilarious, however that is the only thing it falls short of. It has a few little gags, but it doesn't matter, because somehow it didn't even need it!
♥˩ƳИИ &

Jackie Chan, Amber Valleta, Billy Ray Cyrus, George Lopez, Lucas Till, Magnus Schwving, Will Shadley, Alina Foley, Madeline Farren DIRECTED BY: Brian Levant Former CIA spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who… More
Jackie Chan, Amber Valleta, Billy Ray Cyrus, George Lopez, Lucas Till, Magnus Schwving, Will Shadley, Alina Foley, Madeline Farren DIRECTED BY: Brian Levant Former CIA spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau. And when one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula, Bob's longtime nemesis, a Russian terrorist, pays a visit to the family. I wasn't interested in seeing this movie, but my niece was. Being the good Aunt that I am, I gave in and watched it with her. She loved it of course cause it is after all a kid's movie. But from an adults point of view, it wasn't so great. It's never a good sign when the kids do a better job at acting then the adults. I mean it has Billy Ray Cyrus in it. He should stick to the Hannah Montana show. I like George Lopez, but he failed in this movie as well. Jackie Chan delivered and had some great action moments. But that is what he is best at. Amber Valletta wasn't to bad. But Magnus Scheving was awful. Just a movie full of bad acting and a plot that feels like it's been done before with "The Pacifier" which is different, but way better then this movie. The kids in this movie were great. Especially the youngest one. She was really cute. So my final opinion on this movie is as an adult it may not be your kind of movie, but if you got kids (or niece's and nephew's) then you should take them to see this. They will love it.
Phil H

Oh dear, Jackie Jackie Jackie...what are you doing?? I know this is a kids film but jesus it's lame and repetitive. Yet another Jackie Chan Bond type spoof with the same silly fights over and over and over again *groan* enough Jackie. Kids may like this I don't know, maybe… More
Oh dear, Jackie Jackie Jackie...what are you doing?? I know this is a kids film but jesus it's lame and repetitive. Yet another Jackie Chan Bond type spoof with the same silly fights over and over and over again *groan* enough Jackie. Kids may like this I don't know, maybe not, you can see the same thing in almost all Chan's films haha terrible acting, childish pratfalls and lame 'action' if you can call it that, but it is a kiddie film I guess so can't hammer it too much.
Sanjaya &

Wow, what a surprise that 'The Spy Next Door' could be this good... I always admire Jackie Chan for his great contribution by combining action and comedy movies, and I appreciate that... And what he done in 'The Spy Next Door' was first disappoint me a little… More
Wow, what a surprise that 'The Spy Next Door' could be this good... I always admire Jackie Chan for his great contribution by combining action and comedy movies, and I appreciate that... And what he done in 'The Spy Next Door' was first disappoint me a little because I thought that this movie try to be like Vin Diesel's 'The Pacifier', but I was wrong... Jackie Chan proves me that this one is his original and he gave me a big laugh while watching it... Like it, especially because this movie is typically family movie and have funny accent inside it... LOL...
Cassandra M

Ok, I tooke my niece to see The Spy Next Door and as a fan of Jackie Chan myself, I wanted to see it. Some people hates the idea of seeing Jackie in a kids movie, to be honest I think his movies are for kids because he makes people laugh and has moderate violence which I enjoy. Jackie… More
Ok, I tooke my niece to see The Spy Next Door and as a fan of Jackie Chan myself, I wanted to see it. Some people hates the idea of seeing Jackie in a kids movie, to be honest I think his movies are for kids because he makes people laugh and has moderate violence which I enjoy. Jackie is a charismatic actor more than the most of actors that I know, last year he made a violent dramatic film called Shinjuku Incident and now he plays like a father character in this one. Anyway, I don't want to spoil the movie, it's a hilarious movie, and those who criticized Jackie for be in a kid movie are fan-boys expecting Jackie Chan to fight in Drunken Master III or Police Story 6 or Project A III, etc...
Dedy N C

Another Jackie Action-Comedy-Family movies, I love it when Jacky talking in English with Fast Speed saying... :)) But Maybe this is not Just Jackie movie, The kids are Important in this movie, Its Their movie too...
Steven V

While we anticipate Jackie Chan's Asian production with Little Big Soldier this Lunar New Year, he continues his journey in the West with yet another kid and family friendly production with The Spy Next Door. If… More
While we anticipate Jackie Chan's Asian production with Little Big Soldier this Lunar New Year, he continues his journey in the West with yet another kid and family friendly production with The Spy Next Door. If there's something that will appeal, it'll be two items. First up the opening credit montage which played like a celebration to Jackie Chan's illustrious career as an action hero, where you get to see clips from classics such as Armour of God when he was at his peak, to disasters like Hollywood's Tuxedo. Then there's even some drawing from Chan's own real life experiences in his character's monologue about love and family, exploited to add certain emotional gravitas in an otherwise empty movie that spends fleeting moments in its underdeveloped subplots about the adventures in parenting/babysitting, from the youngest daughter with a fetish for anything pink, the only son who's a school-bully fodder trying too hard to be cool in school, and an eldest daughter with the usual rebellious teenage attitude problem. With Jackie Chan growing older and slowing down, this shows up in the carefully crafted action sequences, the stunts performed here are quite the walk in the park for Jackie Chan many years ago. Of late there's none and he seems to be relying on his past laurels, though "improvised" fights and acrobatics that Jackie Chan is famous for, still has enough legs to entertain. If anything, there's a number of obvious wire-work that you know Hollywood would dabble with, either for stunt safety reasons, for laughs, or just to plain exaggerate. The Spy Next Door works as a family popcorn movie, keeping a lot of things safe and will entertain any 5 year old kid. Stay tuned during the end credits with hilarious outtakes from the movie, and you see that Jackie Chan still struggles with the English language.
August S

Predictable, overused gags, and bad acting is what makes The Spy Next door a bad movie.
Anthony L

This movie is a disappointment. Just frikin bad.
Deb S

Jackie Chan (Bob Ho) is a retiring spy working for China and the CIA, who falls in love with a widow Amber Valletta (Gillian) with three kids. We all know that the kids are going to hate the guy their mom is dating until they survive in battle with him, and then they love him. Gillian… More
Jackie Chan (Bob Ho) is a retiring spy working for China and the CIA, who falls in love with a widow Amber Valletta (Gillian) with three kids. We all know that the kids are going to hate the guy their mom is dating until they survive in battle with him, and then they love him. Gillian decides to put her relationship with Bob on hold until they're OK with her marrying him. Bob is saddened but volunteers to baby-sit, resolving himself to winning the kids and his girl friend over by means possible. Jackie Chan is famous for doing his own stunts. He had so many accidents, it's a wonder he can walk. I just love waiting for the closing credits where you see all the stunts that backfired, showing us that it is even harder than we guessed. Yes, it's silly, but it is the kind of entertaining silliness that is aimed squarely at kids and I think they are going love this one.
Rodrigo R

Fun with acceptable action sequences, but fails in many more aspects as history.
Jim W

I found the Spy Nextdoor to be mildly entertaining despite a lot of stupid moments. The movie is bad, but not as bad as Old Dogs. This movie at least has it's moments, but only because of Jackie Chan.