Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Spy Hard (1996)

Director: Rick Friedberg

Average user rating
1 review

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Nielsen is the Agency's star operatve Dick Steele (codename: WD-40). Intrepid, debonair, yet surprisingly accident-prone, Steele leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. When his beloved fellow agent Victoria Dahl falls to her death from a cliff as Steele puts paid to the ambitions of his nemesis General Rancor (Griffith), WD-40 feels it's time to hang up his badge. Fifteen years on, and Rancor's back, unarmed limb-wise, though he does have a very large rocket and he's threatening to use it unless he gets the final microchip that'll bring him world domination. Bond may be the main target, but Spy Hard is hardly frugal with its references. After the Naked Guns, and Wayne's Worlds, this Hollywood spoofery is becoming almost a genre in itself. Like Hot Shots! there's the same mistaken belief that simply tagging other films will be intrinsically funny: Nielsen running into a convent dressed as a nun and conducting the sisters through 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head' does not a great Sister Act parody make.

Author: NB 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • uptcwyik xzmelqwyu said...
    Posted on Jun 08 2008 14:28 fgblmws iuasqrmj oxwis euxtp ljwi gqbwvxma crefxw
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this

Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'

Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'

Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations