Spoilers

Theres a time when you just want to watch an animated film thats average, so tonight its Spies in Disguise opportunity. I need to check how good this film was as when i saw it, it was with a double header for the film cats, which automatically made this the better film. So lets see, i mean if it, Ben is a villain in it so….

It is exactly that, its a mid tier animated film, thats got an all star cast, half decent animation & a few bits that are genuinely funny or heart warming & then the rest is just generic. & there is nothing wrong for that. I can see kids aged 9 to 13 loving this & being like yea this is my jam, before leaving animation behind for a few years as they are now cool if you get me.

Will Smith Lance is the ultimate generic spy whos far to over the top & wants to do it all himself so much so that even when he learns his life lessons he just like nah im not gonna get help & i still want to do this alone. I mean it is a good life lesson for kids about having your people help & that sometimes you need a hand, but at the end of the day did he really learn anything, nope not really. He gets to save the day & his friend & get the cool job, so he didnt really learn a lesson at all about being a pigeon.

Tom Hollands Walter is adorable. I mean if one more Tom Holland character wants to go to MIT i might scream ( Americans what is MIT & why is it a big deal in all your films? please let me know). But i love that he thinks fun gadgets & glitter are going to save the world & that he is willing to do whatever to make it that way. Also doing his mum proud bless him.

& then there is Ben… I think 20% of my blog is me sitting here typing about how good Ben Mendelsohn is as a villain & how he nails it every time. & yes here he does that as well, even in animated for. The scowl is correct & that voice is so menacing. I genuinely think if i ever met him id be petrified & then just cry & ask for a cape. Yea even animated hes bloody brilliant at being evil.

Having tach guys called Eyes & Ears… thats fun thats very very fun.

The section where he turns into the pigeon is brilliant as it all goes so well & so wrong at the same time. Also hes still speaking english so how did the real pigeons actually know what he was saying, how did that work. Yes i know its a kids animated film i shoudlnt look that far into things but thats my job, thats what i do. & his freak out is amazing.

I love that he gets his own little flock & they are so pigeons who if they were normal people hed have never liked. I love that, it proves that your clan is so important & those peoples (or pigeons in this case) are everything to you… yes that is me talking to you film besties… you are my everything & im happy to have you as apart of my clan.

Bread crumbs… i laughed a lot at that. I loved that… i shouldnt have, but anyone whos ever had a seagull attempt to steal your chips at the beach will understand that, & i live on a beach…

The point of being a good spy, is meant to be that no one knows your name… lance doesnt get that. Its like the Bond thing… everyone knows who Bond is. Hes not a good spy if you know that.

As someone who watches a lot of action & spy films, it really wouldnt surprise me if under the lake at the capitol there isnt a huge spy thing underneath it. I mean that does mean i have seen too many films & tv shows in my life ( which lets be honest i have, if your reading this youve probably not just stumbled upon this, youve been here a while).

The face mask from mission impossible returns woohoo.

Some of the set pieces & lines people say are for kids, like when the guy turns to jelly & starts doing poo jokes nah as an adult i dont need that, but i appreciate a kid would need that. It would be the height of there hilarity.

The first fight is good & so is the last one, but all the rest throughout all just feel like the makers went ahh we best put another bit of actions in here just to remind people hes a spy. It wasnt as good as in the middle as the star or the end, but i guess in theory you want to hook them in & send them home smiling so that does make sense (oh other than the car chase when hes first a pigeon).

Thats a lot of drones, thats a fuck ton of drones.

I need an inflatable hug sometimes. Is that too much to ask for peoples.

I know this is a kids film so the writing doesnt have to be epic, but it could have been a bit more coherent at times. It fell off at points & it was just like really, treat kids better than that, please they deserve more especially as this is for older kids just before they enter their teens.

We do jet set all over the place (Tom Holland has been to venice quite a bit in 2019 hasnt he) but every time do we have to say that the secret hideout is somewhere in the north sea? i havent forgotten that the first 3 times youve told me. Leave it out. Maybe the first or second visit let us know but after that just stop. Also ive been in the north sea… its not there.

Its a good film for families with kids going into teen hood if you get me. They need to get there teeth into something more but its still got some good bits for the adults, but isnt entirely dumb. yea this is a film for those families. & maybe thats why i like it & appreciate it. If i had been 12 & my sister had been 8 & my parents had said lets go see this film, i wouldnt have said no & we would have all had a blast. Thats who this film is for. But 32 year old me is sitting here lets make the world a better happier place, with life lessons for all (even if the main character doesnt really learn them) … & if we cant have that, lets at least have Ben as a villain.