“Pigeons are everywhere, and nobody notices them! It’s the most perfect form a spy can take!” – Walter Beckett
First of all, is there anything better than Will Smith in a black suit kicking ass, spinning off witty one liners and generally being cooler than any cucumber on the planet! In the new movie from Blue Sky Studios, Spies in Disguise, Smith has been rendered in animated form to star as Lance Stirling, aka James Bond meets Men in Black. The world’s greatest spy and a legend at his firm – headed up by the archetypal strong female – we first meet him facing off with a Japanese arms dealer and a man with a robotic hook in place of a hand.
But hold up, I’m getting ahead of myself, because to appreciate what comes next you will have to be acquainted with a young man who possesses an incredibly unique perspective on the world, not to mention insane scientific intelligence. From a very young age, Walter Beckett (voiced by Tom Holland) has shown a great enthusiasm for inventing gadgets, but these are no ordinary gadgets. A far cry from the explosives and high tech creations of the likes of Q, Walter is intent on curing the world of its dependence on violence.
Glitter, kittens, kaleidoscope disorientation and bubble gum are but a few weapons in his arsenal, one of which Stirling finds unexpectedly in his possession during that aforementioned Japanese face off! I won’t spoil it for you but what these opening sequences set the stage for is an unlikely partnership and a bad guy in possession of a dangerous drone. So of course our duo are on course to pursue Mr Robot Hand but not before Stirling is chased out of the agency due to a case of mistaken identity, only to be reincarnated as a pigeon thanks to one of Walter’s madcap concoctions!
This turn of events provides much comedic fodder as the script plays on our familiarity with the nature of pigeons for genius comic effect. Stirling’s insistence that he “flies solo” is ironically put to the test in bird form and he discovers that being part of a flock may not be the worst thing in the world. With Walter as “wing man” complete with his bevy of humane tactics for fighting evil; Stirling gains more than a birds eye view of the world he inhabits and the role he plays within it.
Forced together to begin with, gradually man and bird form an unlikely alliance. So, could this pigeon pair act as the perfect disguise to bring down the bad guys and evade the agency in hot pursuit of Stirling?
What is clear is the cleverly nuanced storyline explicitly and implicitly emphasising the importance of teamwork and of not consistently assuming the worst in people. Fighting fire with fire is sure to only further fan the flames, but when we try a different way we just might find the outcome doesn’t come with the risk of us getting burnt. There is a beauty in Walter’s character, rooted in his love for his policewoman mother whose commitment to securing the safety of the neighbourhood has extended to her son. Through a series of coincidences and unexpected events he just may get to live out his purpose of saving the world.
Spies in Disguise (PG) will make you laugh and keep you on the edge of your seats for the full 101 minute run time. It hits cinemas in Australia on New Year’s Day and I challenge you not to make seeing it a resolution for 2020! Get ready, ‘cause things are about to get weird!