Review: Hate would be way to strong a word for this film, but sad disappointment are two words I can sit comfortably with. So much potential all wasted in explosions, weak plot turns and bad one-liners.

To say there is absolutely nothing to laugh at in this flick would be an out and out lie. Eddie Murphy still has this surging talent hidden underneath and rarely exposed to celluloid. Owen Wilson is a master of the long-drawn-out-rambling-almost-incoherent-but-still-funny dialogue. Put these together in a nice quiet scene (like the one that takes place in a sewer as they get hopped on the gasses and open up to one another) and you see two men who play well in the same room.

Moments like these are rare though as the script wants big fiery explosions and car chases to distract you from anything remotely interesting. Someone needs to come along and revamp the buddy comedy. Eastwood did it with Unforgiven to the Western genre, Tarantino did it to the gangster form...let's see some new film school come out with a love of Lethal Weapon and Midnight Run and the like and put a new spin on this old formula.

For the most part these two men are so busy arguing about who has the upper hand and the best punchline that any growth and fun is thrown out the window as a result. However, when they do agree to be on the same side, when they do admire one another's gifts that the other brings to the game, then we have something. For example? During the car chase Kelly Robinson (Murphy) shows Wilson some old tricks from his childhood of boosting a car while Wilson shows off a high-tech gadget that blows another one up and they both express admiration. Fun stuff.

But this all quickly dissipates. Uber-hot female spy Famke Janssen gets pretty much wasted here. Did anyone remember this is a former Bond Girl? Here's an angle that could have been played up for laughs.

And Gary Cole steals the two scenes he does have as a cross between Antonio Banderas and Ricardo Montalban, a spy who has been to in the field too long and has forgotten his roots in Iowa and now adapts a thick accent, a black ponytail and a smarmy attitude. I almost wish they made a whacky comedy about this character, though that too would probably have annoyed me after a substantial amount of time.

A 2 star film out of 5. Such wasted potential is what makes this a true waste of time.

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Copyright© Written By: Rob Paul
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The DVD Review:
Easter Egg Alert:
Head into the Special Features section. Highlight the Featurette section but instead of pressing enter, press the left arrow on your directional pad twice. This will light up the headlight on the motorcycle and when you press enter you will have a short clip with Eddie Murphy talking about boxer's who trash talk during a boxing match.