Jackie Chan Can't Save Spy Next Door

An ex-spy corralling a crew of unruly munchkins seems like a recipe for PG fun, especially when that spy is Jackie Chan. But critics agree—The Spy Next Door just ain't funny.

• This is True Lies without the striptease or Arab-maiming," writes Michael Phillips for the Chicago Tribune. "It’s hard to imagine anyone being offended, except fans of good comedy."

• The AV Club was not impressed with Chan's chops: "As his physical skills have diminished, his mugging skills have sadly increased," writes Scott Tobias. The film is "pandering, PG-rated" content that "looks like bad TV."
• Kara Nesvig hated most of it, music included. "It opens with 'Secret Agent Man,' for god's sake!" she writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The plot line, meanwhile, "has been done to death" and Chan "does nothing to revitalize it."
• The Seattle Times' Tom Keogh delivers the lowest blow. This movie "makes the Pacifier look like Citizen Kane."

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