Any movie that cuts away to family pets for reaction shots to jokes can't be aspiring beyond pleasing children as its one and only go. As a corollary, any covert intelligence agency that employs George Lopez and Billy Ray Cyrus in key management positions is not meant for a moment to be taken seriously. Thus, even before we get to the movie's plot, action, and star, Jackie Chan, we can be sure that The Spy Next Door is just a kids movie.
There was a time when Jackie Chan films meant serious kung-fu action, but few in the West remember or care about such ancient history. Most remember the over the top, dance-like choreography of the gymnastic fight scenes and “he really did it himself!” stunts that made Chan's lighter-themed action flicks also his biggest hits. But age slows down even the most diligent of martial artists, and Jackie Chan is clearly no self-deluded, aged action hero banking on a faded and fatted tough-guy image (ahem, Steven Seagal). Chan already had a cartoon version of himself on Saturday morning TV, and in his recent cinematic adventures he's been playing live-action characters that can only be described as to some degree cartoonish. But not necessarily cartoonish in a bad way.
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.