Espionage action and laughs aplenty in Spy

“We need someone to find the bomb without being detected but it can’t be any of you. We need someone invisible...”

Action comedy SPY sees the CIA in a bit of sticky situation. The Agency must track down a rogue nuclear weapon and their top agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law) has accidently killed baddie Tihomir Boyanov (Raad Rawi) who was the only person in the world who knew where it is...

To make matters worse the identities of Fine and all the top CIA agents have been blown by Boyanov’s daughter, Rayna (Rose Byrne) and she just might be the last chance to find the nuke.

This is the James Bond-esque plot for SPY but as well as ramping up some slick espionage thrills, director Paul ‘Bridesmaids’ Feig blows the doors off with a riot of laughs that make this a real feel-good flick.

Key to the laughs is leading lady Melissa McCarthy who lets rip as unassuming analyst Susan Cooper who is give her big chance to go undercover to attempt to find Rayna, locate the nuclear weapon and save the day.

Susan might not look fit enough for field action, and indeed her unflattering undercover identities such as cat loving spinster don’t help – but she’s actually a loaded weapon who will do anything to crack the mission.

Not letting a lack of field experience or having a highly stung fellow analyst Nancy (Miranda Hart) as a best friend, hold her back, Cooper cracks skulls and funnies in a blur of effective big screen mayhem.

They are supported along the way by a superb cast that includes a brilliantly sleazy Peter Serafinowicz as Aldo and an OTT scene-stealing Jason Statham as indestructible and foul-mouthed Agent Rick Ford.

The action is crunching and apes Bond in a Kingsman: The Secret Service kinda way, but the real joy here are the funnies which will have you laughing out loud until you can’t breathe or think straight.

Feig knows how to get the best out of McCarthy and she in turn delivers over and above – even if you weren’t a fan up to now, she owns this film and you’ll be a hard-nosed scrooge indeed to not be amused here.

Sure it’s sweary and at times the jokes will offend, but SPY is also genuinely funny and exciting.

This is a spy-em-up treat for all those who have ever wanted to see Miss Moneypenny outshine Bond himself.