It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Admirable film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I don't recollect much of this film simply because Leslie Neilson has been in some much better efforts than this- airplane, the police squad and the naked gun series to name just a few. Spy Hard may have tried to cash in on Leslie's name but the fact that I cannot remember anything about this movie says everything. To be fair I am rating it a 4 meaning there has to be some redemption factor, probably a few scenes. I will watch it again but I feel that you can give this one a pass if you have better comedy films around.

Promiscuous secret agent Leslie Nielsen (as Dick Steele) comes out of retirement and assumes his spy identity as "WD-40" to battle old enemy Andy Griffith (as Rancor), made-up to look like Leonid Brezhnev and aiming to take over the entire free world. Sexy and snuggly-clothed Nicollette Sheridan (as Veronique Ukrinsky) is Dick's arousing co-spy, and accented John Ales (as Kabul) is a reliable partner. "Weird Al" Yankovic gets things of to a good start with a "Goldfinger" licking good title song. Familiar faces and comic bits keep it fun, through most of the running time.****** Spy Hard (5/24/96) Rick Friedberg ~ Leslie Nielsen, Nicollette Sheridan, John Ales, Andy Griffith

Written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer(talentless hacks as far as I am concerned) and directed by Rick Friedberg, even with the major flaws Spy Hard is not a bad movie. I will admit I was expecting it to be a lot worse, you see Friedberg and Seltzer directed Disaster Movie and Epic Movie which are two of the worst movies ever made, Meet the Spartans which fares little better and Date Movie and Vampires Suck while lame was the best of the lot(I have to re watch the Scary Movie flicks). So I was expecting something unwatchable.So I was surprised at how moderately entertaining Spy Hard was. It does have its problems I agree. The story is predictable and rather rushed in the pace not helped by its scant length. The direction is also not the best, sometimes it is efficient but at other times it is patchy. But the worst part of Spy Hard is the juvenile and often unfunny dialogue which shows Friedberg and Seltzer's weaknesses for writing as well as directing.That said, despite the bad dialogue at times, there are some funny sight gags and the references to the spy genre weren't too obvious and fun to spot. The film doesn't look like direct-to-video fodder either, which is a good thing. The editing mayn't be the best, but when it comes to the sets, costumes, gadgetry and some of the photography it is pretty spot on. The soundtrack is reminiscent in style to a James Bond outing such as For Your Eyes Only, and while I am not a fan of that particular score the music was fun to listen to here and I liked its style. The acting compared to any of the films Friedberg and Seltzer directed is pretty good, Leslie Nielson is great when funny and he is rather here with a fun enough character. This performance is far from his best such as Airplane and Naked Gun, but at least he didn't embarrass himself as badly as he did when he did 2001:A Space Travesty. Charles Durning and Nicolette Sheridan are decent too and there are some interesting cameos from Robert Culp and Fabio.Overall, surprisingly watchable compared to the clap-trap I was expecting. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this originally on cable and thought, given its limited aspirations, it wasn't that bad. Thirteen years later I still feel that way--25% is actually funny as hell, which is 24% more than most comedies of the last thirteen years. Originally I was most taken by Harden, then unknown. Who knew she'd win an Oscar a few years later? Anyway, the comedy in this film is hit and miss but sometimes very clever, such as a flashback to an encounter just seconds earlier. Sure, the pop culture references of '96 are quite dated now, and the whole film ends up as eminently disposable, but it >does< deliver some solid laughs.