Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
The evil Gen. Rancor has his sights set on world domination, and only one man can stop him: Dick Steele, also known as Agent WD-40. Rancor needs to obtain a computer circuit for the missile that he is planning to fire, so Steele teams up with Veronique Ukrinsky, a KGB agent whose father designed the chip. Together they try to locate the evil mastermind's headquarters, where Veronique's father and several other hostages are being held.
Spy Hard is a mid-90s Leslie Nielsen spoof that largely recycles the Naked Gun formula applied to James Bond tropes. The plot is purely functional scaffolding for gags with no real tension or creativity. Nielsen is watchable but operating well below his Naked Gun peak, and the supporting cast is unremarkable. Cinematography is competent but utterly undistinguished parody-film work. Novelty is low — the Bond spoof genre was already well-trodden and this adds little distinctive voice or craft beyond stringing together recognizable references. The ending, including the infamous opening sequence gag, lands as a one-note joke stretched thin. Across the board this is a below-average effort that coasts on Nielsen's persona without the sharp writing that made his best work memorable.