Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Former CIA spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau. And when one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula, Bob's longtime nemesis, a Russian terrorist, pays a visit to the family.
The Spy Next Door is a thoroughly formulaic family action-comedy that offers little beyond its familiar premise. The plot is a recycled mashup of spy-fish-out-of-water and babysitting tropes with no meaningful twists. Jackie Chan's physical comedy remains watchable but the material is beneath him, and the supporting cast (including the child actors) deliver pedestrian performances. Cinematography is functional at best — standard Hollywood family film coverage with nothing visually memorable. Novelty is low as the concept is essentially a retread of spy-meets-family comedies like The Pacifier and Agent Cody Banks. The ending resolves predictably with no surprises. A middling, forgettable film that hits exactly the marks you'd expect and nothing more.