Let's be realistic.

An absolute waste of money

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

If you don't live this film, shame on you. Two of the greats at the height of their powers

The year after the film was released I saw the movie and was not impressed. Thirty-two years later it still comes across as stilted, poorly acted and poorly directed. On paper the script must have looked good but it doesn't translate well to the screen for which I blame the director for just letting the actors walk through their lines or in the case of Chevy Chase in the exam scene overdo it. There were a few good lines but Chevy Chase didn't deliver any of them that made me laugh. Ackroyd was acceptable as the straight man so although I'd like to blame CC for the failure to amuse I reckon Landis deserves the blame. Take the stilted scenes with Davison and other actors > there is very little to say for them. The script had potential - maybe if Belushi had been in the film rather than Chase, as intended, it would have worked better.

As the title implies, "Spies Like Us" (1985) is a globe-trotting spy comedy with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. There's a host of peripheral stars, like William Prince and the always excellent Bernie Casey, not to mention a cameo by none other than Bob Hope.This is a fun movie and it's great to see Chase and Aykroyd when they were so young, the latter with a quintessential 80's haircut. The best highlights are the awesome globe-spanning locations and the two female co-stars, Donna Dixon and Vanessa Angel, but not enough is done with 'em. The film's just not funny enough and it's hard to believe the producers went to such great expense, but failed to hire writers who knew how to do comedy. We're left with a fun, but throwaway flick; even Hope's cameo is a waste of celluloid. The film runs 102 minutes and was shot in Norway, Morocco, California and England. GRADE: C

I had never seen this movie, which came out the same year as the landmark "Back to the Future", but found it now on a DVD from the library, along with the 3 Austin Powers movies.The story is told in a style which reminds me of movies like "Airplane" and "Austin Powers", a parody of spy and action movies made only for comic relief. While I enjoyed much of it, overall it comes across as very stale today.Chevy Chase is Emmett Fitz-Hume and Dan Aykroyd is Austin Millbarge. Both are government employees, and quite different personalities. They only meet when they are taking a test for a possible promotion, and each is chosen to work with the other in a two man spy team with an assignment in Russia.The ruse here is this, they are chosen to be the incompetent, decoy team to allow the real spy team to work undetected. And for the most part they are incompetent. However in the end they are the ones who save the day, and avoid all-out global nuclear war.SPOILERS: In the snowy wilderness of Russia they come upon a nuclear ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) carrying a nuclear warhead. They are fooled into believing they are to capture and disarm it, but in fact a rogue general back in the states wants to send it to the USA, in a misguided attempt to revive fervor in nuclear defense. As the missile is headed for New York, Millbarge manages to figure out a way to divert it, and all is saved. Plus he gets the pretty girl.