I SPY

Murphy made his big-screen debut in arguably the best buddy action comedy ever, ”48 HRS.” Twenty years later, he’s stuck in one of the worst, a weak retread of the ’60s TV show. The original coasted on the chemistry between Bill Cosby and Robert Culp, but Murphy and Wilson are perpetually drenched in flop sweat as a boxing champ and a secret agent on a mission to retrieve a stolen invisible jet from a ruthless arms dealer (Malcolm McDowell, on megalomaniacal autopilot). Apparently, the film’s four credited writers decided to keep the jokes undercover, too.

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