Anacleto: Agente secreto

Unknown spy comedy gem, that is so charming and witty. Quite oriignal plot turns as well. Great characters. Terrific dialogues. Anything I could wish for in a spy comedy. With a Spanish touch. Yes, the Spanish can make great spy comedies, they really can!

The story: a looser, a couch potato gets dumped by his girlfriend. He begs her to stay, but she wants a boyfriend who is active and who does thrilling things with her. Little did she know her boyfriend's father is a real spy and when the father returns home all hell breaks loose, with lots of chases, break ins, shootouts and hilarious mix ups.

Highly recommended watch. So charming and witty!

The movie is an adaptation of an old Spanish comic which main character is Anacleto, a parody of James Bond. This does not mean that you have to know the comic to understand the movie, it is funny anyway. The story begins when Anacleto's main enemy Vazquez is released from prison. Vazquez tells Anacleto that he knows about his son and he is going to kill them both. Anacleto is going to have to protect his son and friends and try to finish Vazquez criminal activities. Spanish cinema is full of comedies and not all of them are really good but this one is probably the best of the last couple of years, i recommend it to everyone.

This should be the Spanish version of the most known spy in the world, the British James Bond. But in this case the film is focused on adapting the comic, which was before. Anacleto was a well known Spanish character created by Manuel Vázquez, a Spanish comic writer as important as Stan Lee would be in the United States, but less fantastic and much more ironic with the reality of his times.

It has taken a long time at the Spanish industry to give a good version of the comic, and looking more for a good movie than to a translation from the comic to the big screen, the movie gets many licenses to tell the story of this spy. But it has its original humour, and mixes perfectly humour with action, using a good strategy by presenting an old agent and his natural son/substitute. Both characters are played by two representative Spanish actors: Imanol Arias, best known by his 17 seasons TV series "Cuéntame cómo pasó", some kind of drama based on the Spanish history before and after Franco's death, and Quim Gutiérrez, part of a new generation of actors who are taking the lead to the old stars. Both have a perfect chemistry at the screen, giving the right doses of comic situations and action, showing an important effort to be at the level of the big budget American films, and giving us a funny film which who knows, maybe would become a franchise.

This action comedy set in the spying world comes with an unfortunate handicap right from the start, that being that the spy spoof genre has been done to death for decades, from the Matt Helm movies to the Austin Power series. Actually, I will admit that while most of the gags in the movie (as well as some plot turns) are tired and familiar, there were some giggles here and there, as well as some genuine laughs, my favorite scene being the breakfast sequence. Though the comedy that does work is somewhat hampered by some moments of surprisingly harsh violence. But even though the movie is not as funny as you probably want it to me, it does remain surprisingly watchable. It does move from scene to scene at a quick pace, so it doesn't become boring. And the Spanish cast is very game and likable, giving the movie a buoyant spirit that gives it some spark. Obviously this is not the greatest comedy ever made, but if you are in an undemanding mood and are curious to see an example of modern day populist Spanish cinema, this is a pleasant time waster.

A very silly Spanish comedy, however fun and captivating, beat jokes, little innovative script, but calling the characters and humor strips at the right time does not make it tiring, nor that boring slapstick... Fun, captivating and even cute...