Oh dear, Jackie. It's fair to say that the martial arts superstar's films have been of...shall we say variable? quality ever since he made it big in America in the late '90s, but THE SPY NEXT DOOR has to be one of his worst yet. It says something when you watch a film that makes the previous middling likes of THE MEDALLION look good.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR is a children's comedy that stars Jackie as an ordinary guy who just happens to be a spy. The plot sees him housesitting a trio of children, one of whom (the eldest) just happens to be one of the most obnoxious little brats I've ever seen grace a movie screen. You can just imagine the kind of lame, unoriginal and unbelievable comedy that follows on from there.

Now, like most people, I follow Jackie's films for his action scenes. They're barely to be seen in THE SPY NEXT DOOR, which suffers from a definite paucity of creative energy. The few fight scenes we're treated to are silly, half hearted and utilise way too much in the way of wirework. The climactic fight scene isn't so bad, but the whole film needed to be like that to make a difference. As it stands, it's too little, too late.

The cast are barely worth mentioning, not least the almost racist portrayal of the Russian villains or Amber Valletta as Jackie's utterly unsympathetic love interest (can you imagine a more unlikely couple?). As for Jackie, his glory days seem to be long in the past here, and it seems sad when one of his big "stunts" requires him to walk over a kitchen stool (and I'll swear they even used wirework for that insignificant step). Maybe I'll just go back and rewatch the ending of DRUNKEN MASTER 2 to remind myself of Jackie in his prime...

This is a good family film with no killing or blood, but a lot of 3 Stooges type violence. Jackie Chan plays the neighbor who is also a spy. He is dating a woman who thinks he is a pen salesman. Her three kids don't like him. Because of that she can't consider him for a long term relationship. When mom, played by Amber Valletta (a nice cross between Uma and Cameron Diaz) has to leave town, Jackie Chan volunteers to babysit so the kids will get to accept him. Like all similar movies (Uncle Buck, The Pacifier) the kids torment their sitter. Chan, like Candy, uses his skills to overcome them and win their love. The director did a good job on the child actors. The movie is a little hokey at times, but it is still a fun film. It has a happy heart warming ending.

I'm not about to contradict anyone who says that 'The Spy Next Door' is a bad movie but I cannot say that I didn't enjoy it. From the moment that Bob and Gillian wake up with those serene smiles on their faces (Gillian had been woken up by a squealing pig and screeching kids) you know what you're in for and the movie certainly doesn't disappoint, in that it does exactly what you expect and follows every cliché there is religiously. For me this is what actually allowed me to enjoy it, the movie seemed to tell me, 'I am a bad movie, don't try to take me seriously just laugh at every possible opportunity! I promise you I'm not harmful and I will be over before the stupidity gets the better of your suspended disbelief.'

The film rests on Jackie Chan's shoulders and there's no denying that he is a very charismatic man, very good with physical comedy and at 55 and after all those injuries, still impressively fit. I can't say the same for the kids, the youngest one (Alina Foley) is cute but the other two were a bit annoying although this may be the script's fault. What can I say about the villains; Creel wore red lipstick and black from head to toe and just in case we missed she was the villain she also wore a frozen sardonic smile too, the Russian guys wore heavy overcoats and beards and all of them spoke in this hilarious accent...I enjoyed every bit of it. In fact I think the parts with the villains were my favourite.

I think the movie did what it set out to do and entertained me, I actually burst out laughing many times. One of which was when Billy Ray Cyrus's faced popped onto the screen, don't judge me I didn't know he was in the movie and the image took me by surprise!