Led by the dynamic tandem of Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig, Spy is a funny and sleek spoof and addition to the espionage movie sub-genre.

Some combinations just click: Peanut-butter and jelly; Batman and Robin; Sonny and Cher (ok, skip that one). Add Melissa McCarthy and writer/director Paul Fieg to the list. As evident in their work on Bridesmaids (which secured McCarthy an Oscar nomination) and The Heat (not scripted by Feig yet solid never the less), the tandem simply compliment one another’s talents to the point where it’s hard to think of a better actor/director comedy duo working today.

And so it is proved again in Spy, an action comedy set in the high tech, high risk world of espionage that is mostly the domain of chiselled men (Mission Impossible, Bourne series, and of course James Bond), yet just as effective when under the domain of the full figured McCarthy, proving that size isn’t everything (especially when it comes to saving the world).

McCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a deskbound CIA analyst who is thrust onto the field when the identities of “The Company’s” best agents (Jude Law, Jason Statham) fall into the hands of international arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), who is set to purchase a nuclear warhead and “rule the world!”.

Although the synopsis sounds rather conventional, Fieg’s script is a well-honed and entertaining piece of work that is sharp in its parody of the genre, and even sharper with its comes to character.

McCarthy is fantastic as Cooper, handling the action scenes with the same energetic zeal as her comedy: perfectly timed and hitting its mark over and over. After coming off a career worst turn in Tammy (albeit a movie that made huge money at the box-office), McCarthy has found her stride again no doubt due to Feig’s influence, resulting in a turn filled with energy and spirit, yet thankfully does not reach the boisterous heights that McCarthy confuses for comedy gold when left to her own devices.

Great too is the space McCarthy provides for a supporting cast of fine talent to shine. Rose Byrne (who was a standout in Feig’s Bridesmaids) hilariously combines a glamorous air with a straight shooting, filthy mouth, dispensing put downs that are as mean as they are funny; and Jude Law does his best audition for James Bond while also doing his best spoof of James Bond.

Yet the standout is Jason Statham. Parodying his hard-man action hero persona and swearing like a champ with a bullseye deadpan delivery, Statham is just as potent at racking up laughs as he is knocking out a group of thugs.

It is no big secret that the comedy in film has been at its lowest for some time now, with the genre thriving more in the land of TV. Makes sense then that Feig- who made his bones in TV with Arrested Development and The Office – play the part of superhero, saving we the audience one laugh at a time. Spy is the latest example of his heroics in action. With McCarthy playing Robin to his Batman, they are a dynamic duo that can’t be beat.