Leave it to the French to beat us at our own bizarrely self-reflexive comic shenanigans. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a model of smart, often very silly, but never, ever stupid comic perfection.
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10/03/08
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OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2008)
74 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 32
Rotten:11
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Consensus: This clever spy spoof plays politics and movie conventions for laughs and features a great turn by Jen Dujardin as a smarmy-suave nouveau-Bond.
Theatrical Release: May 9, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: For those that like the spy action of the James Bond series shaken with a bit of humor, this French hit promises to be a tasty cocktail. OSS 117 is a popular French character who has appeared in hundreds of books, and OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES... [More]
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Reviews for OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Those looking for big laughs will leave disappointed. OSS 117 barely qualifies as comic.
09/12/08
A lame comedy with a few decent laughs and several yawn-spawning set pieces that don't really go anywhere.
08/21/08
Top Critic
Dujardin mantém um bom equilíbrio no tom que confere ao personagem, expondo sua tolice sem transformá-lo numa caricatura que comprometeria a narrativa ao impedir o espectador de acreditar que 117 é minimamente competente.
07/13/08
The first laugh-out-loud comedy to come out this year - as well as an embarrassing reminder that anything we can do, the French can do better.
07/06/08
Like its hero, the job may not be done with the most style and grace, but it definitely gets done.
06/27/08
The French-made movie travels familiar ground, with a nod as well to Airplane!, Top Secret and that whole genre. Even compared to them, it pushes things just a little -- not too far, but toward the loony.
06/27/08
Top Critic While this is not a laugh-out-loud film, it does revel in the quirks of the James Bond movies and makes fun of those conventions accordingly. But the film never settles into a groove that feels comfortably paced.
06/27/08
French cinema's reputation for subtlety goes up in smoke with OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies, a movie whose satire proves as lame as its clunky title.
06/26/08
Top Critic There aren't a lot of huge belly laughs in "OSS 117" (although the chicken fight had me in convulsions), but, consistently clever and amusing, it provokes a lot of grins.
06/11/08
This spy spoof could be described as the French Austin Powers, but that's not entirely accurate. This is a loving homage to spy films from the 50's and 60's.
06/04/08
A witty French espionage comedy that affectionately spoofs 1970s Eurospy thrillers.
05/23/08
Top Critic Every single second of O.S.S. 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is fun, and I'm talking about the opening credits, too.
05/23/08
After previous Bond-skewerers from Get Smart to The Naked Gun to Austin Powers, this feels like just another stretched-thin case of been there, spoofed that.
05/23/08
The packaging is perfect, and the end results beat A View To A Kill any day.
05/23/08
[Dujardin] has a goofy and endearing smile, and somehow manages to combine Sean Connery's suave appeal with the pomposity and incompetence of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau.
05/19/08
Given that this is a French film, there's an unmistakable edge to its satirical portrayal of postwar East-West relations.
05/16/08
Top CriticLatest News for OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
May 11, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
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February 21, 2008:
Kim Newman on... OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his twelfth column,... More...
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