My Spy — one of Prime Video's pandemic hidden gems — has gotten a sequel with Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman back in action. My Spy the Eternal City brings the band together for an international adventure.
Anyone who found the first movie watered down will be disappointed to learn the sequel doubles down on the PG-13 rating (not without its attempts to be edgy). My Spy 2 ups the ante with its stakes and a CGI Vatican but ultimately fails its mission. Bautista and Coleman make for a fun duo, but the movie is not action-packed enough to be Jason Bourne or as funny as Spy.
Even the international setting is not taken full advantage of. The young cast also fails to endear themselves to viewers as the cast of Spider-Man: Far from Home did, which is more similar to My Spy 2 than you would think.
The Eternal City is everything wrong with typical Hollywood sequels. It feels passionless and more like Prime Video content than a movie.
My Spy the Eternal City review
Sophie (Coleman), now a teenager, has other worries than being a secret agent like her step-father JJ (Dave Bautista). Instead of kicking mannequins in the gym, she wants to be kissing boys by the bleachers. So, when Sophie goes on a school trip to Italy, JJ volunteers as a chaperone.
As she insists, Sophie just wants to have “fun” sans JJ's supervision and fake White Claws. All of this is an effort to make a move on jock and standout choir singer Ryan (Billy Barratt). Of course, JJ keeps getting in the way.
Meanwhile, JJ has taken a step down from My Spy. Long gone are the days of him serving as a field agent. He is now getting comfortable with a life of button-downs and baking scones. He wants to be a dad as Sophie's teenage years fly by.
One of the kids gets captured, so JJ has to jump back into action. My Spy 2 then becomes a globe-trotting adventure through the Eternal City.
Janky action
Why don't movies look like movies anymore?
It is a fair question that even the latest Captain America 4 trailer failed to answer. Too many blockbusters resort to shoddy CGI and over-stuffed set pieces. My Spy 2 falls into a similar trap.
While it was fun to see Bautista hit a Batista Bomb — bringing this 2000s kid back to the Ruthless Aggression era — most of My Spy 2's action falls flat. Any hand-to-hand combat is fine, but it gets worse the bigger it gets. The visuals are just tough to stomach.
Obviously, the Eternal City was not going to be able to film in the Vatican. But the CGI workaround the crew found does the movie no favors.
Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman make a good duo
Since making his big-screen debut, Dave Bautista has become one of the best WWE stars-turned-actors. His brief role in Blade Runner 2049 first proved this before his roles in Dune and Knock at the Cabin.
He clearly cares about his work and is eager to showcase his versatility, and his role in My Spy helped expand his range. Instead of playing the hulking heavy, Bautista gets to show his sensitive side as JJ. And to that end, both My Spy movies are effective.
In the sequel, he is now the parental figure to a teenager. That presents a whole new slew of challenges that could have been funny to see him navigate. Instead, the movie has more scenes with CGI birds than heartfelt ones with JJ and Sophie.
He cannot fully escape his WWE past, though. As mentioned, he hits a vaunted Batista Bomb on someone, and Ken Jeong screams, “Acknowledge Me” to his kid, a nod to the Head of the Table, Roman Reigns.
As for Coleman, the bit was admittedly more funny and adorable when she was younger. The sass that she had is lost in exchange for teenage angst and awkwardness. Father Time is invincible, and My Spy 2 may have been better if it was made sooner to fill in the blanks between these two versions of Sophie.
My Spy 2 is also hurt by Parisa Fitz-Henley's lack of screen time. She plays Sophie's mother and JJ's love interest, Kate. In the sequel, she is on a work trip and is only present in one or two scenes (perhaps she saw the writing on the wall).
Lack of laughs
The first My Spy had laughs and heart. Whether it was the dodgeball scene or Bautista's inability to dance, the movie had its moments. The sequel, however, largely fails in this category.
From awkward anatomy jokes to a random F-bomb, My Spy 2 lacks the laughs its cast is more than capable of delivering. Kristen Schaal, Ken Jeong, Anna Faris, and Craig Robinson are known for being funny, but they aren't here.
There is an awkward kiss that shows the movie's identity crisis. While both My Spy movies would greatly benefit from an R-rating, the sequel attempts to have edgier moments. These include the aforementioned anatomy joke and a make-out session between two characters.
It is an admirable attempt, but it begs the question of who this movie is for. The misplaced F-bomb similarly begs the question. I'm not sure any teens or parents watching would find these moments funny.
Writers Peter Segal and the duo of Jon and Erich Hoeber are older than most of the characters they are writing, which hampers the movie. Their lack of knowledge of how Gen Z interact, or even flirt, is clear.
Not that the romance has much emphasis, anyway. In My Spy 2, Sophie desperately wants to win over Ryan. She goes from a complete unknown to the star choir singer to sneaking out of their hotel room on the trip in a matter of seconds.
Should you watch My Spy 2?
My Spy the Eternal City is an unfortunate case of an unnecessary sequel that Hollywood has churned out. Never mind that the sequel does not have any of the laughs or heartfelt moments that its predecessor did.
Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman do their best to carry the movie. Their chemistry remains on point despite the movie mostly putting them at odds.
Ultimately, My Spy 2 is the shlock that Hollywood resorts to in lieu of originality. It is relatively inoffensive, despite how cheap it looks and feels, but will quickly fall into the streaming void on Prime Video.
Grade: C-
My Spy the Eternal City will be released on Prime Video on July 18.
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