The sequel to the family action-comedy 2020 hit My Spy, titled My Spy: The Eternal City, is ambitiously trying to replicate the magic of the first movie but fails to bring something new that can really thrill audiences. While it contains some nostalgic charm and is decently funny, the film suffers from a convoluted plot and a lack of inventiveness.
Plot and Characters
In My Spy: The Eternal City, Dave Bautista reprises the role of JJ, the CIA operative now juggling desk duty with family life. Taking off five years after the first film, JJ is married to Sophie’s mother and trying to cope with the changes in his teenage stepdaughter. It starts right after Sophie’s school choir goes on a trip to Italy, where JJ is reluctantly assigned to be one of the chaperones. What they don’t realize is that the trip overlaps with a search for a Soviet atomic suitcase nuke—a bomb hidden since the Cold War.
At the core of it is the emotional arc of JJ, and his tetchy relationship with Sophie, mortified by her smothering step-dad. Though the bond between the two worked great in the first movie, the sequel tries to get deeper; however, the teen angst feels totally incomplete and rushed. Predictability and clichés abound in the subplot involving Sophie’s crush on a classmate and JJ’s overbearing attitude.
Dave Bautista is a bit all over the shop playing JJ. Certainly, his comic timing and physicality are as sharp as ever, but there’s an entire lack of charm and energy to his performance that made the first so enjoyable. He doesn’t quite play a gruff but lovable spy as effectively, and his transition from action man to would-be stay-at-home dad comes across as jarring.
Now a teen, Chloe Coleman still holds her own opposite Bautista, and the chemistry between them is palpable, though the script doesn’t give her much to do beyond normal teenager stuff. Also in the supporting cast are Kristen Schaal as Bobbi and Ken Jeong as JJ’s CIA boss; while all of them have their moments—mostly in comedic relief—equally, they find themselves lost within that uneven tone, which really drags the movie down at times.
Plot and Script Issues
The plot—during a school trip, there is a high-stakes mission—lives at the edge of being overly complicated. Some of the action scenes are quite delightful, but none of them uses that light-hearted feeling the first did. In this attempt at giving audiences a family comedy with a hint of Bond-esque espionage, it became disjointed and lost its cohesion.
One of the more notable problems with the film is its reliance on familiar tropes, offering nothing new. That dynamic, which was among the strongest points of the first film between JJ and Sophie, feels a bit forced and less engaging. Its action and humor brace, inappropriate to leave the audience with a product that is more stale than anything innovative.
Final Thoughts
My Spy: The Eternal City can give a couple of laughs and hold a bit of charm from the original, but it fails to really engage audiences with anything new. This movie leans so much on predictable plotlines and underwhelming action that it makes for a very bad sequel. It has its moments of fun and light-heartedness, but they can’t do enough to elevate this movie beyond what is frankly a quite forgettable follow-up.
While the sequel has some value for the fans of the original My Spy to feel nostalgic, it completely lacks what made its predecessor outstanding.
