My Spy The Eternal City Movie Review: Remember My Spy? Among the many direct-to-streaming releases that have dropped on various platforms, you might recall this action-comedy starring Dave Bautista. However, I struggled to remember the details of the first film, which came out in 2020. Perhaps it's my memory fading thanks to my increasing age, or perhaps it says something about the content being pushed directly to platforms like Prime Video or Netflix. Now, four years later, we have its sequel, My Spy: The Eternal City. While it is as serviceable as they come, ask me two days later, and I might not be able to recall a single scene from the movie. Damn this old age for not being able to remember average stuff! Dave Bautista Is in Awe of His My Spy Co-Star Chloe Coleman, Says ‘You Can’t Learn What She Does; It’s Instinctual’.

Sophie (Chloe Coleman) is now a teenager. In an attempt to be a responsible stepfather, JJ (Dave Bautista) has retired from active fieldwork in the CIA and is now more of an analyst. His overprotective nature and obsession with training Sophie to be a field agent annoys her, as she is more interested in pursuing her hormonal instincts, such as asking out her school's most popular boy, Ryan (Billy Barratt), while ignoring her best friend Collin (Taeho K)'s feelings for her.

Watch the Trailer of 'My Spy: The Eternal City':

When her school choir is selected as one of five participants in an international choir contest in Italy, JJ agrees to chaperone the kids. While Sophie wants to further her advances with Ryan and JJ wants to be a supportive guardian, both are inadvertently drawn back into the spy world when Collin, the son of JJ's boss David (Ken Jeong), gets kidnapped.

'My Spy: The Eternal City' Movie Review - As Generic As It Gets

My Spy: The Eternal City delivers exactly what it promises—a generic spy action-comedy with globe-trotting adventures and clichéd world-threatening villains. The plot is predictable, and you can easily anticipate where each storyline will end. If JJ and Sophie struggle to find common ground amid her teen angst, you know they will come to respect each other by the end of the mission. Until the next film, where they might find some other reason for argument.

A Still From My Spy The Eternal City

If Sophie is torn between her infatuation with the school jock and her reliance on her best friend, you can predict who she will share her first kiss with. If the protagonists are forced into a mission of their own, you can surmise that they will be seen as going rogue by their own organisation (though it hardly adds tension to the plot).

A Still From My Spy The Eternal City

If the main events are set in Italy, you can bet the climax will be in Vatican City, where the Americans leave the whole place into a mess with a hazily edited chase sequence. Predicting these clichés and seeing them come true can be a fun game in itself. Not even the threat of a hundred nukes ready to bomb the entire Earth adds any real tension, as you can predict the narrative's next turn. Knock at the Cabin Movie Review: Dave Bautista, M Night Shyamalan’s Home-Invasion Thriller Feels Like a Series of Missed Opportunities.

'My Spy: The Eternal City' Movie Review - Some Positives

To give credit where it's due, I wasn't bored watching My Spy: The Eternal City, it's only harder to retain any of it in your senses. Dave Bautista (who feels stiff in the comedic portions) and Chloe Coleman share a warm chemistry, with Coleman easily being the MVP, impressing even in the fight scenes. Ken Jeong and Kristen Schaal are thankfully restrained.

A Still From My Spy The Eternal City

There is a gem of an idea where Sophie uses spy tactics to counteract JJ's attempts to find some alone time with Ryan, but it is sidelined when the duo gets dragged into the whole nuclear deal. The humour works sporadically; at times, it feels like it belongs in a spoof movie, and the timing is never quite right, like in the middle of a hostage situation, the villains talk about annoying TV updates. Then you ask, why are we not taking anything seriously?

'My Spy: The Eternal City' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

My Spy: The Eternal City is rife with clichés, but for those looking for a fluffy, light-hearted and familiar adventure, it delivers just that and nothing beyond. Once you are done, you might have to recollect very hard about what you saw when you think of the film a week later. That is, if you do even want to remember it. My Spy: The Eternal City is streaming on Prime Video on July 18.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2024 07:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).