by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
Dave Bautista has already checked off “big guy in little kid action movie” with the first installment of the My Spy franchise. The initial outing of Bautista’s JJ teaming with Chloe Coleman’s Sophie received mixed reviews, with the biggest criticism being that it didn’t add anything new to the genre. Because of the middling response, this sequel falls into the category of, “But why?” Both leads have shown talent in other films, so it’s not too upsetting to see if another chapter can offer more than a paint-by-numbers story. And while My Spy: The Eternal City slightly improves on the story, I still have some notes.
We quickly catch up with our new favorite spy family, finding Sophie as a full-fledged teenager annoyed by her spy stepfather, JJ. This already feels disingenuous, as Sophie was head-over-heels for JJ as soon as she met him. Sophie had proved she was not your average nine-year-old, so seeing her fall into stereotypical teenage behavior is off-putting. The clunky exposition tries to make us believe that she is shy and awkward, but it doesn’t mesh with the confident and street smart girl we met in the first film.
After the quick “here’s where we are now” section of the movie, we begin moving the plot along. The characters go to Italy, and while the reasoning for it feels contrived at first, it is actually explained pretty well later on. JJ is way out of his element as a chaperone to a large number of teenagers, but insists he doesn’t need any help. Ken Jeong’s David Kim is much more involved in the story, which leads to a bit of oversaturation in characters on this mission. This veers into dangerous buddy cop territory when it already had that dynamic with JJ and Sophie.
When the characters aren’t delivering exposition, they’re funny. I really want to like Bautista as an actor, but I feel some of his lines are clunky. However, I find this movie funnier than the first one, and the story is a bit more interesting too. The subplot of Kim, JJ, and Bobbi (Kristen Schaal) going rogue is mentioned but then dropped. I thought they might be on the run, but we see them working with Italian authorities, so the heroes being considered rogue doesn’t actually lead to much.
This film struggles to balance its tone, and the love triangle subplot between Sophie, her best friend, Collin (Taeho K), and her love interest, Ryan (Billy Barratt). This whole plot line falls flat, because Collin and Ryan lack any real charm. They are just present in Sophie’s life, but we don’t gain anything as an audience by their presence. It’s not until the end that Collin shows potential, but at a two-hour run time (longer than the first by 10 minutes), something had to be cut. If I had a go at a rewrite, I’d eliminate the “Rogue Nation” subplot and focus on making Collin a viable romantic interest for Sophie.
Overall, My Spy: The Eternal City is an improvement over the first movie, but only because the groundwork was already laid. There’s less to explain, since we already know that JJ and Sophie had a loving relationship, so now we can focus on making these characters shine with their banter. When the characters are not trying to set up the story, they are fun to watch! The action isn’t mind-blowing, but it works; the story isn’t memorable, but it leaves you with a smile on your face.
Rating: Liked It
My Spy: The Eternal City is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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