MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY (AMAZON PRIME) (2024)

SYNOPSIS: The eagerly awaited follow-up to 2020’s action comedy, My Spy The Eternal City reunites a beloved cast led by Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman in a feel-good family adventure set in some of Europe’s most storied destinations. When Sophie’s (Coleman) high school choir is selected for an Italian tour culminating in a performance for the Pope in Vatican City, JJ (Bautista) sees this as an opportunity to bond with his new stepdaughter, so he volunteers to help chaperone the group through the Venetian canals, across Florence’s renowned bridges and into Rome’s most historic sites. Instead he finds that he and Sophie have become unwitting pawns in a terrorist plot that could end the world as we know it. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman and director Peter Segal returns in My Spy: The Eternal City, the unnecessary follow up to the 2020 original.

Since the events of the last movie, JJ (Bautista) has married the mother of Sophie (Coleman) and has officially stepped into the shoes of a stepdad. But Sophie has grown from a precocious ten year old to a fourteen year old teenager. While JJ prefers to work as a backend, 9 to 5 agent, remotely oversee missions in the CIA office, Sophie wants her freedom not working out in the dojo or aim to be a spy anymore.

And when Sophie’s school choir is selected to perform at the G7 summit in Italy, JJ volunteers to help chaperone not knowing a terrorist plot is unfolding. The busy plotting involves a nuclear bomb waiting to be detonated in the Vatican and the son of the head of CIA convert operations, David (Ken Jeong) being kidnapped. Obviously all the busy shenanigans isn’t going to make things more interesting than it is.

The first half of The Eternal City feels like a prolonged showcase of family dynamics that worked better in the original than here. Sophie is more into crushing on boys and ignoring the presence of her BFF, Collin (Taeho K) who secretly pins for her and the antics of JJ being the overprotective stepdad. Honestly, all the drama proves to be a drag, not a single charm or comedy is spotted even if the chemistry between Bautista and Coleman is still there.

CIA techie Bobbi (Kristen Schaal) is also back and Ken Jeong has a bigger part in the sequel. Unfortunately none of the jokes and gags ever land despite the efforts of Segal, writers Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber. Probably the only funny gag in the nearly two hour movie is the attack birds sequence which at least result in a chuckle or two.

Because the movie can’t decide if JJ is a competent action hero or a clumsy rusty agent, Bautista is often thrown into some absurd situations opposite resident German bad guy, Crane (Flula Borg). As you know, there’s always Sophie to save the day, Kim Possible style. And who can forget the movie’s main antagonist, Nancy played by Anna Faris. In actual fact, no one can remember exactly what happened and what is Nancy’s motive in blowing up half the continent.

My Spy: The Eternal City fares like a cheap Mission Impossible instalment which features a handful of Italy’s famous places, landmarks and a few clumsily shot action scenes. The comedy is painful and the long running time doesn’t help either. We hope there isn’t a three.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee