THE STORY – When Sophie’s high school choir is selected for an Italian tour culminating in a performance for the Pope in Vatican City, JJ 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.
THE CAST – Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Schaal, Flula Borg, Craig Robinson, Billy Barratt, Taeho K, Anna Faris & Ken Jeong
THE TEAM – Pete Segal (Director/Writer), Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeberl (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 111 Minutes
If you have a school field trip to Rome, know that your life may change in more ways than none. For example, junior high schooler Lizzie McGuire had all her superstar dreams come true when she fell for an Italian pop star, met another singer who looked just like her, and sang from the heart in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie.“ But unlike that joyous trip, “My Spy The Eternal City“ takes us down a complicated and dark journey that no teenager would want to navigate. Serving as the sequel to 2020’s mediocre “My Spy,“ this iteration brings back much of the original cast, including Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman. Still, it does little to elevate itself from its predecessor. However, its supporting players offer necessary comedic relief when things get a little too serious and a bit overly complicated for a children’s movie.
Picking up a few years after “My Spy,“ CIA operative JJ (Bautista) is enjoying a quiet home life with his 14-year-old stepdaughter Sophie (Coleman). Their relationship has changed over the years, especially now that Sophie is a teenager and is more interested in boys than wanting to train for combat and become a spy like she once was. JJ, however, isn’t ready to let her go or acknowledge that she’s changing. He’s also changed quite a bit himself, trading in his scary CIA fieldwork for a desk job and acquiring a passion for baking.
But when Sophie’s high school choir is selected to perform for the Pope in Vatican City, it gives them both the opportunity of a lifetime: For her, to hopefully ask her crush Ryan (Billy Barratt) out; for JJ, to bond with his stepdaughter and hopefully not embarrass her every step of the way. However, it ends up being the trip from hell when JJ constantly messes up under Vice Principal Nancy’s (Anna Faris) watchful eyes. To make matters worse, Sophie’s best friend, Collin (Taeho K), who is also the son of CIA boss David (Ken Jeong), is abducted and gets involved in a terrorist plot. It’s now up to JJ, Sophie, and their pals to save the world.
A kid saving the day sounds like the makings of a very solid, if not overly familiar, children’s movie. But “My Spy The Eternal City“ ends up being too complicated and excessively serious for any child to care that much about. In a nutshell, JJ, David, and their colleagues Bobbi (Kristen Schaal) and Connelly (Craig Robinson) are tracking down data that would help them pinpoint missing nuclear weapons, but of course, their plans get foiled when a hard drive is stolen. It then leads JJ, Sophie, David, and Bobbi on a convoluted cat-and-mouse chase that requires them to hack into a system at one location, go to another location for a van, come face-to-face with a surprise villain reveal, and whatever else happens that ultimately no one is paying much attention to. So many things happen to them that someone might ask themselves, “Wait, why are they doing this again? Why are they here?“ And ultimately, it’s not all exciting to watch. However, there is a very funny driving scene, led by Coleman, that manages to at least stand out.
What is more entertaining to watch is Sophie and her classmates acting like crazy teens during the trip, especially when it comes to evading JJ, and it’s all thanks to Coleman’s mature take on her maturing character. She brings lots of charm and quick wit to the screen, and it’s fun to see her use her combat and stealth training for the purpose of getting gelato with her crush. On the other hand, Bautista is a bit of a drag and seems entirely exhausted in this film. He barely adds any life or energy into his character or line deliveries. Now, granted, this film is quite a step down from the “Dune“ or “Knives Out” franchises, so Bautista might not want to put in the effort. Not to mention, his character has lost his edge now that he’s out of the field, so maybe he’s playing it more toned down this time around. Either way, it makes him stand out as the weakest link in the cast. Thankfully, supporting players Robinson, Jeong, and Schall add plenty of comedic relief to break up these weird moments. Faris is a comedic star, but she’s underutilized in this film – although it is fun to watch her take on a different type of character (and one who looks like part of “The Matrix“ gang).
If “My Spy The Eternal City“ was about gelato, beautiful Italian landscapes, and kids being kids, it would have been a charming, family-friendly movie. Instead, it’s an unnecessarily complex and dramatic spy movie that, at the end of the day, no one is that invested in. It also doesn’t entirely succeed in being a great comedy when lots of running gags are more annoying than funny, but certain moments and supporting actors do elicit a chuckle or two. Let’s just hope this is the end of the “My Spy“ series because its leading man, and the audience, doesn’t have the energy for it anymore.
