My Spy: The Eternal City (2024) Movie Review: A Fun-Filled Family Adventure

My Spy: The Eternal City (2024): A Formulaic But Fun Family Adventure

Rating: 3.2/5 Stars

Look, I'm not going to pretend that "My Spy: The Eternal City" is reinventing the wheel when it comes to family action comedies. This Amazon Prime sequel to 2020's "My Spy" hits every beat you'd expect: the tough-guy agent learning to be vulnerable, the precocious kid who's smarter than all the adults, and enough slapstick comedy to keep younger viewers entertained while their parents check their phones.

But here's the thing - sometimes formulaic works, especially when you have Dave Bautista fully committed to playing a 300-pound teddy bear disguised as a deadly CIA operative. "The Eternal City" doesn't break new ground, but it delivers exactly what it promises: harmless family entertainment set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome and Venice.

Is it sophisticated? Absolutely not. Is it going to win any awards? Definitely not. Will it keep your kids entertained for 111 minutes while providing just enough laughs for adults to not feel completely brain-dead? Mission accomplished.

Back to Rome With Bigger Stakes

Four years after the events of the first film, JJ (now played by Chloe Coleman) is heading to Rome on a school choir trip. Her adoptive father figure, CIA operative Jake (Dave Bautista), tags along as a chaperone, partly because he's overprotective and partly because he's been assigned to monitor a potential terrorist threat in the area.

Naturally, what should be a simple surveillance mission turns into a full-blown international incident when JJ and her classmates get caught up in a plot involving stolen nuclear technology. The bad guys want it, the good guys need to stop them, and somehow a bunch of American teenagers end up right in the middle of it all.

The plot is about as subtle as a brick through a window, but director Peter Segal (returning from the first film) keeps things moving at a brisk pace. The film clocks in at just under two hours, which feels a bit long for this type of material, but the Italian locations are gorgeous enough to make the runtime more bearable.

Bautista Brings the Heart (And the Muscle)

Dave Bautista continues to be the best thing about this franchise. The former WWE champion has found his niche playing tough guys with soft centers, and Jake is essentially the perfect role for his particular skill set. He's physically imposing enough to be believable as a deadly operative, but he's also willing to look completely ridiculous when the script demands it.

Bautista's comedic timing has improved significantly since the first film. He's learned to lean into Jake's fish-out-of-water situations rather than fighting them, and his interactions with the teenage characters feel more natural this time around. When he's trying to blend in as a choir chaperone or struggling with Italian customs, Bautista finds the humor without making Jake the butt of the joke.

Chloe Coleman has grown into the role of JJ nicely. She was already impressive in the first film, but here she feels more confident and natural. The character could easily be an annoying know-it-all, but Coleman brings enough genuine warmth and vulnerability to make JJ likable rather than insufferable.

The relationship between Jake and JJ remains the emotional center of the franchise, and both actors have developed a believable father-daughter dynamic. Their scenes together work because they feel like they genuinely care about each other, not just because the script tells them to.

Kristen Schaal returns as Jake's CIA tech support, and she gets more screen time this go-around. Her neurotic energy plays well against Bautista's stoic presence, and she gets some of the film's better one-liners.

Rome and Venice as Eye Candy

One of the film's biggest assets is its locations. The production team clearly had a decent budget for filming in Italy, and they make the most of it. Rome's ancient architecture provides a stunning backdrop for chase sequences, while Venice's narrow canals and historic buildings create a unique setting for the film's climactic action scenes.

Oliver Wood's cinematography captures the beauty of these locations without making the film feel like a tourism commercial. The Italian settings feel integral to the story rather than just pretty backdrops, and the way the characters navigate these historic spaces adds an extra layer of visual interest to otherwise standard action sequences.

A gondola chase through Venice's canals is the film's visual highlight. While it's not the most original idea (we've seen boat chases in countless movies), the specific geography of Venice's waterways creates some genuinely exciting moments. The sequence is well-choreographed and takes advantage of the unique environment in ways that feel fresh.

The film also makes good use of Rome's tourist attractions. A sequence at the Colosseum manages to be both exciting and educational, while a chase through the Roman Forum provides some spectacular wide shots that show off the ancient architecture.

Teen Comedy That Mostly Works

The film's teenage ensemble gets significantly more screen time this go-around, and the results are mixed. Some of the young actors bring genuine charm to their roles, while others feel like they're reading from a "Generic Teen Character" handbook.

Chloe Coleman anchors the teen storylines well, but she's sometimes let down by dialogue that sounds like it was written by adults trying to remember how teenagers talk. The film works best when it lets the young actors improvise or react naturally to the absurd situations they find themselves in.

The choir trip setting provides some decent fish-out-of-water comedy as these American kids navigate Italian culture. A sequence where the teenagers try to order food in broken Italian gets some genuine laughs, and their reactions to being caught up in international espionage feel appropriately panicked.

The film does a decent job of giving each of the teen characters distinct personalities, even if they don't all get equal development. There's the anxious overachiever, the tech-savvy comic relief, and the mean girl who gets a redemption arc - it's paint-by-numbers character development, but the young actors make it work.

Action Sequences That Get the Job Done

The action scenes are competently staged but rarely exciting. Segal knows how to shoot a chase sequence and keep the geography clear, but there's a generic quality to most of the set pieces that makes them feel interchangeable with similar scenes from other family action movies.

Bautista does most of his own fighting, and his wrestling background shows in the hand-to-hand combat scenes. He moves with surprising grace for such a large man, and the fight choreography takes advantage of his size and strength in creative ways.

The film's biggest action sequence takes place in and around St. Peter's Basilica, and while it's visually impressive, it also feels somewhat inappropriate to be staging gunfights in one of Christianity's holiest sites. The sequence is well-executed from a technical standpoint, but the location choice is questionable.

A motorcycle chase through Rome's narrow streets is probably the film's most successful action scene. The geography creates natural obstacles and tension, and the sequence feels appropriately dangerous without being too intense for younger viewers.

Family Values and Life Lessons

Like its predecessor, "The Eternal City" is ultimately about family - both the one you're born into and the one you choose. Jake's relationship with JJ continues to be the emotional core of the series, and the film does a decent job of exploring how that relationship evolves as JJ gets older and more independent.

The movie touches on themes of trust, responsibility, and growing up, though it never gets too heavy-handed with its messaging. Jake has to learn to give JJ more freedom while still protecting her, and JJ has to learn that independence comes with responsibility.

There's also a subplot about JJ's relationship with her biological mother that adds some emotional complexity to the character. The film handles this reasonably well, acknowledging the complicated feelings involved without getting bogged down in melodrama.

Cultural Comedy and Missed Opportunities

The Italian setting provides plenty of opportunities for culture clash comedy, and the film hits some of these beats successfully. Jake's attempts to navigate Italian bureaucracy and social customs provide some genuine laughs, and his interactions with local law enforcement are appropriately chaotic.

However, the film misses some opportunities to really explore the cultural differences in meaningful ways. Most of the Italian characters are either helpful allies or obvious villains, without much complexity or personality. A more nuanced portrayal of Italian culture could have elevated the comedy and made the setting feel more authentic.

The language barrier is used for some easy laughs, but the film could have done more with this concept. The teenagers' attempts to communicate in Italian are cute but underdeveloped, and Jake's linguistic struggles feel like missed comedic opportunities.

Technical Competence Without Flair

The film is technically proficient without being particularly stylish. The editing keeps things moving at an appropriate pace, the sound design serves the action sequences adequately, and the score hits all the expected emotional beats without being memorable.

Mark Mothersbaugh's music does what it needs to do - supporting the comedy and action without drawing attention to itself. The score feels generic but appropriate, with enough Italian musical flourishes to reinforce the setting without being heavy-handed about it.

The production design makes good use of the Italian locations, though some of the sets feel a bit cheap when compared to the gorgeous practical locations. The film clearly spent most of its budget on location shooting, which was probably the right choice.

What Works and What Doesn't

The film succeeds when it focuses on the relationship between Jake and JJ and when it takes advantage of its Italian locations. Bautista and Coleman have genuine chemistry, and their father-daughter dynamic provides the emotional anchor the film needs.

The movie struggles when it tries to be a straight action film or when it relies too heavily on generic teen comedy tropes. The supporting characters are mostly one-dimensional, and the villains are forgettable bad guys doing forgettable bad guy things.

The pacing is uneven, with some sequences dragging while others feel rushed. The film probably could have been tightened by 15-20 minutes without losing anything essential.

Streaming Success vs. Theatrical Experience

"My Spy: The Eternal City" was made specifically for streaming, and it shows. This is the kind of movie that works perfectly fine on your living room TV while you're folding laundry or entertaining the kids on a rainy afternoon.

The film doesn't have the visual spectacle or emotional weight that would make it essential viewing on the big screen. It's comfort food entertainment - familiar, satisfying enough, but not particularly memorable.

The streaming model actually suits this type of family content well. Parents can put it on knowing their kids will be entertained and they won't be subjected to anything inappropriate or overly annoying.

Final Verdict

"My Spy: The Eternal City" is exactly what you'd expect from a streaming sequel to a moderately successful family action comedy. It delivers on its modest promises without exceeding them, providing harmless entertainment that won't offend anyone or challenge anyone too much.

Dave Bautista continues to be a surprisingly effective family movie star, and his chemistry with Chloe Coleman makes the central relationship work. The Italian locations are gorgeous, and the film makes decent use of them for both comedy and spectacle.

If you enjoyed the first "My Spy," you'll probably find enough to like here. If you didn't, this sequel won't change your mind. It's a perfectly adequate family film that does its job competently without being particularly inspired.

The film works best as background entertainment for families looking for something safe and moderately amusing. It's not going to become anyone's favorite movie, but it's the kind of harmless crowd-pleaser that streaming services exist to provide.

Bottom Line: A formulaic but competently made family action-comedy that benefits from Dave Bautista's committed performance and beautiful Italian locations, even if it doesn't break any new ground.

Perfect For: Families with kids aged 8-14, fans of the first film, viewers looking for unchallenging streaming entertainment, and anyone who enjoys travelogue elements in their action comedies.

Skip If: You need sophisticated humor or complex plotting, you're not interested in family-friendly content, or you generally dislike formulaic sequels.

Best Viewing Experience: Perfect for streaming at home with the family. This isn't theatrical entertainment - it's designed for casual viewing where you can pause for snacks or bathroom breaks without missing anything crucial.