Why My Spy: The Eternal City Could Be a Major Misstep for Dave Bautista

One of the most popular entertainers of the past several years, professional wrestler turned actor Dave Bautista has been on a critical and commercial hot streak since his terrifying turn in Blade Runner 2049. Since 2017, Bautista has also been part of the MCU, giving several standout turns as Drax the Destroyer alongside The Guardians of the Galaxy. In 2020, Bautista proved he could carry a film as the leading protagonist in the espionage comedy My Spy, a movie popular enough to warrant a 2024 sequel. Alas, the results are nowhere as convincing as the original.

More curious yet, My Spy: The Eternal City returns writers Erich and Jon Hoeber and director Pete Segal and still failed to capture the magic of its predecessor. As a result, Bautista’s hot streak has been stopped in its tracks with My Spy: The Eternal City ranking among the actor’s lowest-rated movies in years. With roughly 10 upcoming projects, it’s worth wondering why The Eternal City was such a bad miscue for Bautista and whether he can continue recapturing the winning formula.

Dave Bautista’s Career so Far

Following a successful career as a pro wrestler and MMA fighter, Dave Bautista transitioned to movies and television in 2006. After a brief stint in Smallville, Bautista began increasing his profile in such movies as Wrong Side of Town, House of the Rising Sun, The Man with the Iron Fists, and Riddick. In 2014, Bautista’s stardom dramatically increased when he was cast to play Drax the Destroyer in The Guardians of the Galaxy, a role he has reprised several times since and become nearly synonymous with.

As his career has advanced, Bautista has graduated from playing amusing supporting characters to taking on leading roles in big-budget blockbuster fare. In 2017, Bautista’s unforgettable turn as Sapper Morton in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 showed everyone he could work with the best Hollywood actors and directors and more than hold his own. Villeneuve cast Bautista as Beast Rabban in Dune, one of the actor’s highest-reviewed movies by critics. Dune: Part 1 (2021) holds an 83% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, while Dune: Part 2 (2024) boasts 92%.

Between Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, Bautista scored several critical hits that expanded his supporting roles to leading performances. Prime examples include Prime Viideo’s My Spy, a charming spy comedy that relies on the heartfelt bond between Bautista and his young costar Chloe Coleman. Other examples include Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead (67%), its sequel Army of Thieves (69%), Ryan Johnson’s Glass Onion (91%), M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin (67%), Parachute (79%), and Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron (97%). Given such an excellent recent track record, the failure of My Spy: The Eternal City is quite dubious.

What Is My Spy: The Eternal City?

From the same writers and directors of My Spy (2020), My Spy: The Eternal City is a direct sequel following the international exploits of CIA operative JJ (Bautista) and his blackmailing charge Sophie (Chloe Coleman). In My Spy, Sophie blackmailed JJ to train her in espionage before they worked together to find her criminal uncle-in-law. Despite the routine, paint-by-numbers story and plot, the movie drew positive reviews for Bautista and Coleman’s comedic dynamic. While the movie’s 48% Rotten Tomatoes score hardly indicates greatness, the sequel fell even flatter despite the principal creators returning.

Released on Amazon Prime Video on July 18, 2024, My Spy: The Eternal City, finds JJ and Chloe reuniting and venturing to Italy, where they thwart an international terrorist operation. Despite the stunning European vistas and returning characters like Bobbi (Kristen Schaal) and David Kim (Ken Jeong), the film failed to capture its predecessor’s lighthearted magic. As a result, The Eternal City ranks among Bautista’s worst movies in the eyes of critics since his acting career commenced.

My Spy: The Eternal City boasts a lowly 21% Rotten Tomatoes and a 29% Audience Score, indicating subpar quality for critics and general audiences. While such negative numbers may not affect the director, writers, and supporting cast, the failure of My Spy: The Eternal City may bear larger consequences for Bautista, especially given the torrid run he’s been on recently as a bona fide Hollywood lead.

Why My Spy: The Eternal City Is Such a Misfire for Bautista

The main reason My Spy: The Eternal City was a misfire for Bautista relates to the lack of acting challenges for the popular leading man. Beyond reigniting the electric chemistry he shared with Coleman in the first film, Bautista is not asked to do much more than repeat his earlier performance. It’s a low-effort role that he can perform in his sleep at this stage in his acting career, and when compared to Bautista’s recent dramatic performances, his performance in The Eternal City falls woefully short of reaching the limits of his potential. As for the film itself, the tonal disparity from one scene to the next makes for a jumbled collage of much better spy comedies.

Take Bautista’s haunting performance in Knock at the Cabin, for example. The apocalyptic religious thriller shows Bautista in a much different light than his natural screen persona established since the days of the WWE. In a performance starkly opposed to his work as Drax, his most famous and longest-tenured character, Bautista’s morally vexed turn as Leonard the soft-spoken angel of death gives him the range and acting challenges that playing Drax and JJ in My Spy 2 does not afford. As Bautista has taken more responsibility as the leading actor who is number one on the call sheet, his performances have become more serious and convincing.

Similarly, Bautista’s haunting presence as Glossu “Beast” Rabban in Dune fulfills the potential Bautista demonstrated the first time he worked with Villeneuve in Blade Runner 2049. Whether lending support to A-list directors and star-studded ensembles or dominating nearly every frame as the main character, Bautista responds when challenged the hardest and the results show in his performances. The problem with My Spy: The Eternal City is that it does not have the top-tier filmmaking pedigree to push Bautista to greatness. The original My Spy relied on his natural charms and the sequel simply asked Bautista to repeat his past performance. To get back on the track of acclaimed critical hits, Bautista demands better movie material and more adept storytellers to elicit his full potential.

My Spy: The Eternal City is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video