My Spy

Starring: Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Kristen Schaal, Ken Jeong, Greg Bryk

Director: Peter Segal

CIA agent and former soldier JJ (Dave Bautista) has just blown an undercover assignment, losing a shipment of plutonium as well as the chance to capture arms dealer Victor Marquez (Greg Bryk). JJ is promptly demoted to surveillance duty with Bobbi (Kristen Schaal), their mission to watch Kate (Parisa Fitz-Henley), the wife of Victor's deceased brother and her resourceful and smart nine year old daughter Sophie (Chloe Coleman). Victor's brother may have stashed plans for a nuclear bomb with them and they need to be protected in case Victor comes after them. Sophie quickly discovers their cameras and to protect their cover, JJ begins to hang out with Sophie while Kate works. JJ becomes close with Sophie, who continually tries to set him up with Kate, and soon discovers the family he never had.

This often delayed Dave Bautista family film, which STX sold to Amazon, has finally seen the light of day. Was it worth all the delays? Honestly, no. But I feel no film is worth the delay regardless of quality. (The delayed films due to COVID 19 are an exception).

While the poster and marketing make this look like a kids film, it stretches the PG-13 rating to its limit. The film features a surprising amount of language and shockingly violent set pieces for a family film like this. In fact, the Victor/nuclear bomb subplot represents the weakest aspect of the film. I had forgotten about it at one point and it feels like the movie did too as it pretty much disappears until the final 20 minutes of the film. It feels weird criticizing a movie like this for being low on suspense but it's the reason Bautista goes on this journey in the first place. We could have used a little more of a ticking clock.

If I had to guess why that subplot felt forgotten, I would say it is because the middle part of the film is much more enjoyable thanks to being dominated by Bautista, Coleman, and Schaal. It's full of humor and heart and while it's nothing we haven't seen before, Coleman and Bautista have excellent chemistry and make the film watchable. She is incredibly street smart, you never know what she is going to say next and Bautista's reactions to her are spot on. Schaal gets a lot of chuckles from her one liners, often acting as the audience to comment on something ridiculous or unrealistic about their situation.

While not an all out disaster, I feel like this was a missed opportunity and wasted a game cast.

Grade: C

My Spy is available on Amazon Prime