One of the most popular entertainers of the past several years, professional wrestler turned actorDave Bautistahas been on a critical and commercial hot streak since his terrifying turn inBlade 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 comedyMy 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 Cityreturns 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 withMy Spy: The Eternal Cityranking among the actor’s lowest-rated movies in years. With roughly 10 upcoming projects, it’s worth wondering whyThe Eternal Citywas such a bad miscue for Bautista and whether he can continue recapturing the winning formula.
My Spy: The Eternal City
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 inSmallville, Bautista began increasing his profile in such movies asWrong Side of Town, House of the Rising Sun, The Man with the Iron Fists,andRiddick. In 2014, Bautista’s stardom dramatically increased when he was cast to playDrax the DestroyerinThe 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’sBlade Runner 2049showed everyone he could work with the best Hollywood actors and directors and more than hold his own. Villeneuve cast Bautista as Beast Rabban inDune,one of the actor’s highest-reviewed movies by critics.Dune: Part 1(2021) holds an 83% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, whileDune: Part 2(2024) boasts 92%.
BetweenBlade Runner 2049andDune, Bautista scored several critical hits that expanded his supporting roles to leading performances. Prime examples include Prime Viideo’sMy Spy, a charming spy comedy that relies on the heartfelt bond between Bautista and his young costar Chloe Coleman. Other examples includeZack Snyder’sArmy of the Dead(67%), its sequelArmy of Thieves(69%), Ryan Johnson’sGlass Onion(91%), M. Night Shyamalan’sKnock at the Cabin(67%),Parachute(79%), and Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winningThe Boy and the Heron(97%). Given such an excellent recent track record, the failure ofMy Spy: The Eternal Cityis quite dubious.
What Is My Spy: The Eternal City?
From the same writers and directors ofMy Spy(2020),My Spy: The Eternal Cityis a direct sequel following the international exploits of CIA operative JJ (Bautista) and his blackmailing charge Sophie (Chloe Coleman). InMy 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 31, 2025,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 Cityranks among Bautista’s worst movies in the eyes of critics since his acting career commenced.
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MySpy: The Eternal Cityboasts 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 ofMy Spy: The Eternal Citymay 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 reasonMy Spy: The Eternal Citywas 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 toBautista’s recent dramatic performances, his performance inThe Eternal Cityfalls 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 inKnock 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 inMy Spy 2does 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.
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JJ (Dave Bautista) chaperones Sophie (Chloe Coleman) and her school choir to Italy and runs afoul of a nuclear terrorist.
Similarly, Bautista’s haunting presence as Glossu “Beast” Rabban inDunefulfills the potential Bautista demonstrated the first time he worked with Villeneuve inBlade 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 withMy Spy: The Eternal Cityis that it does not have the top-tier filmmaking pedigree to push Bautista to greatness. The originalMy Spyrelied 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 moviematerial and more adept storytellers to elicit his full potential.
My Spy: The Eternal Cityis available to stream on Amazon Prime Video
