Almost four months ago, I made my way into a movie theater for a seemingly routine advanced screening. Apart from the omission of review slips for the film critics who were present, everything was basically the same, but little did any of us know what would become of the next few months.

Like virtually any other movie that was set to be released over the past several months, this one was brushed aside, in favor of everyone’s safety, and was largely forgotten, until now. Thanks to the modern streaming services of today, many films still have a place to go, in hopes of recouping what are sure to be huge losses, throughout the movie industry.

In this case, the film is “My Spy,” directed by Peter Segal (“Second Act”), who has had a fairly successful career directing comedy, including movies, such as: “Naked Gun 33 & 1/3^rd,” “Tommy Boy” and “50 First Dates.” Despite the action elements that are included in “My Spy,” it is still very much a comedy and I would even be so bold as to consider it a comedy first, rather than an action-comedy. In any case, “My Spy” has graciously been picked up by Amazon Studios, though I cannot recall from whom it was picked up, but I digress…

Heading the cast is the formerly-elusive, but, now, very busy, Dave Bautista (“Avengers: Endgame”), as JJ. From the outset, we are shown that he is a one-man wrecking crew, of sorts, but can often get himself (and others) into trouble, in the process. It is not only that this type of protagonist is played out, these days, but I could not help but imagine someone like Dwayne Johnson taking part in the exact same role. As it turns out, Johnson is actually three years the junior of Bautista, but either way, that comparison is not an insult and I would hope that Bautista would not take it as such. After all, he and Johnson know each other quite well, but moving on…

Joining Bautista, in the cast, are: Chloe Coleman (a newcomer to the industry) as Sophie, Kristen Schaal (“Toy Story 4”) as Bobbi, Parisa Fitz-Henley (“Fantasy Island”) as Kate and Ken Jeong (“Wonder Park”) as David Kim. Coleman plays the daughter of a woman who is connected to a huge weapons-trade syndicate and could be in danger of being kidnapped as a possible ransom hostage. Henley plays as the aforementioned mother. Her ties to the syndicate are purely incidental, but unavoidable, too. As you might have guessed, she progresses into a potential love interest for Bautista’s character, but, of course, there are some noticeable road blocks down the road. Schaal, no doubt, is the designated comedic specialist, designed to help make the less-funny actors funnier. To a degree, it works, but her character’s undying hero-worship of JJ can get a little bit old after some time. Jeong, on the other hand, takes a backseat, as the, quote-unquote, straight man in the story and the boss of JJ and Bobbi and the one who assigned them to the spying operation.

There is no doubt about it: the plot and character creations of “My Spy” are far from original and dynamic. However, Peter Segal brings his strong touch to the Hoeber screenplay and I firmly believe that he was a great choice to carry out the task of directing this particular film.

Even as I watched and saw every possible detail coming from a mile away, I was truly enjoying the on-screen chemistry between Bautista and Coleman and that was really the glue to hold the entire movie together. Think of it as something of a new variation of “Kindergarten Cop,” in that respect.

I would like to add a couple of other details that might go unnoticed: the use of source music is pretty cliched, as well. Imagine that you are sitting through a scene and hear something that seems counter-intuitive to what you are watching. It is clever, in theory, but has been done many times before. However, if you enjoy musical nostalgia, that can be an enjoyable aspect, as well.

Try and picture this, too: an Alpha male carrying around a Beta fish as he transitions from one habitat to another. It might have been unintentional, but if it was planned, somehow, I definitely find that clever and enjoyed that small tidbit.

Was I expecting anything special from “My Spy?” No, but only because I rarely go into a movie theater with any expectations, either way. As I already alluded to, I saw nothing original in this film, but I still had a good time, overall. I probably will not think of this one at the end of the year, assuming there are any award ceremonies still popping up, but if you would like to simulate the experience of a vintage Summertime Blockbuster, family-friendly and mindless (no offense intended) action-comedy, you will probably get plenty of enjoyment with “My Spy.” I do not mind saying that I did, even after recollecting my thoughts from nearly four months ago. That should be considered a small victory, at the very least.

Director: Peter Segal

Screenwriters: Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber

Editor: Jason Gourson

Starring: Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Ken Jeong, Devere Rogers as Carlos, Greg Bryk as Marquez and Noah Danby as Todd

Distributors: Amazon Studios (United States) and STX Films (International)

Release: January 9^th, 2020 (Australia) and June 26^th, 2020 (United States)