The long line of Hollywood tough guys appearing alongside cute kids continues with “My Spy,” a passable PG-13 action-comedy in which big ’n’ brawny Dave Bautista plays a CIA man whose nose-diving career and damaged emotions are rehabilitated by a clever nine-year-old girl with an aptitude for espionage and a matchmaking plan for her widowed mom. to carry a script by “Red” writers Jon and Erich Hoeber that pokes some good fun at action movie tropes but is hampered by too many groan-worthy gags.

Filmed in 2018 and originally scheduled for U.S. release in August 2019 before being moved back several times to March 13, 2020, only to then be pulled amid coronavirus concerns, “My Spy” will now go direct to Amazon Prime U.S. on a date to be announced. The film played theatrically in markets including the U.K., Australia and Canada before the pandemic forced cinemas to close.

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