... They call them – Spy Kids. Do you see? They’re super-strong, and nastier than maggots in your corn flakes. Only problem is, they can’t talk. The one thing that can get them to be perfect little robo-brats is “The Third Brain”. Guess who knows where it is? Yup, ... Read review
Advantages: Cool, funny, fast-paced and not patronising Disadvantages: Plot thinner than a waffer thin mint
...and are retired from the spy biz. Enter one international plot to TAKE OVER THE WORLD, exit two parents. Kids must help save the day. Boom bang, the end. Details? Oh very well…
***Involved Plot
The spy-parents met and fell in love whilst assigned to watch each other, and having ickle babbies made them want to settle down – so they did. Now they live in a modest (ha!) home, with the nippers in question, Juni being ... ...leader. They call them – Spy Kids. Do you see? They’re super-strong, and nastier than maggots in your corn flakes. Only problem is, they can’t talk. The one thing that can get them to be perfect little robo-brats is “The Third Brain”. Guess who knows where it is? Yup, the Spy Parents. After they are kidnapped by another of Floop’s twisted inventions – the Thumb-Thumbs (giant robot thumb-creatures – ... more
Dammit, Robert Rodriguez, make your mind up! First you make us all think “how he do that?” with the super cheap El Mariachi, then remake it (sort of) as the ultra-cool Desperado. From Dusk Till Dawn made popcorn fall to the floor everywhere, and The Faculty was a trés hip mainstream horror/sci-fi flick. And now kids films? Oh Robert, why hast thou forsaken us? Well, all these thoughts and more whirred around my brain-pipes until recently. Now I just wish I was a kid again. Why? Here’s why.
***Basic Plot There are two spies, Gregorio and Ingrid (played by Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino), they have two kids – Carmen and Juni (played by Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) and are retired from the spy biz. Enter one international plot to TAKE OVER THE WORLD, exit two parents. Kids must help save the day. Boom bang, the end. Details? Oh very well…
***Involved Plot The spy-parents met and fell in love whilst assigned to watch each other, and having ickle babbies made them want to settle down – so they did. Now they live in a modest (ha!) home, with the nippers in question, Juni being afflicted with warts and a very Jar Jar Binks way of pressing buttons that just happen to be the right ones to save the day. And save the day they must. By chance, Juni’s fave TV show is a Teletubbies-on-PCP land of surrealism, presented by Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming). The show is all “believe in your dreams” pap, but it seems to hit a spot with ver kids. There is, however a sinister side behind the day-glo Floop-fun. His colourful sidekicks are in fact mutated spies, missing in action. They are a failed experiment to create a super-army for an evil investor (Mr Lisp, played by Robert Patrick from Terminator 2). Floop’s failures are beginning to grate, but he and his assistant, Minion (Tony Shalhoub from The Man Who Wasn’t There) have a new plan. Robot doubles of the children of every world leader. They call them – Spy Kids. Do you see? They’re super-strong, and nastier than maggots in your corn flakes. Only problem is, they can’t talk. The one thing that can get them to be perfect little robo-brats is “The Third Brain”. Guess who knows where it is? Yup, the Spy Parents. After they are kidnapped by another of Floop’s twisted inventions – the Thumb-Thumbs (giant robot thumb-creatures – very cool!), it’s up to the wee sprouts to get into action, learn the spy trade quick, and get Mom & Dad back sharpish. With more than a little help from some cool gadgets.
I was trying to see this at the cinema all through its (surprisingly long) run, but never got the chance. “Eeerrr, it’s a kid’s film” the detractors they cried. This from a bunch (me included) who still watch The Goonies with delight, and never miss (me not included) a chance to see Return To Oz. Bitterness aside, this is definitely one the parents won’t mind sitting through - I stand by Jonathan Ross on this one. But not too close, I hear he’s fond of goosing.
Admittedly, the CGI is a little ropey, but not as bad as The Rock at the end of The Mummy Returns (it’d be a hard push to get any worse…). Kids will probably show little concern at this, because the story whacks along at such a pace that I thought someone had spliced parts out. The plot is thin, but let’s face it, ankle-biters don’t want exposition and ruminations, they want body jokes (check), kids in charge (check) and a bit of schmaltz (check). Oh, and some freaks (check!). The soundtrack is also a little annoying, with music not really adding much to some scenes, and downright annoying in others. Not that I was expecting a vampire mariachi band again, Mr Rodriguez…
It was refreshing to see a non-typical family (i.e. Latino) on the screen too – nothing against the usual crop of kiddie flicks, but there are very strong family values in the Mexican community, and this shines through here. The messages are sugar coated, but that just makes them easy to swallow. And they’re good ones too:
Message #1 - Families stick together, no matter what. Message #2 - Believe in yourself. Message #3 – Appearances can be deceiving
Standard? Yes. KID’S FILM, remember? There are no deaths, because all the ‘rudas’ (bad guys – the limit of my Espanol I’m afraid, and I’m not even sure it’s right…) are robotic, no bloodshed, no swearing (except a very close example near the end) and nothing terrifically scary (Rated ‘U’, folks!). Some very small bairns might not like the freaky mutants, but they’re not in the same league as Sloth from The Goonies (there I go again) or Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen, so you’re probably okay to sit with ‘em. Even the ‘losing the parents’ aspect is not too upsetting, the kids never cry or lose the plot, they just get on with getting the family together.
The kids are very good in the lead roles, they should impress in the sequel (which is set to feature… Ricardo Moltaban! Remember? “Boss, The plane! The plane!”) as they do here – no whinging, no Culkin annoyance. Incidentally, the Culkin Annoyance Scale (or CAS) is now a standard measurement of how irritating a child star is, 10 being Home Alone, 1 being That Odd Cameo In The Rock Video. I understand this is to be reformatted, however, as the Jake Lloyd Yahoo-Ometer. The grown ups aren’t bad either, Alan Cumming is great as ever, here with a passable American twang. Tony Shalhoub can do no wrong, and his Minion is a creepy treat. There are some cool cameos too, which I won’t ruin for you. Teri Hatcher. Damn! Well, there are a few others. G…. no, I can’t bring myself to do it.
I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon, and this should prove more fun for under 10s than a bouncy castle with free ice cream afterwards. Well, almost. There’s nothing too slushy here either, with a very “the day is saved, let’s get on with things” ending. Well worth a look for big kids also - and I should know.
www.spykidsspecialedition.com - Official site, anyone? www.aintitcool.com - Check for more news on the sequel (The Island of Lost Dreams), why don’t ya?
Advantages: Fast paced, action packed Disadvantages: Only really appeals to kids
...Curtis) to produce an interesting spy story with humour.
Spy Kids is a combination of many different cinematic types. We have James Bond / Inspector Gadget type gadget wizardry; we have theatrics that could be taken from classics such as the Adams Family, and for the American's out there we have Pee Wee Herman's playhouse as a background for the evil doers.
Groegorio (Anthony Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez play spies on opposite sides ... ...children's versions of the adult spy gadgetry. It would have been interesting to have seen more 'Willy Wonka' type gadgets for the children to see.
From my children's reaction to this movie I rate it fairly high as it kept their interest and had them laughing at times; as a parent I found the movie to 'childish' for me - many movies of this type normally have some humour directed at the adults, this movie didn't really do that.
Although ...
Simoncook1 16.10.2001
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...They encounter a dodgy chief spy played (perhaps over-enthusiastically) by Superman's Teri Hatcher (although given the way she ends up looking, perhaps she can be forgiven), the supposed villian - a willy Wonka type children's TV character - and the real villians. The chases and thrills are well delivered and there's some great comedy. Of course the "pee" and "poop" jokes got the biggest lauchs from my lad, but there really were only 2 - this isn't ... ...laughs from grown-ups and kids. There are a few fights, but these are handled extremely well without being condescending. In fact they're done in a great, knowing way - "close your eyes kids, you won't want to see this". In America, the film is getting bonus points in reviews because the heros are all latino. That doesn't make much difference here, but the kids are cute without being saccharine and put on a great show. The other hot topic over there ...
sarah1 28.06.2001
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Advantages: Great performances by the two kids. Disadvantages: The words are pretty hard to hear during Floop's song.
...this time his wife's a spy as well, and the film's for kids. So that's okay then.
The film opens at bedtime in the Cortez household. Juni's (Daryl Sabara - His first film appearance) putting his anti-wart medicine onto his fingers, whilst his sister, Carmen (Alexa Vega - Twister) asks for a bedtime story. The one she gets told by her mother, Ingrid (Carla Gugino - Spin City, Snake Eyes), is the story of two spies from different countries who get ... ...Unbeknownst to her, the story is actually that of her mother and father, who gave up the spying game for a far more dangerous mission - that of parenthood.
Into the mix comes Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming - Goldeneye, God the Devil and Bob), the host of a number two rated children's show. It's a show that Juni thinks is fantastic, as such children do, but everyone else thinks is a load of old tosh. Anyway, we soon find out that Floop is supplying high-tech ...
thedeadparrot 19.05.2001
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Advantages: Suitable for everyone, but unusually enjoyable. Take your kids and actually enjoy it yourself too. Disadvantages: A little saccahrin in places, but rises above this at the end/
Saw this with my two little girls and we all loved it, which is unusual to say the least. It was directed by the same guy that did Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn, but is totally suitable for all ages.
Great cast, especially the two young leads and full of special effects that look as good as any Phantom Menace or Mummy. The action scenes shine and manage to tread that fine line between being not too scary for kids, but enjoyable for adults, I ... ...this much and would consider going to see it on my own, which I have NEVER said before about a film I took my kids to see because THEY wanted to see it.
It has some surprisingly inventive moments, one of the characters uses giant hands as henchmen, the thumb being the head and the arms and legs the other four fingers in a fingerbobs type set-up, except they are the size of humans, and wear balaclavas in public to disguise their thumbyness. I presume ...
Raybid 22.06.2001 (24.09.2001)
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Advantages: Carla Gugino is excellent. Good special effects. Disadvantages: Poor script, poor plot, little humour, poor acting.
Spy Kids’ has been met with almost universal critical acclaim, and Miramax are so impressed with it, that a sequel is already in production, but it is hard to see why this is the case. Two retired spies Gregorio Cortez (Antonio Banderas) and his wife Ingrid (Carla Gugino, ‘Spin City’, ‘Snake Eyes’) are captured by Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming, ‘Goldeneye’), a rich and powerful producer of a children’s ... ...Grieco plays a slightly older spy than Juni and Carmen do in ‘Spy Kids’. My reservations about this film are almost irrelevant when one looks at the commercial and merchandising success of this film, as ultimately that is what is important. However, from an artistic point of view, I only hope that the sequel will bring a better script, a more inventive plot, and more imaginative acting.
Overall 3/10 ...
Alex1226 19.04.2001 (20.04.2001)
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WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
03/10/2005
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
BUG 0008101
Barcode
8717418066390
Languages
Main Language
English
DVD Description
The Spy Kids Trilogy which begins with Gregorio and Ingrid two retired top secret agents, who are tasked with a mission when seven other spies go missing. But when they also disappear it is left for their children, Carmen and Juni to save them...
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