SPY KIDS

REVIEWED BY DALLAS SHIPP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: thematic elements

Rated:

The best way to describe this film is a techno-action fantasy flick… for kids. I must say that this is one of the most unique films I have ever seen. It is a rather surreal experience to watch. The biggest surprise about Spy Kids is the amount of good quality special effects and intricate sets the film's relatively small budget was able to turn out. Props like a speeding mini-jet and the nifty "Super Guppy" submarine were both fun to watch and very well done by the special effects team. I was impressed by the effects in this film. The sets in this movie were like something you would get if you gave Willy Wonka a picture of Fred Flintstone's world. Although they were well done and very inventive, they were much to strange to fit in well into any film I can think of. They worked decently for Spy Kids, even though they tended to highlight the stranger aspects of the film. 

The performances in this film by Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, the title characters, were both above average, especially considering their ages. It is hard to find young actors that can act, but the audition director and casting managers of this film did. Antonio Banderas was great. He was like Zorro in black leather with shades. Alan Cumming is pretty nutty in his role as Fegan Floop, the psycho TV show host. From Robert Rodriguez, the director of a handful of horror films, Spy Kids is definitely a drastic change in genre. Rodriguez did a good job with this movie, and it is very suitable for children. Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) were once super spies for international intelligence. Once, when they were ordered to kill the other, they chose to fall in love instead. They got new jobs, and married. They raised a family together, and kept their classified past a secret from their two children. 

The Cortez children, Carmen (Vega) and Juni (Sabara), discover their parents' old occupation when their parents disappear, and they narrowly escape from a group of thugs sent to kidnap them. Suddenly wrapped up in a scam to steal top secret technology for an army of deadly robots, Carmen and Juni do what they can to survive and begin to search for their parents. They soon discover that Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming), the host of a popular kid's TV show, is behind the capture of their parents, so they start out to his sea side castle to confront him. 

They end up facing the stars of Floop's show, who happen to be mutant spies, and an army of dim witted robots. Armed with all the spy gadgets they could carry, the youngsters manage to foil the villain's sinister plot, save the world, and rescue their parents. Spy Kids is rated PG for some intense action and a small amount of "toilet humor". Some other elements like the eyes of the robots that frequently flash with blue light and Floop's sideshow freaks would easily disturb the youngest of audiences. There were two uses of God's name in vain, but no other offensive language. 

Spy Kids is a new breed of children's film. It has been a runaway hit for the last three weekends and is a big hit among elementary school age kids. I wasn't expecting much from this film, but it was fun to see. It has been such a major financial success that Dimension films has already announced that a sequel is in the works. Spy Kids is a decent flick geared for kids. I recommend this film to kids ages 5 and up. This film is pretty painless for you older audiences, but you have my assurance that your kids will love you for taking them. 

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