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14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: A Boost For The 'Family Unit', 14 August 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
This was a silly kids' adventure story but still fun the younger ones and for adults, thanks to colorful scenes, great special effects, decent humor and a nice family tone to it. The kids are alright, except the girl is a little bossy, and the villains aren't too nasty. This also looks very good on DVD.Included in the color and characters are "the thumb people" who were especially fun to watch.The only problem I found with it is the last 30 minutes in which it got too silly and emphasized (typical Hollywood) how the kids can do the job better than the adults, which a ludicrous film cliché. However, overall "family unity" gets a big boost in this here, even in the end, and that good message is probably a big reason this movie was such a success.
14 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Secret Agents have never been so much fun - 3 cheers for Robert Rodriguez!, 10 July 2001 Author: 0rbita1 (mjdrew@hotmail.com)
Robert Rodriguez is not the first person you'd suggest to make a children's film. As entertaining as 'Desperado', 'The Faculty' and 'From Dusk Till dawn' are, you wouldn't line them up alongside 'Toy Story 2' and 'The Jungle Book' for good, old-fashioned family entertainment. Yet, as this energetic, light-hearted Bondesque spoof proves, Rodriguez has the talent to turn his hand to just about anything, and inject it with the suspense and adrenalin that are his trademark.From the gloriously OTT opening scene (which tells the story of how two agents sent to kill each other fall in love and settle down) to the last second, 'Spy Kids' doesn't miss a trick. The obligatory gizmos, mad villains and dastardly plot to take over the world are all there, along with a star cast all playing their roles with tongues firmly in cheek. The action/humour mix is extremely well-balanced too, with some hilarious visual gags sitting within a sharp script and Banderas, in particular, revels taking a sly swipe at his normal 'strong yet silent Latino' image. Yet, refreshingly for a children's film, it's never patronising, never obvious, and genuinely original in places (soldiers made of thumbs, secret agents transformed into tellytubby-type TV characters - imagine Goldeneye-meets-Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-meets-Any Tim Burton film and you'll be close). In truth, some of the surreal moments and the more graphic effects may get a little too much for younger kids at times, but these moments are few and far between. Ok, it's a 'U' certificate and you may well have to sit through the trailer for 'See Spot Run', but don't let that put you off. This is one of the better films you'll see this year, and the best out over Easter by quite a way. Go and have some fun.8/10
17 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Fun for kids and their parents, good for a family movie. *** (out of four), 10 April 2001 Author: Blake French (baffilmcritic@cs.com) from USA
SPY KIDS / (2001) *** (out of four)By Blake French: If James Bond married another secret agent, had kids, privately continued his life as a spy, became captured, and left his rescuing to his offspring, we would have the formula for Robert Rodriguez's new action adventure, "Spy Kids." Rodriguez normally directs harsher, more brutal movies, like "Desperado" and "The Faculty," but accustoms a slick style of adventure and humor in this film that exceeds past the level of any of his recent work. "Spy Kids" really does belong in some kind of James Bond picture. As the film's writer, director, and co producer, Rodriguez does a lot more with the material here than we expect. The film has a stunning array of special effects, ranging from walking thumbs to a particularly imaginative experience in the villain's headquarters. Even the introduction has zest and intrigue: we meet a seemingly normal family of four, consisting of Ingrid and Gregorio Cortez (Alexa Vega and Antonio Banderas), and their children, probably middle school aged, Juni and Carmen (Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega). As the movie opens, Ingrid tells her children a nice bedtime story about two daring spies assigned to kill the other, but fall in love, get married, and retire. She prepares her offspring for bed and turns the lights off, walks to her husband, and explains she thinks it would be a good idea to tell Carmen and Juni their real identities as top-secret spies; the story Ingrid enlightened her kids with was true. Rodriguez quickly sketched his characters, but his method is surprisingly effective; the movie starts out with fast-paced action and captures our attention abruptly and does not really lose energy throughout its running time. We learn the two married spies have retired from the business nine years prior, but their fellow OSS agents are disappearing all over the world, and thinks it to be the work of a kids TV show host named Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming in a very whimsical, fitting performance) and his assistant, Minion (Tony Shalhoub). The agents have been converted into clay-like animated characters held captive at his mega tech laboratory. Imaginative and interesting, if a bit cheesy. Ingrid and Gregorio call their "Uncle" Felix over to watch the kids while they go out on their latest mission. Unfortunately, this mission could be their last; they walk right into a trap and are snared from beneath their toes. Felix receives a distress call, sends the kids to a "safe house," but is captured himself, leaving the responsibilities to the younger members of the family. The story isn't cheap or silly, although some of the material tests our tolerance for far-fetched science fiction. The underlying motives here are also legitimate. The movie puts confidence in strong family values, honesty, and trust, but does not preach, lecture, or on the other side of the barrel, become lost in an utter mess of silly dog poop and passing gas jokes like "See Spot Run." The movie takes itself seriously, and is well written. We understand the character's motives. "Spy Kids" gets one thing painfully right, and that is therelationship of the brother and sister. Their relationship is all too familiar in American households, where name calling and mean-spirited behavior inhabit offspring of both sexes. The petty little conflicts they feel strained and forced, giving this movie, otherwise somewhat mature, an immature sensation. This familiar stereotype is profoundly irritating. "Spy Kids" is often exciting, funny, and almost always entertaining. It is not the kind of movie that parents should just drop their kids off to, however, but should stay for themselves to witness some of the most effective family movie moments in quite a while. In a time when family movies are completely disposable, "Spy Kids" proves itself to stand out from all the others and provide us with a genuine spy movie experience.
15 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Take your kids to see it. It's very good and needs to be seen on the big screen., 14 April 2001 Author: Karen Wood (karen_wood@bigfoot.com) from Lincolnshire, England
I took my two boys (7 and 10) to see Spy kids today. They were transfixed and wanted to watch it again straightaway. Both are big James Bond fans but some of the content and dialogue of the Bond movies isn't suitable. Spy Kids fits the bill exactly for anyone under 13 who likes the Bond films. It came over to me as a blend of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Home Alone meets Bond. It was at the kids level without patronizing them and was believable enough for adults to enjoy too. All of the acting was high quality and the special effects first class.I shall enjoy it again in the future on video but it deserves to be seen on the big screen first. Another bonus were the trailers for Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I often come away from Cinema trips with the kids feeling that we haven't really had our moneys worth, but not today!
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Daft and silly but it doesn't take itself seriously once and is surprisingly fun for adults and older children, 9 January 2006 Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez are ex-spies who were at the top of their game until they met, married and decided to retire for their own mutual safety. Years later they have normal lives and have children who know nothing of any of this. When Gregorio learns of former colleagues vanishing, he looks into it, only for him and Ingrid to be captured by the evil Floop, whose children's television puppets are really mutants developed as part of building a private army for Lisp. With their parents gone and the alarm raised, Carmen and Juni learn the truth and are suddenly faced with having to rescue their parents.You shouldn't come to this movie expecting it to be serious or logical because it really isn't. Instead it is silly, goofy and really very daft but still quite good fun for slightly older children and also for adults. The plot is pretty much summed up by the title insofar as you really need to know what is going on because it doesn't make much sense. The film is really about the kids becoming spies and playing with gadgets etc on their way to becoming heroes of a sort. It never takes itself too seriously and it draws humour from this approach well, making it easy to relax and watch because, yes it's silly, but at least it knows it is silly. The Floop creations are too silly to appeal to adults but will probably provide some laughs for kids but generally the film gets the tone right for both groups.Rodriguez directs with his usual approach and I quite enjoyed the effect it had here because it does suit the silly, hyper material (which he also wrote). The effects are mainly good and it should work for most kids in the way that older boys like their gadgets and fantasy video games. The cast did it for me as well, featuring as it did a lot of people who've worked with Rodriguez before. Banderas and Gugino are both sexy and cool in the parental roles but it is Vega and Sabara who lead the film. Neither of them are typically "cute kids" and it helped me enjoy the film for them to be quite natural and buy into the material. Support is surprisingly classy and most of them work. I didn't like Cumming at all but that was more to do with his character; Shalhoub was OK, Hatcher was fun, Cheech pops up briefly, Patrick has a small role, Trejo is ever reliable and George Clooney puts in a small but amusing appearance.Overall this is not a great film because it all nonsense but then, as a kids' film, it doesn't matter so much. The energy, pace and sense of fun covers up for the daft central plot and nobody seems to be taking it seriously. Surprisingly fun to watch, even for adults and worth a look.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Good film, especially for what it is, 11 March 2006 Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark
This is a somewhat unusual film; it's a children's film, but it doesn't talk down to its audience. And as an added bonus, it can be watched even if you are over ten. As the far too little-known short Bedhead, Robert Rodriguez has here created a film for children, featuring children... which doesn't treat them with the lack of respect for the smarts and sense of logic that they do already possess. Adults often forget what children are like, and think of them as 'less' than the grownups. Rodriguez gives them(and us) a film that allows them a similar status to adults. The film has stuff that will appeal to kids(spy equipment hidden in children's things) but it isn't offensive to us who aren't. While it is more directed towards those of the preteen persuasion, it doesn't aim so low as to feel stupid for us who aren't of said persuasion. The plot is pretty good, though I guess it's not all that original... and as usual with children's films, the kids are the heroes, which puts too much pressure on them, as a Danish film critic so perfectly put it. The acting is a usual high(as most of the actors are quite talented), no performances really let you down, even the (intentionally)overplayed ones. The characters, many of them fairly clichéd and thin, are all credible. As with many(most) Rodriguez films, pretty much all of those that he's written, himself... there are subplots and such, many of which are either overly easily resolved or not properly addressed. The humor is pretty good, I laughed out loud several points, rather unusual for children's films, and I was never insulted by the humor. None of it tries too hard to garner laughs, either. The special effects are quite impressive, and though it's still evident that it's Rodriguez' mini studio, it will fool you for the very most part. The action is quite intense and exciting, and like the humor, it's got Rodriguez' unique touch. Any fan of Rodriguez(such as myself, which is by far the main reason I watched this very film in the first place) will enjoy this, if maybe not to the same extent as one of his typical films. I recommend this to any fan of Rodriguez or any of the actors, and definitely most kids. Very much worth watching, even if you've outgrown childhood. Indulge your inner kid. 7/10
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Finally a movie both me and my kids like!, 6 April 2002 Author: penny716 from Jacksonville, Florida, USA
This was a great movie. I particularly like the fact that a normal sibling relationship was shown, the rivalry and disdain but still the reality that blood is thicker than water and no matter if you think that your brother or sister is a twerp, you still do anything for them. The family sticks together and although it is a very far-fetched concept, it was a movie both my children and I liked. It was filled with action and adventure but the good guys come out on top in the end against overwhelming odds. I think we could all use a little more optimism now and this movie delivers it. Carmen and Junie were not the impossibly perfect kids seen in most movies now. Nor were they brats who only care about themselves in other movies. They were too athletic to be real children, but I'd like to think that they are showing the kids seeing the movie that they can do anything that they put their mind to. Overall, a terrific family movie the kids will actually like-even though their parents do too.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Self-Reference for Kids, 5 May 2001 Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Spoilers herein.Most art refers to itself in some way, but nowadays almost every film has some straightforward self-reference in the form of being about some kind of show. There must have been a very influential executive producer some time back pushing this idea for it to be so common.The notion of these kinds of films is to create another world, so combine that with the self-reference gimmick and you have a fantasy kiddie show about a fantasy kiddie show. More, essentially all research in self-reference for decades has been in artificial intelligence, which is the device around which this plot turns. The language of AI is LISP, the name of the archvillain. In the heyday of LISP machines, the leading system was Flavors LISP Object Oriented Programming or: you guessed it -- Floop. I myself worked on a defense AI program that included the notion of a `third brain,' that is an observer living in a world different than (1) that of the world's creator, and (2) of the characters.The third is the brain of the observer. This is also a strong element in film criticism where the camera is the third eye, the eye of the artificial narrator. The most intelligent film about the third eye spying on the action is `Snake Eyes,' where we last saw Gugino. (You may want to check my comments on that film to see what I mean.)Even more: this is the third time Cumming has played the evil thug Gates, the others being `Titus' and `Get Carter.' The blooper of course is that Gates wouldn't know AI if it bit him (despite buying up some of the big names from the past). So having him trapped in the virtual room is apt.The point is that there was some intelligence in this script, not all artificial.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Adventure kid 's classic, 18 February 2005 Author: hcalderon1 from United States
This movie was an excellent adventure for kids that love action and trying to solve mysteries. This begins when the Kortez family who is involved with the United States Government fighting the bad people, have to find out what the problem is and how to solve it. Their children always seem to want to not want to get involved with their parents but now that the kids want to be a family they want to help try to become a Kortez Family. Everything seemed o.k at first but when things got hectic the children were to try to find their parents before it was too late and the bad people capture their own family. Stay tuned to find out can the children accomplish it before it too late.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: stupid, 21 June 2008 Author: joshua-halstead from United States
this movie was incredibly stupid with meaning what so ever. i fell bad for all the actors and actresses that ruined there career to be in this stupid movie. the entire movie was based on how unrealistic they could make it, to make little like it which made it even stupider. even some of the names were unrealistic. the film is fun to watch which is why it had 2 out of 10 stars. this is probably the 3rd stupidest movie ever made. i got really made after i realized that it had mostly adult actors in it yet in was a kid movie. the most upsetting one was Danny Trejo a horror movie actor who is always dirty. the other actors were pretty much clean as far as i'm concerned.
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