Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

reviewed by dave heaton

The Spy Kids series has been not just a commercially successfully series of children's action/adventure films but a fun, creative exercise in B-movie-making by director Robert Rodriguez. The first two films paid tribute to the films that captured the imaginations of children in the past--from the James Bond and Indiana Jones films to the Ray Harryhausen-fueled Sinbad romps of the 1970s--while accomplishing the same thing for kids of today. The films also celebrated family unity and cooperation in a way more consistent with real life than you might expect from a children's film, with a family filled with head-strong, independent figures and eccentricities. And they present a fantasy world that's not filled with a stark division between good and evil, where the villains are always just as human as the heroes.

In a weird way Spy Kids 3-D is both more and less frivolous than the other films. The plot concerns ex-Spy Kid Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara)'s quest to rescue his sister Carmen (Alex Vega) from within a video game run by The Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone), a conflicted figure who plans on using the video game to take over the children of the world. The film thus takes place nearly entirely within the video game, and in 3-D. As such, the film's set-up drives the plot, which is essentially a series of tasks that Juni and his companions (including three kids who were put in the game to test it and Juni's wheelchair-bound grandfather, played with zeal by Ricardo Montalban) must complete to get to the end of the game.

While along the way are plenty of unique characters and situations, there's less room for surprise on the whole. There's also less room for jokes, banter, and character development. While that does mean that Spy Kids 3-D has little depth and feels often more like a race to the end of the film (and apparently the series) than a film of any substance, it also makes the video game set-up work well for what it is. In other words, this is essentially a trip inside a video game, and therefore a limited experience. But as a trip inside a video game, it's loads of fun.

Fun and creativity are at the center of the Spy Kids films, and of children's films in general, and that's especially true here. Many critics have pointed out that the 3-D format isn't all that aesthetically pleasing, and that's true. But it is pleasing to our inner children. For this is a ride as much as a film, but that's not a bad thing. It might make the film less important, but it doesn't make it less fun. Following Juni and his companions through the game is a joyride that has all of the energy and thrills which are supposedly the hallmark of "summer movies." Spy Kids 3-D might not be as humorous or smart as the first two films, yet it's just as entertaining. It appeals to the side of moviewatchers that just wants to see something fun, yet at the same time it doesn't insult us or make us feel unclean for the way we've spent our time, as all too many of the adventure films Hollywood churns out each summer do.

Issue 15, September 2003