For a film aimed primarily at children under twelve, 'Spy Kids' is surprisingly amusing enough with plenty of action and comedy to keep both kids and adults happy. The film is the first in a long line to use the idea of child spies as the plot device with the story itself centring on twelve-year-old Carmen and her eight-year-old brother Juni as they strive to rescue their spy parents from the grasps of Floop, a campy TV presenter with dreams of world domination.
There are, of course, an abundance of special effects in the film that are of a decent quality and a number of intriguing James Bond-like gadgets make their appearance. However, what makes this film engaging is the interesting story that walks a neat line between being moralistic without preaching (we have the typical sibling fights but they band together in tough times as well as topics such a trust and familial loyalty being touched on) and not taking itself seriously (the adult characters are there mainly as comic relief back-up to the child leads and they revel in this role). Also, the child actors, Alexa Vega as Carmen and Daryl Sabara, show they are talented enough to carry off the bulk of the film themselves with limited support from Antonio Benderas and Carla Gugino, who play their screen parents.
Unlike the lukewarm sequels, 'Spy Kids' is the kind of children's flick that older family members won't mind watching since the funny and action-packed plot and appealing performances by all the actors involved provide fun for a wide age range. In fact, the only problem I have with this film is that we can predict many mediocre copy-cat films, using the child spy concept, to be produced for the next five or six years until another fresh idea comes along, ripe for the rip-off.
There are, of course, an abundance of special effects in the film that are of a decent quality and a number of intriguing James Bond-like gadgets make their appearance. However, what makes this film engaging is the interesting story that walks a neat line between being moralistic without preaching (we have the typical sibling fights but they band together in tough times as well as topics such a trust and familial loyalty being touched on) and not taking itself seriously (the adult characters are there mainly as comic relief back-up to the child leads and they revel in this role). Also, the child actors, Alexa Vega as Carmen and Daryl Sabara, show they are talented enough to carry off the bulk of the film themselves with limited support from Antonio Benderas and Carla Gugino, who play their screen parents.
Unlike the lukewarm sequels, 'Spy Kids' is the kind of children's flick that older family members won't mind watching since the funny and action-packed plot and appealing performances by all the actors involved provide fun for a wide age range. In fact, the only problem I have with this film is that we can predict many mediocre copy-cat films, using the child spy concept, to be produced for the next five or six years until another fresh idea comes along, ripe for the rip-off.