Spy Kids

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.

This film takes a child's cartoonish idea of a spy and runs with it, leaning into a charming campiness that brought joy to my heart. As an adult watching this film, I am impressed by the directing in this film: great performances and expressive, well thought out camera-work. This, combined with excessively creative production design (which clearly had passionate people behind it) creates a world that, frankly, feels like it was genuinely thought up by a children, albeit a team of extremely creative and funny ones with an impressive understanding of filmmaking. I generally judge children's films for how well i can enjoy them, as an adult, since any film that has to pander to a child mind to succeed is lacking an essential intellectual, critically examinable element. This film half succeeds at that, while also clearly and specifically pandering to children. It's like a live-action kid's cartoon, and the director/cinematographer did a great job at achieving that specific aesthetic.

I often struggle when evaluating children's movies, because I am not a child. But the sheer creativity of this film, and how competently made it is in every department-art design, cinematography, directing, writing, score, everything-makes Spy Kids, undeniably, a work of art.

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

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!

Yeah I get the CGI is pretty dated and it's very silly, but look at the movie as it is. People on imdb have a bad habit of giving movies they think are overrated 1s, or movies they think are underrated 10s. This movie is an example of the former.

The kid actors are good, as well as the adults. Danny Trejo is a standout for me. Antonio banderas was great as well.

The villain, Floop, may be silly but you understand his character, which is something MANY spy movies fail at.

Jokes do fall flat, but some do land and are pretty good. The plot is simple and silly and does makes no sense at times, but it's a kid movie: I don't know why some reviewers were expecting an in-depth socio-political commentary on the government and spies. And in my opinion, the plot is entertaining and that's what matters.

I suppose that what movies should be aiming for: entertainment. Obviously a good movie needs good plot; score; direction; writing; cinematography and acting (all of which this movie has), but what makes me actually care about the movie is the question of 'if I enjoyed the movie'

And I enjoyed the movie, a lot