Review of Spy Kids

Introduction

There`s a plot to kidnap top agents and this lures Gregorlo (Banderas) and his wife Ingrid (Gugino) into a trap. As usual, world domination is the aim of Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming), but how are Gregorlo and Ingrid supposed to foil his plans when they too are trapped? Thankfully Uncle Felix (Cheech Marin) steps in to reveal that the kids` parents are really secret agents. Children that discover their parents are secret agents is a shock most couldn`t deal with. I mean, can you imagine your Mum and Dad as spies?

These kids though have no choice but to just go with it and try to rescue Mom and Pops. What follows are cool gadgets, great visual effects, cool costumes and pretty good production design too. I especially love the jetpacks (I want one!), the creature effects (by KNB) and the Thumb-Thumbs!

Video

The video transfer looks pretty clean and is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic. There`s lots of colour in the film and for the most part it stands out well in the transfer with pretty solid colours coming through. Some scenes seemed a touch bright though where the colours may look a little muted. No discernable signs of compression or bad transfer elements though.

Audio

I thought the sound was good. Good music and sound effects with a wide soundstage throughout. We get a DD5.1 soundtrack which sounds pretty good here with nice punchy bass and clear dialogue. The score is composed by Los Lobos, Rodriguez and Danny Elfman amongst others and sounds good, adding a fairy tale element to the film.

Features

A teaser and theatrical trailer, Sneaky Peeks and scene selection is all that grace this disc. A big shame since I`m sure there are loads of things that could have been added. What is here isn`t impressive in the slightest.

Conclusion

Rodriguez did quite a bit in this movie, I`m surprised that he doesn`t make an appearance! Spy Kids is a kids movie, there`s no doubt about this since everything is family friendly from the script and the look of the film to the way it plays out. I quite liked it and once you get over some of the sentimental family stuff, it`s an enjoyable movie. It has a lot of fun and is packed with some pretty cool visual effects. Spy Kids is a story that plays simply enough that almost any child will understand, this is where the appeal lies. Hopefully the follow up to this film will have a bit more appeal for grown ups.

The cast play well, and I think Daryl Sabara (Juni) has the look and attitude of a young Robert Rodriguez! This is the movie Rodriguez wanted to make for his own kids, so there are lots of things here with his trademark, like the use of camera to the story. Not sure how much replay value there is in this bares bones edition however.

Spy Kids did amazing boxoffice, so much so that more footage was inserted and this was re-released in cinemas. This DVD though is the old version, so who knows, we may get a special edition DVD with the extras that we want. To sum up, this is a fun film which is definitely worth renting. It isn`t an essential purchase however unless you`re looking for family friendly entertainment. Kids are bound to enjoy it!