Special effects, terrible, a 10 year old could make better. Story, Cliché in every way possible, Kids find out parents are spies, stuff happens, explosions to catch the 9 second attention span of a 6 year old, one-liner quips to catch the attention of the bored to death parents, evil dude, they stop him, mutated thumb creatures, and that's about it. When I saw this movie IT SCARED ME FOR LIFE, I was like 7 or 8 at the time but little did I know the horrors that were ahead. I was used to top notch special effects like in Star Wars, even though they were old but still worked well, or high quality CG affects, but THIS, was something else entirely, it was so cheap I was actually disturbed. The bizarre Lazy Town, Willy Wonka hybrid cartoon looked like an acid trip and the flying scenes were so cheap it makes Ratatoing look professional. The villain seemed really cliché and about the same as anyone out there, the "kid spy" thing really wears off because only 4.01% of the movie is actually spying, and the lighting made Man of Steel look like My Little Pony.The best part of the movie is the one reference of the Cold War. And the end of course.Also I hate the whole "lets let minors handle extremely dangerous, unrealistic missions because we want exploit a popular demographic" thing because it is REALLY annoying and an overused story telling device. Examples: The Hunger Games, Insurgent, Maze Runner, etc.

Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids has a very special significance for me: it's the first movie I ever saw in theatres, and therefore left quite an impression on me. It has loads of Rodriguez's trademark imagination and vision, as well as a stacked cast and a whimsical sense of adventure that makes it a super charged Saturday morning cartoon style bucket of fun. Rodriguez makes two types of films: shamelessly violent, over the top, bloody genre fun, and family orientated sci fi/fantasy for kids. He fares better in the former, as this is really the only good one in the secondary category. The sequels are trash, and I don't know what he was thinking with Sharkboy and Lava Girl, but with this one his filmmaking skill and passion for the craft work its charm and provide a wonderful experience. Newcomers Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara play youngsters Carmen and Juni Cortez, who are surprised to learn that their unassuming parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are in fact lethal undercover spies, and need their help after being kidnapped by eccentric megalomaniac Floop (Alan Cumming hamming it up terrifically). Aided by their uncles Felix (Cheech Marin) and Machete (Danny Trejo) they embark on a dazzling adventure to find Floop's surreal, isolated palace, take down baddies Ms. Gredanko (Teri Hatcher) and Mr. Lisp (Robert Patrick) and save their parents. The four have amazing chemistry as a familial unit, especially when it comes time to kick major butt. The practical based effects have a wondrous vitality, from the Thumb Thumb henchman to the eye boggling, Terry Gilliam-esque realm that Floop resides in. There's also work from Tony Shaloub, Mike Judge, Richard Linklater and a sly cameo from George Clooney. No shortage of imagination, creativity and fun.

Spy Kids (2001): Dir: Robert Rodriguez / Cast: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Cheech Marin: Wonderfully inventive and exhilarating experience for families. It is about little people doing big things. The special effects are totally creative with a story that is straight forward but a lot of fun. Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino are captured spies by an entertainer who mutates spies as props for his show. Gugino tells of the two spies who were suppose to eliminate each other but ultimately fell in love instead. Their children catch on quickly when villains that resemble thumbs search for a device called the Third Brain. Alan Cumming plays a villain who desires to take over the world using robotic children and the third brain is needed. Director Robert Rodriguez outdoes himself here with inventive visuals and creative gimmicks. This is a far stretch from the gory horror films he is known for such as From Dusk Till Dawn and The Faculty. Banderas and Gugino are a wonderful pairing with Alan Cumming on target as the entertainer. Tony Shalhoub plays the scheming villain. Richard Cheech Marin is an amusing edition as an uncle who is in on the big parental secret. The third act is mainly numerous action sequences that present cartoon style violence and predictable results. Otherwise this is a challenging family friendly visual delight. Score: 9 / 10

I was in my early teens when this movie came out, and I can't remember exactly how I first heard about it, but I don't think that happened until a few years later. It has now been several years since I first heard of "Spy Kids", but I was far from eager to watch it. I knew it was a kiddie spy flick, like "Agent Cody Banks", and even though it's been several years since I last saw that 2003 release, I can still remember being put off by its cheesiness. I would probably still be ignoring this 2001 kiddie spy flick if it weren't for renowned cartoonist and filmmaker Mike Judge in the cast, as small as his role here is. This movie generally isn't considered atrocious, but I knew it would be at least somewhat cheesy, so I was not surprised by its overall mediocrity.Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were once enemy spies from different countries, sent to kill each other, but when they met, they soon ended up falling in love, getting married, and semi-retiring from the spy business. Nine years later, they are now the parents of two children, Carmen and Juni, who are both unaware of their parents' past. The two Cortez parents return to their spy jobs after several other spies go missing, and it looks like a children's TV show called "Floop's Fooglies" could be responsible! They leave Uncle Felix Gumm with the kids and set out to investigate. The two secret agents are soon captured on their mission, and when this happens, an alarm goes off in the Cortez home and the place is invaded! Uncle Felix tells Carmen and Juni the truth, which is that their parents are spies and he is not really their uncle. The two young siblings manage to escape, and set out to work as spies themselves and save their parents! As well as being an action adventure film, this is also supposed to be a comedy, but absolutely nothing made me laugh, and I guess a couple parts made me smile, but hardly even did that! The "Now flushing your poop" part is an example of juvenile kiddie humour in the movie, and it's also certainly not amusing watching the conflict between the Cortez siblings, with the name calling and such. The story didn't really grab me for the most part, either. I found the first 25 minutes of the film or so to be consistently dull (including the part showing how two enemy spies just suddenly changed their minds when they met), and later, I did find SOME adrenaline in it, thanks to the action, but not enough to distract me from the flaws. I didn't really care much for any of the characters, and Alan Cumming's performance in the role of Fegan Floop is rather weak. I could tell that this character was supposed to be one of the more comical ones, but he just provides more failed attempts at humour for the already unfunny film. The special effects in "Spy Kids" are great, but special effects aren't everything.This 2001 kiddie spy flick apparently turned out to be a success, and was followed by "Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" in 2002 and "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" in 2003. After a long break, it appears the franchise is about to return with another sequel called "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World" coming up, one by Robert Rodriguez, just like the first three. However, I doubt I'll be watching any of these, as watching the original "Spy Kids" didn't capture my interest well enough. Now, maybe a 6/10 for this movie wouldn't be too much from me, due to the reasonably suspenseful parts (it may be a bit better than "Agent Cody Banks"), but in the end, it still left me with an underwhelming feeling. There's a good chance I would have liked this movie as a kid, but many adult viewers have also clearly enjoyed it. I won't say it's strictly for kids, but you should know what you're in for, and it's unsurprisingly a little cheesy.