Spy Kids Review
by Tim Wick
I've started working on a theory about science fiction films. My theory
states that you can tell how the year will turn out based on the first genre
film of the year. Bear with me here:
In 1999, the first Science Fiction film was The Matrix. It rocked. Films
that followed included gems like Galaxy Quest, The Iron Giant, and The
Sixth Sense. Oh, yeah, and The Phantom Menace was in there as well.
True, the year gave us Wild Wild West and Bicentennial Man but the good
far outweighed the bad.
In 2000, the first major Science Fiction release was Supernova. By all
accounts, this movie was horrible (I missed it, thankfully). The rest of
the year provided us with smart-ass fodder like Battlefield Earth, Mission to Mars, and Dungeons and Dragons. Again, there were bright
spots (such as Pitch Black and X-Men) but overall, the year pretty much
stunk for the genre.
2001 has been slow to start. Y2K films have been trickling in so late this
year that we have only just managed to get our first Science Fiction film of
the year, Spy Kids. So what kind of year is it going to be?
Well, if my theory holds true, I think we'll do all right. Spy Kids was a
truly enjoyable romp that seemed to work for the adults and kids that were
in the audience watching the film with me.
I have to admit that it was strange to watch this movie knowing that it was
directed by Robert Rodriguez, who's previous work has been decidedly
un-family friendly stuff like El Mariachi and From Dusk Til Dawn. Don't
get me wrong, I don't dislike his work, I was just uncertain how he would
handle a very different type of film. He did just fine, as it would turn
out.
The movie has a Tim Burtonesque quality to it that even carries into a song
that sounds remarkably like This is Halloween from A Nightmare Before
Christmas. Rodriguez, however, has a far more vivid color palette than
Burton ever did. I've seen many people refer to Willy Wonka when writing
about this movie. I hate to use analogies somebody (everybody) else has
already used, but the comparison is a good one.
Without too many spoilers, here's the plot summary: two spies (Antonio
Banderas and Carla Gugino) get married and have two kids (Daryl Sabara and
Alexa Vega). One day, mom and dad decide to go on one more mission for old
times sake. Things go horribly wrong and it's up to their kids to save the
day. Pass the popcorn.
Plotting against our intrepid heroes are Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming) and his
evil minion, Mr. Minion (Tony Shalhoub). I just have to say that I love Ton
Shalhoub in just about everything he does. His comic ability surpasses that
of the oversaturated Adam Sandler, but he is typically shunted about in
supporting roles. I say that as if it's a bad thing, but in reality it's
not. Supporting actors get to be in more movies.
In any case, it is in Floop's castle that we are treated to the Tim
Burton/Willy Wonka universe including fall away floors and robots that are
all thumbs. Really, Floop's castle recalls the surreal world of Toys
except it's in a far better film. Floop has a bunch of mutated sidekicks
and creates a children's show inside something called the "virtual room"
(you Trek fans will recognize it as a holodeck). Production design on the
castle and it's inhabitants (including Shalhoub's hysterical pop bottle
glasses) is fantastic and a lot of fun. I will have to watch the movie
again just to take in the eye candy.
The spy gadgetry that permeates the movie has a sort of McDonald's happy
meal quality to it (which explains why you can now get a Spy Kids toy with
your happy meal). Everything looks plastic (no matter what "space age
metal" it's supposed to be constructed out of ) and easy to break. In some
movies, this would look cheap. In this movie, it looks like part of the
plan.
The kids are just that, kids. Of course the movie has a coming of age
storyline to it, but the kids don't turn into adults. There is a constant
"gee whiz" feeling to everything they are doing. Even as the situation gets
grimmer, they always seem capable of getting into an argument with each
other. I remember how my brother and I behaved at that age and the film
gets it just about right.
If my theory holds true, we can hope for good things to come with such films
as Planet of the Apes (by the aforementioned Tim Burton) and The Mummy
Returns. Even if my theory is wrong, however, you should make some time to
see Spy Kids. Everyone involved in this movie had a good time making it and
that shows. The film doesn't set out to achieve much, but it achieved it's
goals and even a little more. For that, it deserves four beakers.
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