Former Secret Agent
Juni (Sabara) is recruited back to the agency to foil an evil game
designer's plan to enslave all children and take over the world.
In order to save the world from the Toymaker (Stallone) and rescue
his sister Carmen (Vega) who is caught inside a virtual reality
game, Juni must venture through five levels of play inside the
game without losing more than nine lives.
CRITIQUE
First of all, I
think the title overdoes it a bit. The 3-D part only works in
theaters. Video is not compatible with that technology and even
with glasses the 3-D looks weak. Well, video is compatible, but
quality is not good.
I'm a fan of the
original Spy Kids film, though the second film
disappointed. The main reason I dislike the third and final film
of the trilogy is the fact that the entire film is one large
action piece. Despite Robert Rodriguez's good intentions, I just
didn't care for much of the story, and that is the film's main
problem; the story is not original, instead it's simple and too
fast. Granted, the special effects are amazing, not to mention
Ricardo Montalban can do anything; his character runs, jumps,
fights, etc. In those respects, technology is amazing and used to
great effect in the film. Yet Rodriguez seems to let the effects
dictate the story, which doesn't quite work, resulting in my
disappointment.
Once inside the
game, which is some fifteen minutes into the film, Juni runs from
level to level and loses life after life. The action in between
all that is cool, but features no interesting pay-off. Scenes with
Sylvester Stallone, who plays four different versions of himself,
are not interesting, and most of the cameos in the film are
boring, especially the ones at the very end of the film when the
Toymaker's robot threatens to destroy the kids' city, or
something. In the commentary you'll learn none of the actors were
actually together for the "family shot," which seems kind of
boring. In fact, the whole last part of the film is awkward, and
the "message" at the end is actually a little creepy.
I don't know, Spy
Kids 3-D: Game Over is really just action without direction,
that is, the action takes away from a potentially interesting
storyline. At the end of the day, nobody did any spying in the
film, but I guess that's what it means when part of the film is
called "game over."
THE VIDEO
Buena Vista presents Spy
Kids 3-D in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Viewers get the
choice of watching the film in either 3-D on disc 1 or in 2-D on
disc 2. I actually watched the 3-D version with the pair of 3-D
glasses and quite frankly it looked too damn red and blue.
That's obvious, of course, since the glasses are both those
colors. The 3-D effect is somewhat apparent, but really has no
lasting effect. Fellow film critic and senior editor Sara
Michelle thought the 3-D worked incredibly well in theaters, but
the same can't be said about home viewing, which is
disappointing. It didn't work for me, and I think you'll be
better off watching the film in 2-D. Surely, it's less effective
and actually makes the film less exciting. In terms of video
quality, the 3-D looked pretty good to me. I mean, what can I
say about it, really? Without the glasses it looked out of
focus, with glasses on the colors were somewhat iffy. Detail
seemed pretty fine. No compression artifacts whatsoever. The 2-D
version appeared in good condition also without many problems.
Colors were bright and well-saturated. Sharpness looked pretty
good, and dark tones were consistent. Overall, a very nice video
presentation, although the 3-D version just didn't have any
effect.
THE AUDIO
Buena Vista presents Spy
Kids 3-D in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. This
is a really good presentation. Surrounds are active and rear
speakers have their work cut out. Dialogue is clear and easy to
understand. Music is loud when it should be, and positional
audio is evident and effective. Overall, a very solid audio
presentation by Buena Vista.
French and Spanish
dub tracks are also available
THE EXTRAS
Since the two film
versions take up some good space, the extras are spread across
both discs, though disc 2 contains all extras, which means some
are repeated on the first disc.
Available with both
versions (and discs) is the audio commentary by Robert
Rodriguez. He keeps the track fairly technical but explains
himself a lot and tells listeners how he and his team of special
effects guys created the fantastic world of the video game. He
rarely pauses to catch his breath, and really keeps this track
full of information. I thought he repeated himself a bit regarding
the advantages of special effects, but overall it's an informative
track. Also available is the exciting 10-Minute Film School
that offers some cool information on how to make home movies more
effective. Clips of Rodriguez's home movies appear also, which is
cool, though the actual running time of this piece is only 8.5
minutes or so. Also on both discs is Alexa Vega in Concert
that allows viewers to choose from three different clips of the
actress performing.
The Making of Spy
Kids 3-D: Game Over features interviews with the actors,
Robert Rodriguez, and some other people. Here viewers will get to
see behind-the-scenes footage as well as the creation of the
special effects. It runs for about 30 minutes and is somewhat
informative. The Effects of the Game (6:41) is a big
montage combining greenshot effects, special effects shots, and
the finished scenes in the film to provide some insight into how
the film achieved the look of the video game. The featurette runs
against some good beats and overall offers a neat look at the many
special effects. Making Trax with Alexa Vega (1:00) is
behind-the-scenes footage of the actress recording her song but
messing up her lines. Then, Surfing and Stunts is a
multi-angle featurette comparing the storyboards, greenshot
effects, and final finished sequences in the film. Next,
Big Dink, Little Dink (1:41) is a pointless clip of Bill
Paxton and his son filming on the soundstage. Also available is a
Mega Race Set-Top Game in both 3-D and 2-D versions.
You can
select to view the film with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. The
84-minute feature is organized into
twenty-nine chapters. A paper insert lists scene
selections. Four 3-D glasses are included in the Collector's
Series DVD.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is a lot of fun
action in this film, but also a lot of boring scenes where I didn't
care at all what happened. The story is not original, and the special
effects dictate the film; not a good choice. The video/audio is very
good, and the extras are good, too. Some are informative, such as the
making-of, film school, and effects of the game featurette, but the
other extras are lame. Still, a decent collection of material headed
by an informative commentary. In the end, this DVD should make for an
OK rental. Kids might be interested, but adults shouldn't bother.
Therefore, rent it for the DVD, not for the film specifically.
