Spy Kids

With his edgy action films (El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk ‘til Dawn) writer-director Robert Rodriguez has endeared himself to cult audiences around the world. But who would have thought that the exact same ingredients that have made these films so popular, could be used to craft the perfect kids film? With just this in mind, Rodriguez set about replacing bullets with bubble-gum, killers with kids, and in the process has created one of the most exciting and entertaining family films ever. The result, of course, was Spy Kids.

Once upon a time, two super-spies and fierce adversaries Gregario and Ingrid Cortez (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) met, fell in love, and retired from the spy game to settle down to raise a family. Now with two children, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), they live a comfortable, unexciting life in the suburbs. Or do they? When spies from Gregorio’s old firm start disappearing, Gregario and Ingrid are called back into active service one last time to track them down. Little do they know that the spies are being held by the evil television presenter Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming) who is building an army of replicant children (sons and daughters of world leaders no less) to take over the world. The trouble is, his robots are just plain stupid, and what he really needs is a little invention of Gregorio’s called the ‘Third Brain’ to realise his evil scheme. And so, having lured Ingrid and Gregorio out of retirement, Floop captures them and holds them captive in his seaside castle.

"My parents can’t be spies, they aren’t cool enough!"

Carmen and Juni soon learn of their parents' predicament and, once recovered from the shock that their seemingly dull parents are actually world-famous, semi-retired super-spies, they quickly realise that it’s up to them to enact a rescue. Escaping pursuit from Floop's minions, they retire to their parents' safe house where they kit-up with some cool spy-gadgets and, with help from their parents' colleague Felix (Cheech Marin) and their uncle Machete (Danny Trejo), set out to find their folks and make mincemeat of Floop.

In Spy Kids, Rodriguez has created a rare children’s film – one with sharp writing and plot development and, more importantly, one that treats both kids and adults with respect. He avoids the stereotypical characters and archetypal plots of children’s cinema; presenting the parents as capable, sincere and intelligent, and rejecting the ‘children teach adults an important lesson’ formula that recurs in the genre ad nauseam. In Rodriguez’s film, it’s the kids that learn the lessons and whose characters evolve, rather than the parents.

And yet Spy Kids is the kind of film that will make kids literally wet themselves with excitement. Rooted squarely in the action genre (but in a fun rather than dangerous way), and with nods to other films in the action and spy genres, Spy Kids feels a lot like The Matrix for tots (with a little Willy Wonka thrown in for good measure); featuring the same kinds of thrilling stunts and special effects that had us all gasping at Keanu and co. What kid doesn’t dream of being kitted out in black leather with an arsenal of clever gadgets at their disposal? Flying, leaping, running, driving, kicking – this kid for one would think it heaven.

Despite the gadgets however, it’s the perfect (largely Hispanic) cast of Rodriguez regulars that ultimately makes Spy Kids work. With their tongues planted firmly in cheeks, and showing an honest respect for the material, Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino (whom I have loved ever since Spin City) are perfect as the parents who, despite being content with family life, seize the chance for a last mission like they would a second honeymoon. Cheech Marin makes an always-welcome appearance, and it’s great to see the fearsome Danny Trejo taking a heroic, almost cuddly turn. Even George Clooney makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film. But ultimately it’s the kids that steal the show (as they should), with Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara the perfect pair of pint-sized, yet serious, action heroes. Kid stars can either make or break a production (did someone say Phantom Menace?), but to get two talented kids that fire on all cylinders, and seem to have a natural sibling affinity on screen, is nothing short of amazing. These two really do make the perfect spy kids.

Anamorphic, and presented at the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Spy Kids is another great transfer from Roadshow. Overflowing with wonderful sets, colour, amazing digital effects, and colour, this is one visual feast that shows just how great the DVD format really is. The sharpness instilled in the transfer reveals a wealth of detail – not only in Danny Trejo’s pocked and scarred face (that a transfer could mine for days and still find detail to spare) but also in the beautiful fairytale sets that Rodriguez has constructed. Colours are rendered brilliantly and literally leap off the screen, whilst black level is deep and shadow detail impressive.

There are no MPEG or film artefacts to be seen, and the image is spoilt only by the slightest bit of aliasing (due to the sharpness) that creeps in here and there. In one or two scenes the background exhibits the tiniest bit of grain, but this seems to be inherent in the source material. The one problem with the transfer is the clunky and distracting layer change - but to be honest, with a film that just doesn't stop for the full 90 minutes, I can't imagine where it could have been reasonably placed. Even with this small flaw, Roadshow’s presentation of Spy Kids really is fantastic, and does full justice to this visually impressive film.

Providing a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, Spy Kids is almost as impressive in the audio department as it is visually. Rodriguez’s action pedigree comes to the fore here, with a collection of exciting effects and a pumping eclectic soundtrack that supports the action perfectly.

The surround channels are provided many opportunities to shine, with beautifully swirling and front-to-back effects that place the viewer right in the thick of the action the order of the day. Highlights include the Cortez Super Guppy thundering across the room, circling out-of-control jet packs, the swirling screams of spinning spy-kids, and the underwater bubbling of the Cortez family submarine. The subwoofer is also given plenty of opportunities to shine, with many a crash, bang and explosion punctuating proceedings. During all this, the soundtrack still manages to maintain clear and distinct dialogue – an important requirement of children’s film, and even at quiet times there’s plenty of ambient sound to make things interesting.

Rodriguez puts his final stamp on the soundtrack with an eclectic and characteristic score that provides great accompaniment to the action through a mixture of typically dramatic (classical), pumping rock and Spanish guitar tracks. All in all, this is a fine piece of audio, and is guaranteed to get your kids' adrenalin pumping.

Spy Kids' impressive package continues with the disc itself - sporting beautifully animated, anamorphic menus. A somewhat disappointing number of extras have also been assembled given the director and the film’s recent vintage:

• Featurette – Behind the Scenes: Clocking in at 21 minutes, this is a well-produced and comprehensive featurette hosted by the film’s stars Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara. Containing interviews with Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Robert Patrick, Robert Rodriguez and others, it’s interspersed with footage from the film and provides some great anecdotes from on-set. It shows how the kids were trained for the stunts in the film, the willingness of the other stars to get into the action, and how Rodriguez dived with a group of 40 hungry sharks to obtain some of the underwater footage. Aimed at kids, this is a featurette that will interest them as much as you.

• Theatrical Trailer: of course this is of limited interest to the kids. Ok, ok you’re right - of limited interest to anyone. Presented in full frame and with a little grain, the transfer is nonetheless acceptable.

• Teaser Trailer: Much the same as the theatrical trailer (yawn).

• Preview: An abhorrently dirty trailer for Cats and Dogs.

The featurette is the only real extra here, and despite being good as featurettes go, Spy Kids is crying out for a director’s commentary. Having listened to Rodriguez’s superb commentaries on El Mariachi and Desperado, it would have been interesting to hear his comments on working with kids and with a heavily CGI production process. I know I shouldn’t complain, given that some distributors are still releasing highly popular films with no extras at all, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Collector’s Edition released sooner or later containing out-takes, deleted scenes and the much missed commentary. Especially since the region 1 release is so pretty light-on. We can only wait and hope.

In Spy Kids, Rodriguez has used his skills to craft a film that is aimed directly at kids, whilst not ignoring the rules of good film making. With its intelligent script, exciting stunts and cool gadgets, it represents the best live-action kid’s film I have seen for some time, and you should waste no time in rushing out to grab a copy for your kids. But of course they’re already begging for a copy aren’t they?

Ok, so if I have gushed a little too much, please forgive me, but Spy Kids is such a breath of fresh air in a genre ruled by stereotypes that it really may signal a new trend on the horizon. Anyway, just the chance to see Terry Hatcher’s head on fire is reason enough to gush…