Just like the original "Spy Kids", "Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" depends heavily on flashy colours, eccentric gimmicks, flamoyant special effects, cartoon-like villains, snappy dialogue and nifty backbone behind it all. This sequel has the equally effective adventure that finds our heroes Carmen (Alexa Penavega) and her younger brother Juni (Daryl Sabara) compete aganist a rival sibling spy duo of Gary (Matt O'Leary) and Gerti (Emily Osment) Giggles, whose father manipulated his way to take over as the leader of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Soon the Cortez siblings find themselves on a mysterious island run by not-quite-as-mad scientist Dr. Romero (Steve Buscemi) with a dangerous weapon that could potentially cause massive global destruction.
Under the leadership of Robert Rodriguez, he truly made this sequel one he could truly call his own. He directed, wrote the script, produced, composed, edited and was responsible for the cinematography. His colour choices represents quite in sync towards his Hispanic culture which features beautifully painted sculptures seen in the souvenir shops on display just asking and begging for you to own one of them.
There is a lot of Mexican-American culture heavily featured themes. From the backgrounds to the main characters in the film and even a supporting role from one of the greatest Hispanic American performers that ever lived Ricardo Montalban who's confined to a wheelchair that can whirl like a helicopter.
I like that the opening sequences take place at an amusement park, because a lot of times, the CGI sequences feel very similar to a theme park background where you don't really know what's going to materialize right in front of you and in this movie, we do get our fair share of weirdness coming at us from all angles. Bill Paxton who plays amusement owner Dinky Winks, cleverly explains his new rides. The rides themselves are so diabolically reckless, I had myself laughing in utter amusement. Like for instance, the Whipper Snapper where patron ride in these cars which has ropes attached to them that snap off like whips. And then you have the Vomiter where Mr. Winks gets out his umbrella which tells you what to expect when you go on that ride. But the best on has to be The Juggler, a ride that really juggles the cars with the customers inside.
In one prominent scene we see the President's (Christopher McDonald) daughter, Alexandra (Taylor Momsen) is dangerously at the ledge of The Juggler and so the Cortez and the Giggles siblings compete to see who could rescue her first. And though Carmen and Juni were the real heroes in this rescue, the Giggles siblings took all credibility. This rivalry would be the catalyst that wouls lead them to the Island of Lost Dreams.
With the intentions of leaning towards espionage thriller, with some fantasy sequences, combined with weird characters, strange creatures and kooky gadgets, this truly feels like a kids version of James Bond where survival is the key factor in the narrative. Even though he plays a mad scientist, Buscemi's Dr. Romero is not fully evil, but just a loner type who's preoccupied with his Earth destroying contraptions. The Cortez take chase to the Island by way of going undersea while leaving their parents Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) concerned about their safety. The overprotective partents are also being tested when the grandparents Valentin and Helga Avellan (Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor) come to visit to offer some unwelcomed advice.
Some of the creature effects are quite impressive especially the green and gold coloured sea monster and multi-legged spider/ape hybrid was convincingly quite freaky. One of the more cooler gadgets incled a Palm Pilot that is owned by Juni that's like a valet to him and has creepy spider-like legs that help him adjust his tie.
The exchange in dialogue might fall within the territory of parody, especially when the Cortez siblings are in search of the Transmooger, a deadly weapon that could cause annihilation of our entire planet. With the sequel the popular "Spy Kids" series, it's a great movie that follows the same pattern as being a James Bond movie for the younger age demographic. I wonder what would happen if the franchise continues to move forward as Juni and Carmen become parents with their kids following the legacy as super spies and they become the parents and their parents as grandparents? That's something to think about.
Under the leadership of Robert Rodriguez, he truly made this sequel one he could truly call his own. He directed, wrote the script, produced, composed, edited and was responsible for the cinematography. His colour choices represents quite in sync towards his Hispanic culture which features beautifully painted sculptures seen in the souvenir shops on display just asking and begging for you to own one of them.
There is a lot of Mexican-American culture heavily featured themes. From the backgrounds to the main characters in the film and even a supporting role from one of the greatest Hispanic American performers that ever lived Ricardo Montalban who's confined to a wheelchair that can whirl like a helicopter.
I like that the opening sequences take place at an amusement park, because a lot of times, the CGI sequences feel very similar to a theme park background where you don't really know what's going to materialize right in front of you and in this movie, we do get our fair share of weirdness coming at us from all angles. Bill Paxton who plays amusement owner Dinky Winks, cleverly explains his new rides. The rides themselves are so diabolically reckless, I had myself laughing in utter amusement. Like for instance, the Whipper Snapper where patron ride in these cars which has ropes attached to them that snap off like whips. And then you have the Vomiter where Mr. Winks gets out his umbrella which tells you what to expect when you go on that ride. But the best on has to be The Juggler, a ride that really juggles the cars with the customers inside.
In one prominent scene we see the President's (Christopher McDonald) daughter, Alexandra (Taylor Momsen) is dangerously at the ledge of The Juggler and so the Cortez and the Giggles siblings compete to see who could rescue her first. And though Carmen and Juni were the real heroes in this rescue, the Giggles siblings took all credibility. This rivalry would be the catalyst that wouls lead them to the Island of Lost Dreams.
With the intentions of leaning towards espionage thriller, with some fantasy sequences, combined with weird characters, strange creatures and kooky gadgets, this truly feels like a kids version of James Bond where survival is the key factor in the narrative. Even though he plays a mad scientist, Buscemi's Dr. Romero is not fully evil, but just a loner type who's preoccupied with his Earth destroying contraptions. The Cortez take chase to the Island by way of going undersea while leaving their parents Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) concerned about their safety. The overprotective partents are also being tested when the grandparents Valentin and Helga Avellan (Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor) come to visit to offer some unwelcomed advice.
Some of the creature effects are quite impressive especially the green and gold coloured sea monster and multi-legged spider/ape hybrid was convincingly quite freaky. One of the more cooler gadgets incled a Palm Pilot that is owned by Juni that's like a valet to him and has creepy spider-like legs that help him adjust his tie.
The exchange in dialogue might fall within the territory of parody, especially when the Cortez siblings are in search of the Transmooger, a deadly weapon that could cause annihilation of our entire planet. With the sequel the popular "Spy Kids" series, it's a great movie that follows the same pattern as being a James Bond movie for the younger age demographic. I wonder what would happen if the franchise continues to move forward as Juni and Carmen become parents with their kids following the legacy as super spies and they become the parents and their parents as grandparents? That's something to think about.