Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011) User Reviews

Escapism at its finest.

[jrmbarnach · 4/10 · 27 May 2014]

The real purpose of a movie is to entertain (escapism) - to distance you from your problems for a short period of time. If you will look at this movie from the perspective of a person viewing movies for entertainment purposes, then this movie is good (not very good since there are a lot of better escapist movies out there). If you look at it from the perspective of a movie critic, then this is a horrible movie, filled with clichés and poop jokes.

The first film of this franchise may have had some cliché plot points, but it didn't rely on poop and fart jokes to move the story or try to make the viewer laugh.

This movie has the usual 'stepdaughter-hates-stepmom' and the 'geeky brother' story lines along with the happily ever after ending. It seems the movie thinks that watching these story lines is entertaining to kids, when in fact, it's not (speaking from my perspective as a 13 year old kid). To be frank, it's quite annoying.

However, this movie doesn't lack on the entertainment value. CGI all-around, gadgets everywhere, this movie has tons of cool stuff to keep the viewer at the edge of their seat. There are jokes that if you watch first may seem funny, but in the end will make you think "is that joke really funny, or is it offensive".

Bottomline is, this movie can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. To me, it's escapism at its finest.

The Vidiot Reviews...

[capone666 · 3/10 · 25 November 2011]

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D

When you've got two active adolescent agents in your home, you've got to ensure you have plenty of Flintstones Cyanide Pills on hand.

Fortunately, the step mom in this family adventure is an ex-intelligencer.

Trading in her cloak and dagger for diapers, femme fatale turned housewife Marissa (Jessica Alba) is called back into action after the villainous Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) begins to steal time.

But when the Timekeeper targets her stepchildren (Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook), Marissa must divulge her past, which ultimately leads to their tutelage under a former Spy Kid (Alexa Vega).

Now, the new recruits and their robot dog (Ricky Gervais) must stop the Timekeeper before it's too late.

The fourth installment of the Spy Kids franchise, All the Time in the World is a fart infused, infantile, chroma keyed atrocity.

Besides, as an undercover child agent, wouldn't most of your assignments involve you luring in online predators? (Red Light)

Robert Rodriguez has still got the magic !

[paulww · 4/10 · 26 August 2011]

Yes, Robert hasn't lost his touch. When a man has that much talent and imagination, you wonder how long he can keep it up. He is a genius, and I don't use that word lightly. He has invented a new kind of movie here, with the spy kids series. A movie that empowers children instead of what Hollywood has always done with children's movies. The spy kids movies are a refreshing change and I'm glad to see it continuing. The first three were ground breaking and very special. I was so glad to see that this one lives up to that. Although not as good as the first two, which were superb, I rate it about the same as the third one. It may be hard for some to embrace the new cast, which happens every time a new James Bond is cast. I think everyone is just as likable as the originals. Reviews that cut down the acting, plot or whatever don't understand what Rodriguez has done. This movie, as with the other three, is for children and people who love children. If you don't consider yourself in one of those categories then you won't get it.

A unimaginative, pointless, cheap family film

[freemantle_uk · 2/10 · 20 August 2011]

Hopes were not high coming into Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. It is the fourth film in a franchise suffering from diminishing returns, plus it was using the stupid idea of smell-o-vision. And this family film does not disappoint.

Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba) is a top OSS spy who retires after capturing a super villain, Tik Tok, and starts a family with her husband Wilbur (Joel McHale) and stepchildren Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook). A year later a new villain has emerged, the Time Keeper, who speeds up time using the Armageddon Device to punish humanity for wasting time. Marissa is called back by the OSS director, Danger D'Amo (Jeremy Piven), to recapture Tik Tok which should lead them to the Time Keeper. But the Time Keeper sets out to kidnap Rebecca and Cecil because Rebecca has the only thing that could stop the Armageddon Device.

There are many problems with Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. It's a cheap and unimaginative film where you could easily predict how they would play out. We have seen these story elements so many times before: the dad is a workaholic; there is animosity between step-mum and step-daughter as the step-mum tries to get closer to the children; the revelation of a lie, and so many others. The humour is crude, mostly poo, fart and vomit gags, basically the lowest common denominator which most children will easily outgrow. The other major route of humour is the barrage of puns: time puns, dog puns and smell puns – we're not stupid! The action is rudimentary; it is easy to expect much better from Robert Rodriguez who just uses poor CGI and quick cuts. And if you can't guess who the Time Keeper really is then you haven't seen enough movies. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World feels like it is a movie that is only made for a quick buck, not for any love of the material or the need to tell a good story.

A movie aimed at children should be able to enliven their imaginations: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is not going to do that. The artificial CGI scenes just look too fake for children to accept and buy into the action and the basic predictable plot will mean that children will not love it. Adults and parents will feel nothing but suffering when watching this movie. This is just a mindless movie with no imagination, which is ironic considering it makes a point that children make better spies because they have more imagination. Children are smart; they ask questions, see plot holes and come up with ideas involving sci-fi concepts. The best family and children's movies are clever, well-plotted affairs and often have good ideas behind them. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World does not share those traits. Plus this movie carries on the awful trend of spies with babies not working.

Most of the acting is sub-par. The child leads are bland and not natural actors; it's your typical weak-child acting, and they are no Chloe Mortez or Kodi Smit-McPhee. McHale was truly unconvincing as the father and again a typical bad performance in a bad family movie. Alba was a punch bag for gags to be bounded off on. Ricky Gervais seemed to be having fun, but I'm sure that's because he got a paycheck for saying bad lines in a recording studio. Piven is much the same, having fun and just being over the top.

As movie fans we expect better from Rodriguez, who's done great movies like Sin City, From Dusk to Dawn and the "Mexico" Trilogy. Let's hope he is doing this movie so we can finally get Sin City 2.

And I am sure you are asking the big question – what was the Scratch-and-Sniff card like? It was just a bunch of sickly sweet smells and simply just a gimmick. But you already knew that.

The worst of the series, and one of the worst movies so far this year

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 27 August 2011]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Spy Kids films, they were fun, entertaining and ideal family films. Spy Kids 3 was rather mediocre and disappointing, but any horrible assets that film had was nothing compared to this.

When I entered the theatre to watch this, yes I wanted to see it despite the trailer not looking that good, I thought if it is bad surely it can't be as bad as The Adventures of Sharkboy and LavaGirl. I was wrong, as awful as that film was Spy Kids 4 takes the cake as Rodriguez's worst film.

The film for starters looks cheap. The camera work at best is odd, and the effects lack clarity. The gadgets looked cool from the outset but once the nappy bombs for instance are introduced they lose their appeal very quickly.

I didn't think much of the soundtrack either. I found it rather generic here rather than jaunty and memorable. And Rodriguez's direction is his most unfocused and inept directing job in my opinion of his career.

The script is awful, relying far too much on tired slapstick and heavy-handed messaging, while the story is rushed and much too thin for the film's running time and the action is dull and not helped by the haphazard editing.

Acting-wise, this film is disappointing. It was nice to be Daryl Sabarra and Alexa Vega here but other than the basic concept of the movie, them and Rodriguez, there seemed to be no connection to its predecessors. The new kids do what they can, but they aren't as confident or as appealing.

Jeremy Piven does give his all into a very underwritten and uninteresting villain part and his two other roles as well but at points it feels like he's overdoing it. Danny Trejo is wasted, Antonio Banderas was cut which is yet another reason why this doesn't feel like a Spy Kids movie, Jessica Alba does nothing with her role other than look pretty, while even Ricky Gervais is flat.

The cast are not helped by how their characters are written. The characters here are so cardboard, it is difficult to engage with them on any level.

Overall, despite the trailer I was all for seeing this film. But it was awful(as part of a franchise and on its own terms) and a big disappointment. 1/10 Bethany Cox

A Juvenile Effort Meant for those Under Five

[changmoh · 17 August 2011]

I have often said that in order to enjoy mindless movies like "Transformers", we should "leave our brains at the door of the cineplex". Well, in order to enjoy this "Spy Kids" sequel, we need to lower our IQ to the level of four-year olds! 'Mindlessness' doesn't quite cut it, it is juvenile indulgence, meaning, it is only for kids below five.

And if you have been following the cinema ads and promos, you would know that this movie comes in 4D - with the added dimension of 'smell'. For that, viewers are given a numbered card (called Aroma-Scope) so that they can scratch-and-smell when the number appears on the screen. This is a childish gimmick aimed at kids. For adults, it is more of a nuisance because the scents are faint and the exercise distracts us from the action on the screen. Although there are many fart and poop scenes, the Aroma-Scope only provides scents of chewing gum and other edible stuff (thank goodness for that). History has demonstrated that all smell-o-vision gimmicks mostly stink.

Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) is such a dedicated spy that even when she is nine months pregnant, she manages to take down notorious villain Tick Tock (Jeremy Piven) before going into labor and retiring from her spy duties. Her aim is to devote all her time to her newborn and her step-kids, Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook) and hubby Wilbur (Joey McHale).

Soon, however, she may not have that much time. One year later, Tick Tock and accomplice, The Timekeeper (also Piven), are back at their attempt to rob the world of 'time' - and Rebecca, Cecil and their 'guard dog' Argonaut (voice of Ricky Gervais) must save the world (what else?). Also, they team up with Marissa's niece and nephew, Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara reprising their former Spy Kids roles) to make this mission a family reunion of sorts.

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez seems to be milking the same old cinema-script cow, urging parents to spend more time with their kids. This 'message' has been used by almost all family movies throughout the decade. The time-theft and time-travel conceits can be puzzling to children even if they allow Rodriguez to make use of all sorts of time-related gags. Of course, Rodriguez cannot resist the poop and fart gags, as well as throwing food all over the place. These, I understand, are the laugh-out-loud staple for American kids below five.

Among the cast, Blanchard and Cook are suitably cute and effective as the new title characters. Bringing back former Spy Kids, Vega and Sabara, is a good idea, adding a nostalgic touch for parents in the audience. Ditto that for Danny Trejo's short cameo as Uncle Machete. However, the irony of Daddy Wilbur being a 'Spycatcher' on TV is lost on the kids and scores no points with the adults.

As for Jessica Alba (as Marissa, the younger sister to Antonio Bandera's character), she provides the main box-office lure, nothing more. Strictly kids' stuff. (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

Not worth it (warning, spoiler)

[jwidner76 · 2/10 · 14 December 2012]

Jessica Alba plays a spy turned mom who is so sneaky no one in her family knows. WARNING:SPOILER Of course, by the end of the movie her husband and all the kids are involved, including the baby and the original Spykids are reunited.

My family enjoyed the first three Spykids movies so of course we had to see the fourth. They shouldn't have bothered making the fourth. There is too much bathroom humor including poopy diaper and vomit bag ammo. It wasn't even funny.

In fact, I didn't even think it was worth my time to post a review, but my older daughter said I should warn everyone. So this isn't just an adults opinion. My kids didn't like it either.

Possibly the worst movie of all time!

[wgrima1 · 1/10 · 21 August 2011]

This movie is not only the worst movie of the summer, it could possibly be the worst movie I have ever seen. I took my two boys aged 7 and 4 to watch this sorry excuse for a movie. The boys actually were fairly entertained, but I must say they are not exactly seasoned veterans of the movie watching experience.

We saw it in 2D but also had the '4th D' experience. This amounted to a card they gave you that you scratch and sniff at certain points during the movie. It is a horrible gimmick that does not even work. I scratched as hard as I could and could only smell a faint flowery smell. That is only one minor flaw of the movie.

The other flaws are as follow. The acting is horrendous. How they continue to let Jessica Alba act and even STAR in a movie is a decision that some Hollywood exec will eventually pay for with their job. Her lack of acting abilities were only surpassed by the rest of the cast. But it was not entirely their fault as the film's basic plot and script was about as thin as Kate Moss on a hunger strike.

So what do you combine with horrible acting, a thin plot and countless moronic lines written by the worst screen writers they could dig up? Mindless violence that is not suitable for small children. This movie is supposed to be about spy kids I presumed, based on the title. Most of the scenes and actions were played out by adults and the plethora of punching and kicking scenes was immature and detrimental to young, easily influenced minds.

This movie is disturbing for young children and is completely inappropriate for children of all ages. It also is so horribly acted and the screenplay so ill-conceived that adults are left wondering how in the world Hollywood can continue to put out such dribble and expect us to shell out our hard earned dollars on such mindless 'entertainment.'

To sum it all up, avoid this movie at all costs. Even if your children have seen the other versions and beg you to see it be strong and suggest alternatives. Show Hollywood that you will not be swayed by their slick advertising and inept film-making.

Kids will get a kick out if it, but it's not a patch on the first movies

[slightlymad22 · 4/10 · 2 September 2014]

Like Jaws 4 and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. Spy Kids 4 or "Spy Kids: All The Time In The World" is a Franchise killer. Although it was a moderate financial success against its $27 million budget. It is such a poor movie, it ended any interest in any future movies.

Mason Cook (in his first movie) and Rowan Blanchard (in her 2nd) are not as annoying as most child actors and are certainly cute enough, but they lack the chemistry that Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabra had in the first three movies.

So Jessica Alba is pretty much left to carry the movie on her own. She tries hard but the movie is missing some of the charm and magic that made the first movies so likable. It also misses the talents of Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino.

I give it 4/10 1 for Alba, 1 for Vega. 1 for Sarba, and 1 for the kids

I'm sure most kids will like it, mine certainly enjoyed it, just not as much as the original three.

Dumpster fire of a film

[doomedmac · 1/10 · 27 August 2020]

This movie is utterly terrible and should have never been made. Awful in every way.

Messy and heavy handed

[sonnavfenrir · 3/10 · 19 August 2011]

I love the Spy Kids movies - even Spy Kids 3, despite its flaws.

When they announced that Spy Kids 4 was on the way, I had mixed feelings. Yeah, it was cool to see another Spy Kids movie on the way and as the cast was locked into place, seeing Alexa Vega and Darryl Sabarra coming back was a total blast. Then it started to get a bit worrying with news of the gimmick of smell-o-vision being used to try and sell this one.

The end result? A big mess. On the plus side, the effects and the 3D in this are better than they have been in previous outings. There is some fun to be had seeing Juny and Carmen come back as grown up Spy Kids and there are some nice little links to the original trilogy. The new Spy Kids are kinda fun but not as cool or engaging as the original two and Jessica Alba is pretty game to put up with some of the crap she's put through here. And some giggles can be had from Ricky Gervais' spy dog and Jeremy Piven's multiple appearances.

That said, the smell-o-vision thing is just plain distracting (granted, it's not overdone and is largely confined to the starting 20 minutes) with the large numbers flashing on screen and beeping to make sure you actually do scratch and sniff. The comedy is far too heavy handed and relies more on poop and fart jokes than in previous outings and is aimed strictly at the lowest common denominator - talk about dumbing down! And the message is hammered home with all the finesse and subtlety of sledgehammer to the crotch. There are numerous times where the whole "spend time with your kids/parents" is said direct to camera and after about the third or fourth time, it gets preachy.

It's a shame that Robert Rodriguez felt the need to restart the series with such a lame and heavy handed mess, given just how much fun the first three had to offer. And, on a personal note, I was gutted to see that Uncle Machete was relegated to a blink and you miss him cameo after being built up so well. Aah well, I'm guessing there are plans for another couple movies so there's a chance that it can redeem itself but I think that after this, it's gonna have to work hard!

I love this piece of absolute garbage

[mrashtastic89 · 10/10 · 13 January 2022]

This is honestly one of the most enjoyable movies I've ever seen, I love just how atrocious it is.

I love this piece of trash, it's honestly a guilty pleasure and it was one of my favorite films when I was little, embarrassing.

I rate this film as a parent who took his kids...

[drew_atreides · 6/10 · 15 October 2011]

...Took the family (5 year old son, 2.5 year old daughter) to see Sky Kids 4 today..

Speaking as an adult who saw all 3 of the original SPY KIDS movies in the theatre, this is easily the worst of the series. Joel Mchale (who i have actually become a fan of based off his THE SOUP and COMMUNITY work), Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara give some incredibly bad performances. Embarrassingly-so. Jessica Alba does what Jessica Alba does (thank the Gods she's cute and met Robert Rodriguez), and Jeremy Piven....actually i liked Piven. His character had an interesting story- arc, and he gives a solid performance.

Some of Ricky Gervais' one-liners were funny, too.

The rest of the film was pretty unbearable.

However, speaking as a parent who was out hoping to show his kids a good time, i actually have to give this movie a solid rating. My 2 kids enjoyed the heck out of it, from the talking dog to the baby decking a bad guy, the kids loved it. And my son had a lot of fun keeping track of when to engage the AROMASCOPE scratch card.

A nice film for younger families, i think.

Smell it

[kosmasp · 3/10 · 21 January 2012]

The movie tries something that hadn't been done for a long time. It tries to reach out and tickle the one sense that isn't being reached out to: smell. The fact that you have to scratch a number on a piece of paper you get, every time it appears on screen, can be a pain though. Still kudos for trying something.

That won't help with the story, that is too easy to see and guess for any adult. But they are not the main audience for this movie. This is aimed mostly at kids. They might kinda like it. It's not as bad for them and if you watch it with them, you might enjoy it because of that. I'm not sure if they will include "smell" cards for the DVD/Blu ray ... and how long the smell lasts. Apart from the gimmick there is not that much more there.

I'm closer to my inner child!

[xibchel · 22 October 2012]

I'm so glad I loved this movie. It's not normal that so many people find it so bad. So much resentment, such poor capacity of wonder... I hope you people do find the time to spend with your loved ones. Loved the message, loved the way it all flowed. I had a great time. A great experience to share with wife and kid. The acting is actually nice. The special fx are just enough. Not eccentric, not about visual wonder, but rather just perfectly adapted to convey purpose and meaning. The scenery is excellent. The script consistent. Predictable? So what? Is there anything more predictable than death? And that doesn't stop us from living. Nor does that stop us from enjoying life. It's not an excuse. I love this movie.

Spy Kids All The Time In The World

[Spideyfan-963-246215 · 1/10 · 6 September 2016]

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World(2011) Starring:Jessica Alba,Joel McHale,Jeremy Piven,Alexa Vega,Daryl Sabara,and Simon Pegg Directed By:Robert Rodriguez Review And to think I use to enjoy these pieces of crap when I was a kid. When I was little I was having fun with the Spy Kids sequels,Lost dreams and Game over 3D. But I watched them again and had a second opinion thinking that they were stupid. This sequel makes them look like the godfather. In the most recent Spy kids movie Jessica Alba is playing a spy who has character name that I really don't remember or care about,who has her last mission catches the bad guy has a baby. Year after that some time keeper villain or whatever the heck his name was,makes time go faster and wants to go back in time to spend more time with his father.Jessica Alba recruits her kids and they must take some diamond and stop the Armageddon device and the time keeper. What immediately ticked me off about this movie is all the marvel references like for example , there is a chase scene in the beginning where the kids are in some CGI spacecraft and there being chased by the time keepers henchmen and it looks like there on the green goblins glider. But wait the references don't stop there,they also have a fight sequence going on and one of the kids have some hammer hands and guess what he says "it's hammer time" and then he lifts one of his hands and lightning is surging through it. That's when I lost it. The movie of course even brings back the original spy kids,but here's a problem with that,they do the cliché of he/she is dead but they come back for the finale of the film for fan service although I doubt this series has fans and with this movie they lost them. Spy Kids all the time in the world is one of those family movies that make me hate live action family movies while the sequels before this were bad this is the worst. I give Spy Kids:All the Time in the World a half out of five.

I wish they'd just stopped after the first one.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 21 February 2019]

The original "Spy Kids" movie was a cute little kids film which was actually enjoyable for adults as well. So, the studio did what they often do...take a good idea and beat it to death with sequel after sequel! As a result, his fourth installment managed something no other "Spy Kids" movie did...it managed to make IMDB's infamous Bottom 100 List. In other words, it's among the 100 wide release films that are hated most by IMDB users.

In order to try to keep interest in the franchise, later films added gimmicks to keep the kids interested. This one has several....it's in 3D, it has 'smell-o-vision' (theaters were equipped with machines that dispensed scents) and there's a talking robotic dog....all of which loudly scream out 'jumped the shark'.

When the movie begins, you'll notice that barely anyone from the original movie is here. This makes sense, as the two children from the first one were no longer kids...as a decade has passed. Interesting, the fully grown kids from the original films DO show up later in this movie as their original characters. And, since the kids in the film are new, so are the parents. One is a TV host of a show called "Spy Hunter", the step-mom is an actual spy for OSS*.

When a super-villain named the Time Keeper starts affecting the passage of time, the step-mom is called into action. Almost immediately after, minions of this baddie show up and try to abduct the kids...and they realize their step is a spy! How do the kids defeat this first wave of minions? By hurling puke bags at them...an excellent metaphor for this picture!

So, was there anything I liked about this film? A few things. I appreciated how the boy in the film wore hearing aids. You rarely have deaf or hard of hearing characters in movies. The only sad part is that it didn't look as if they hired an actual hard of hearing kid for this part. The look of the film is also nice...they clearly spent money on the movie and came up with some cool gadgets. And, finally, I did appreciate that they brought back the grown up spy kids...a nice touch.

What I disliked mostly was the scatological nature of much of the film. These were just gross and unnecessary...and guaranteed to offend and bring down the quality of the production. The film also lacks originality and it looks like there have just been a few too many trips to the well, so to speak. What was original, but unwanted, was the robot dog. While a few of his comments were kind of clever, mostly he was there to provide potty humor.

The bottom line is that I definitely did NOT like this film but feel that kids may like it...parents certainly won't in most cases. The same things that turned me off might be enjoyed by some kids...especially the robotic dog. So, I'll give it a 1 for parents and a 5 for kids...and will split the difference for my overall score.



*There really was an OSS. The Office of Strategic Services was created for WWII and later was renamed the CIA.Three times could be the charm...but what about four??

Fun for the Right Age

[CaptMTS · 4/10 · 9 September 2011]

I took my four kids (6-13) to see it knowing ahead the risks, having seen one or two of the earlier Spy Kid movies. For a kids movie, Spy Kids was just average. The movie worked great for the younger audience (6 & 9 year old), as they enjoyed the physical humor, frequency of jokes related to bodily functions, and baby humor.

My older sons found the movie boring, and one even feel asleep. So, if you are looking to kill two hours, Spy Kids would work for a younger audience (under 10) - but be forewarned about the numerous bodily function jokes related to many parts of the body.

A final word on Aromascope - it doesn't work. All of our scents smelled like strawberry kool-aid, except #4 was kind of minty. While a fun idea, I'm glad to have missed out on the blue cheese, fart, and vomit smells.

Horrid... just plain HORRID!

[debruin1975 · 1/10 · 30 December 2011]

What can I say, I thought it was a good movie. I already watched the last ones which were quite good (part 1 and 2 were very nice! After that it went all down-hill). But part 4 really beats the cake. Alright, special effects are OK, but the rest is just hogwash. There is just no tempo in this film whatsoever. I think even tiny toddles will cry when they see this piece of garbage!!! Please, I beg you. Let the Spy Kids grow up to be real men and stop with the series!

Now I know why this film was chugged on DVD as fast as it could: to rake up even more money from gullible customers... well, one things for sure. I saw this movie for the first time last week and it was immediately the LAST TIME!

Director in poorly lit?

[Vezon123 · 3/10 · 21 August 2011]

It's terrible. It's a tragedy that both Jessica Alba and Joel McHale from The Soup played characters in this. Butt-bombs, barf bags, etc. It takes toilet humor to the extreme. Sure little kids will find it enjoyable, but anyone over the age of 10, stay away from this and never look back! Also 4D, really? Doesn't most moviegoers hate 3D? Why 4D? It's just 3D, but with those stupid pop-up numbers to make you scratch the number and smell those stickers that smell worse the cigarette smoke. And one last thing. A TALKING Australian-ACCENT DOG (no joke) with face-palm inducing one-liners such as "Somebody put that on YouTube." and stuff like that. But there is only one thing that I like about this movie. Carmen and Judi are back. They got the original actors that played them and was defiantly a nostalgic tribute to the first 3 movies. All in all, just save your money. If you really want to see how bad it is, wait till it comes on RedBox.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (2011) - Aroma-Scope is So Obnoxious These Days!

[nickmesafilms · 3/10 · 13 February 2012]

So, it's been a while since we have seen the "Spy Kids" in a movie, and the last time we saw them was in the 3-D movie "Game Over". Which was okay, but I was just there for the 3-D. Now, we get newer characters, a newer 3D technology, and we get "Spy Kids 4-D in Aroma-Scope". You know, "Aroma-Scope" is where they give you this card, so when a number pops out during the movie, you scratch the number on the card, and you smell it. That's pretty much it. But there are so many disgusting things in this movie that you just don't want to smell. I'm glad I didn't see this movie in Aroma-Scope, cause I honestly didn't want to sit through that torture. The 3-D is okay, though! Anyways, Jessica Alba, who is incredibly hot, is a retired mom who now is the stepmother to two crazy kids, one who is this cool kid with a hearing aid, and always bugs into situations, and then you have this annoying little girl pulling out all these pranks, and you just want her to shut the hell up. Their dad, played by Joel McHale, is a television star who doesn't have the time in the world to spend time with them, that's because this stupid villain named the Time Keeper, portrayed by Jeremy Piven, is trying to change time itself, and such bull-crap. So, they meet up with the original Spy Kids, Carmen and Juni, played by Alexa Vega, who's so hot today as an adult, and Daryl Sabara, who wasn't as good as he was as a child. They gear up, and they try to stop the Time Keeper. Then, we have our movie! What? I was just sitting there, listening to the jokes and gags, and they're just not funny. But the only thing funny about this movie was the talking dog. Ricky Gervais plays the voice of the talking dog, and he says jokes that are funny. The rest is just nonsense. Also, when you put Jeremy Piven, Jessica Alba, and Joel McHale in a movie like this, and they were all dumb, you just start to wish that they got good paychecks for this mess. Besides, the movie throughout was just so weird. Director Robert Rodriguez really wanted to make a family film for everybody, but all he made was a family film for nobody at all. That's why Rodriguez should never take movie ideas from his kids. The 4-D Aroma-Scope was super annoying, the cast looked embarrassed to be a part of this mess, the directing was childish, two hot chicks, and a dog that's super funny. All of that lead to a surprisingly annoying family flick. "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D", in my review, "a lazy and childish excuse for cinematic technology".

A surprise return of the Spy Kids

[studioAT · 2/10 · 1 June 2017]

Although it wasn't any good the 3rd 'Spy Kids' film at least wrapped the story up. It's surprising then that the director decided to go back and revisit the franchise with this sequel/reboot, that didn't really go down well with the public.

The main draw for me was seeing the original 'Spy Kids' (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) all grown up, and it was nice to see them assisting the new generation in a pass the torch way.

Unfortunately the plot isn't strong enough, and the new 'Spy Kids' aren't half as endearing. Jeremy Piven chews scenery in his role, and the less said about Ricky Gervais as a talking dog the better.

This film was perhaps meant to start a new series, but it ended up being an odd final outing for the franchise.

Rodriguez's most delightfully surprising film

[jamiedarlow-37510 · 8/10 · 30 March 2020]

Considering it's a sequel that sounded like it could be awful as there was none of the original cast attached the project, it's a really fun and consistently entertaining ride that is great for the whole family! 8 years after the previous Spy Kids, we follow new characters including Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba) a retired spy who is called back in to stop a menacing new threat, The Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven). Along the way, her step-children discover the world of espionage and want a slice of the action! I'm pretty bemused at how badly this was received; I think it's a really fun and care-free kids film with cool gadgets and pretty sweet performances. The kids Rebecca and Cecil played by Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook fit the roles nicely even if the Cortez's are missed a bit. The Timekeeper also turns out to be the best villain in the series with a cheeky yet deep performance by Piven and a backstory that makes you sympathise for him; often the best villains are ones you can empathise with on some level. Let's not forget Ricky Gervais' vocal performance as the dog which is a must see for Gervais fans! There are also some nice appearances from characters in the original trilogy and that definately heightens this one to feel more like an authentic Spy Kids film. My only reservation is the 4D technique used; it's going to date the film very quickly and the prompts used at the start don't work as well when your at home rather than the cinema. Nevertheless if you have your doubts like I did, give it a go; you may be pleasantly surprised!

It's a kids movie after all...

[kjm92 · 6/10 · 21 September 2011]

I don't think this was a bad film, granted it wasn't a good film but for me I couldn't help relate it back to the original movies and in that sense I think it did well, it didn't stray too far from the original plot lines and I liked that because I was afraid after all these years it would have changed completely.

So many of these reviews rate it as "cheep and crappy", well it's definitely cheap, the graphics are pretty much exactly the same as the original films and its not going to win any awards for being a brilliant flick but the movie wasn't made for YOU, it was made for the kids.

I think as a kids movie, or family movie, it does well and I believe the children will love it just as I loved the originals when I was younger. Yes the plot is cliché and predictable but to a kid it's a whole other world where they can be a hero without growing up.

Arguably the worst film Senor Rodriguez ever made

[bazmitch23 · 1/10 · 26 October 2013]

Shorts in my opinion is the second worst film he ever made.

Rodriguez's problem is that he makes his kids' movies for HIS kids only. They come up with a lot of ideas. Unfortunately they're not old enough to come up with good ideas.

The film opens with a 9 month pregnant Jessica Alba who is about to give birth any minute. And she is doing a mission. Okay, I know this is just a movie but..... what kind of organization lets A 9 MONTH PREGNANT WOMAN GO ON A MISSION? She's doing all these crazy stunts and doesn't even have a miscarriage. For a family film, this is just offensive.

What other sins does this movie have. Well, we have the typical "girl doesn't get along with her step mother" cliché, wooden acting from Jessica Alba, Joel playing the same a****** he always does, bad CGI, the villain sounding like a chipmunk and making bad time jokes, gross out humour (we have a scene where a boy throws 4 bags of vomit on an enemy ship and we see it splatter in it's disgusting yellow glory complete with the boy saying "Never underestimate the power of puke." and the baby farts in EVERY single scene she's in) and we have Ricky Gervais doing the voice of a robot dog.

Also, how stupid is Alba's character in this film? She takes her baby along for her mission, even though the bad guys are most likely to kill them if they're spotted. (How did this woman get to be an agent anyway if she is so thick?)

The villain shows his past on a video. This takes place in the 30's. How was this possible. How did they get an HD camera? How did he do close ups and editing? Who was filming all of this? This shows you how lazy Rodriguez is.

I doubt that there would be a Spy Kids 5.