Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Review
by John Sylva (DeWyNGaLe AT aol DOT com)August 14th, 2002
SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS (2002)
Reviewed by John Sylva
(C) 2002, TheMovieInsider.com
Interspecies Island may have been a twisted joke this past season on Saturday Night Live, but big kid Robert Rodriguez must have taken the idea to heart. The title location of his Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams is home to all kinds of mutated freaks--horseflies, flying pigs, spider-monkeys (the names here are literal of their identities)--created by none other than the man who just may be the ultimate freak (read: diverse genius) of modern cinema himself, Steve Buscemi. These creatures are much easier on the eyes than the curious thumb people of Alan Cumming's twisted children's television mogul and are actually quite illustrative of Rodriguez's achievement: Like Buscemi's mad scientist, the director finds triumph in his combination of notably diverse elements, blending adult spy genre characteristics with qualities most often found in children's films.
The second chapter in Rodriguez's ongoing labor of love, Spy Kids 2 certainly has a case of sequelitis; but that's not to say the film suffers from this usually terminal condition. Bigger, louder, and in many ways more engaging than the first Kids flick, this is a picture that views its increased size as a resource rather than a requirement. Rodriguez takes on most of the labor here as he did in the first outing, carrying out duties from production designer to editor to composer to songwriter to director to screenwriter, which, in a perfect world, is something all filmmakers would be brave enough to do. Released only a year and a half after spy kids Juni (Daryl Sabara) and sister Carmen Cortez (Alexa Vega) first made their way into theaters, the sequel sees more of the same set on a larger scale, with the computer-hacking kids and their protective spy parents' (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) meeting more obstacles along the way than they can shake their nifty do-it-all wristwatches at.
Two pairs of characters join in on the gadget-packed exploits of what the target audience might describe as the "totally awesome" Cortez family: one being a welcome addition as the spy kids' grandparents (Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor), the other serving as a typical grade-school competition device (Matt O'Leary and Emily Osment). These four actors combine with the already established Spy Kids cast to form an astonishingly diverse group of performers, both in age and nationality. Witnessing Rodriguez's ridiculously energetic and imaginative creation, it's easy to understand why this particular project has such a large appeal amongst the acting profession.
Spy Kids 2 is a sequel whose story is wisely detached from the original so that hordes of new fans both young and old can jump onto the bandwagon with ease. An increased fan base will surely benefit Dimension Films next summer with Spy Kids 3, currently being rushed into production before little Sabara and Vega outgrow their parts. However, the latter may have already reached that point judging by her Britney Spears-esque dance video played over the end credits. At least we won't have to worry about a voice-cracking Sabara for awhile; his trademark Cabbage Patch Kid appearance seems to be cemented for now. But hey, when the time does come, there's a high-tech gadget that might hinder the effects of his inevitable aging quite well: Oxy pads. And just think: He can even wear his anti-gravity Nikes on the trip to the family dermatologist.
GRADE: B
Film reviewed August 5th, 2002.
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