I saw the ads and thought SPY KIDS looked awful. Saw the stills, thought they looked awful (just posing the kids defensively in front of the parents, all in a fighting stance, implies incredible irresponsibility). I kept reading these wonderful reviews about what a delightful confection this is, and eventually I got suckered in, thinking I didn't want to miss another BABE or something, and the film was probably being poorly marketed to get the kiddies.
Well, kiddies might have a good time (though in the theater I attended, restless kids had to be told repeatedly to hush, and one child articulated in the aftermath, "I was hoping for more action"). But this is one where the adults will definitely need to shut their brains off. If you're on the fence about whether or not to check this out, I'd strongly suggest not going. It's not awful like CURLY SUE or something -- I laughed aloud once and got a couple of chuckles elsewhere -- but it is... well, it's poor. The adventure isn't manic enough, the inventions by and large not that incredible (a packet, when microwaved, becomes a McDonald's meal. Yipee!). SPOILERS AHEAD: Yeah, the thumb thumbs are kinda cool, but the villain is far too toothless. Kids' movies CAN survive real villainry and, in a way, need it: Wicked Witch of the West, anyone? And then when the villain goes soft and is revealed as NOT the villain, Villain #2 is even less frightening.
SPOILERS OVER. I guess one of the main problems is that the sense of threat is never tangible. The film has obviously been designed not to frighten children, giving no sense of real evil or malice onscreen (almost all critical physical contact happens either off camera or with simple karate flips). In cushioning every blow in this manner, SPY KIDS leaves no sense of tension, danger, or conflict. That's probably why the kids got so shifty during the screening and parents got testy; the kids saw that this emperor had no clothes -- or, more to the point, a candy colored but rather dull one-piece. 5/10
Well, kiddies might have a good time (though in the theater I attended, restless kids had to be told repeatedly to hush, and one child articulated in the aftermath, "I was hoping for more action"). But this is one where the adults will definitely need to shut their brains off. If you're on the fence about whether or not to check this out, I'd strongly suggest not going. It's not awful like CURLY SUE or something -- I laughed aloud once and got a couple of chuckles elsewhere -- but it is... well, it's poor. The adventure isn't manic enough, the inventions by and large not that incredible (a packet, when microwaved, becomes a McDonald's meal. Yipee!). SPOILERS AHEAD: Yeah, the thumb thumbs are kinda cool, but the villain is far too toothless. Kids' movies CAN survive real villainry and, in a way, need it: Wicked Witch of the West, anyone? And then when the villain goes soft and is revealed as NOT the villain, Villain #2 is even less frightening.
SPOILERS OVER. I guess one of the main problems is that the sense of threat is never tangible. The film has obviously been designed not to frighten children, giving no sense of real evil or malice onscreen (almost all critical physical contact happens either off camera or with simple karate flips). In cushioning every blow in this manner, SPY KIDS leaves no sense of tension, danger, or conflict. That's probably why the kids got so shifty during the screening and parents got testy; the kids saw that this emperor had no clothes -- or, more to the point, a candy colored but rather dull one-piece. 5/10