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Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams review
SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS
Running time: 100 mins
Starring: Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Matthew O'Leary, Emily Osment, Taylor Momsen, Mike Judge, Steve Buscemi, Ricardo Montalban, Holland Taylor
Debunking the myth that sequels are never as good as the original, Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams blasts onto the big screen, every bit as exhilarating, comical and outrageously overblown as the first adventure.
And this time round, the gadgets are funkier, and the special effects and stunts even more elaborate.
All is well for pint-sized agents Carmen and Juni Cortez. Having been reunited with their doting parents Gregorio and Ingrid, and saved the entire free world, the youngsters are the top ranked operatives in the Spy Kids organisation, working perilous solo missions.
During the daring rescue of the President's daughter Alexandra from a malfunctioning theme park ride, arch-rivals Gary and Gerti Giggles steal the Cortez's thunder, and secure their double-dealing father Donnagon a lucrative promotion to the head of the OSS agency. In return, Donnagon demotes Carmen and Juni, and installs his children as the top Spy Kids in the land, rewarding them with a highly prized mission to retrieve the mysterious transmooker device from a remote island.
Needless to say, the Cortez children steal back the island assignment, sending the Giggles off on a wild goose chase to the Gobi desert.
When Carmen and Juni arrive on the island, they discover that their gadgets no longer function, and the jungles and mountains are over-run by strange and wondrous creatures, created by a shady scientist - Romero.
Soon after, Gary and Gerti turn up on the island too, and the pint-sized agents discover they will have to work together to survive the island unscathed, and to retrieve the transmooker device from its temple hiding place.
Writer-director Robert Rodriguez invests Spy Kids 2 with the same high-octane blend of action and comedy, making sure the pace never slackens even for an instant.
The plot is plainly ridiculous, and Rodriguez is evidently a huge fan of veteran animator Ray Harryhausen, because he contrives the second half of the picture as a glorious conflation of Sinbad-style skirmishes and edge-of-seat chases.
The cast's enthusiasm is infectious, from the youngest performers, up to Banderas and Gugino as the star agents who get to save their kids for a change, and Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor as Grandpa and Grandma Cortez, proving that espionage and intrigue runs deep in the family.
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams has everything you want in a family movie, with attitude and imagination to spare.
The film is licenced to thrill.
