Spy Kids 3-D

Saw Spy Kids 3D – Game Over with the kids and their cousins last Friday. The 3-D effect was a huge disappointment and quite a distraction. It muddied up the movie’s colors and induced eyestrain. The red and green cardboard glasses were cumbersome, especially over my real glasses. My 3-year old didn’t like them either – he’d take them off as soon as I would put them on him.

Eyestrain aside, other aspects of the movie were a delightful surprise. I had lowered my expectations, however, quite considerably before watching it. I mean, when filmmakers use 3-D in a sequel, doesn’t it usually mean they’ve run out of ideas? Jaws 3-D and Friday the 13th 3-D are good examples. So I set myself up not to expect too much from this third movie in the series. The second one, The Island of Lost Souls, was already showing signs of losing that “Spy Kids” magic. The first movie was great, reminding me of a techno Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I always thought the Spy Kids, Juni and Carmen, could easily pass as Gene Wilder’s kids.

I’ve learned from watching the “special section” of the Spy Kids 2 DVD that Robert Rodriguez developed a cheap way of creating special effects for his movies. This was quite evident in Spy Kids 2. The sword fight scene with the skeletal pirates was probably meant to be an homage to Jason and the Argonauts but it didn’t look any better than Ray Harryhausen‘s stop-motion technique, even as an updated, computer-generated version. So I wasn’t expecting too much for the CG in the third film. It also helps, I suppose, that most of Spy Kids 3-D takes place in a computer game. Any expectations of realism are thrown out the window (too bad I can’t say the same for Matrix Reloaded, where the Matrix was supposed to simulate reality). But even then, the Spy Kids 3D’s CG effects were quite decent. A smattering of cameos also helped the movie along. In one instance, a surprise appearance by one particular actor was used in a clever way.

Director Robert Rodriguez, who collaborated with Quentin Tarantino in such movies as Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn, has consistently created movies in this series that are committed to promoting family values in a fun and imaginative way. Spy Kids 3D continues in this path by not only showing that family unity is important, but by also espousing virtues such as forgiveness, humility and sacrifice. One particular scene has (spoiler alert!) Juni giving up a “health pill” to this girl he likes even though he is the one who needs it the most. He gave it to her not wanting anything bad to happen to her. Now that’s how I’d like my sons to treat their future wives.