★ 5 / 10
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but could
Kamurai
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but could recommend for a younger audience. There just isn't enough here for an older audience. Maybe parents will…
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but could recommend for a younger audience.
There just isn't enough here for an older audience. Maybe parents will get a kick out of seeing this and imagining their kids....but given the amount of sibling infighting, probably not.
Alan Cumming absolutely steals the show with his Willy Wonka impersonation, and I'm furious that he didn't get the role over Depp when they did the reboot.
The casts is odd, but does a great performance, and the kids having to fight themselves really did a great job.
It's probably still has good than bad, but just can't say you should watch this right now with all the options out there.
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★ 7 / 10
A High Caliber Children's film
ianwagnerwatches
This film takes a child's cartoonish idea of a spy and runs with it, leaning into a charming campiness that brought joy to my heart. As an adult watching this…
This film takes a child's cartoonish idea of a spy and runs with it, leaning into a charming campiness that brought joy to my heart. As an adult watching this film, I am impressed by the directing in this film: great performances and expressive, well thought out camera-work. This, combined with excessively creative production design (which clearly had passionate people behind it) creates a world that, frankly, feels like it was genuinely thought up by a children, albeit a team of extremely creative and funny ones with an impressive understanding of filmmaking.
I generally judge children's films for how well i can enjoy them, as an adult, since any film that has to pander to a child mind to succeed is lacking an essential intellectual, critically examinable element. This film half succeeds at that, while also clearly and specifically pandering to children. It's like a live-action kid's cartoon, and the director/cinematographer did a great job at achieving that specific aesthetic.
I often struggle when evaluating children's movies, because I am not a child. But the sheer creativity of this film, and how competently made it is in every department-art design, cinematography, directing, writing, score, everything-makes Spy Kids, undeniably, a work of art.
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Bestah..