Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writer:

Robert Rodriguez (script)

Release Date:

25 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Game is over

Plot:

Carmen's caught in a virtual reality game designed by the Kids' new nemesis, the Toymaker (Stallone). It's up to Juni to save his sister, and ultimately the world.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Virtual Reality | Mission | Villain | Trapped

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Gregorio Cortez
Carla Gugino	...	Ingrid Cortez
Alexa Vega	...	Carmen Cortez
Daryl Sabara	...	Juni Cortez
Ricardo Montalban	...	Grandfather
Holland Taylor	...	Grandmother
Sylvester Stallone	...	Toymaker
Mike Judge	...	Donnagon Giggles
Salma Hayek	...	Cesca Giggles
Matt O'Leary	...	Gary Giggles
Emily Osment	...	Gerti Giggles
Ryan Pinkston	...	Arnold (as Ryan James Pinkston)
Robert Vito	...	Rez
Bobby Edner	...	Francis
Courtney Jines	...	Demetra

Also Known As:

Spy Kids 3: Game Over (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action sequences and peril.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Ireland:G | USA:TV-G (Disney Channel) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Canadian Home Video rating) | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:G | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

At the end of the credits, there are audition tapes of Alexa Vega (Carmen), and Daryl Sabara (Juni) for the first Spy Kids movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Rez says the reason they found Juni on level one was that Françis was caught cheating in the mega race. However, when the boys get to the mega race in Level 2, a character says that there are no rules in the mega race.

Quotes:

Juni: I never even got her e-mail address!

Movie Connections:

References Escape from New York (1981)

Soundtrack:

Game Over

The 3-D thing didn't work for me but there is still enough style and silliness to amuse both kids and adults

Juni Cortez is no longer with the OSS and is now a private detective, taking work where he can get it. However, the President himself requests Juni return to service as his sister is in danger. She has entered, and become trapped in, a deadly video game called Game Over which has been designed by the Toymaker. In it he ensnares children's minds forever. Juni is sent in to rescue her and team up to stop the Toymaker's evil plot. Enlisting his grandfather's help, Juni sets out to win the unwinable level 5.

I usually don't enter a film series in the middle simply because it is often difficult to appreciate the third instalment of anything without having seen what has gone before. However, when it comes to a kids' film, I was pretty sure that I could managed to battle through the labyrinth-like plotting of the Sky Kids series! I started watching this film in 3-D (I had a 2 dvd set) but the glasses were a little uncomfortable and the colours looked funny all the way through. After seeing a few items sort of float vaguely around my television I was quite unimpressed and decided just to go with the 2-D disk. The plot is pretty thin (it's never really clear what the attraction of the game is or what the Toymaker even wants) but it sets up a colourful and enjoyable little ride through a computer game - which is delivered pretty well despite all it's silliness!

The main weapon in the Spy Kids' cannon is it's stars - both actors and director. Rodriguez is a very good director when it comes to style and action and his influence makes this film a lot more fun than others likely would. He is slick but also fully aware that he needs to make it `fun' and not just colourful and noisy. It's all a bit silly of course but the 3-D gimmick is a little bit heavy at times (like the old films in the 50's that had actors punching at the screen) but it isn't that bad. The reason the silliness doesn't really damage the film is because the actors seem to play to it - and a very fine series of performances these are. Pretty much all the cast are good fun and their performances are about as hammy and fun as you can imagine. Sabara is great fun - a cool kid without any of the horrid cutesy stuff that can happen. I found Vega less fun as she was a little too smart for my liking, but she was still fun and the rest of the kids were suitably fun with not a bad performance between them. The adult cast will provide much of the fun for the adults watching - there is a large number of Rodriguez regulars in the cast who all overplay to suit the sense of fun the film has.

Montalban is great fun. Forever Khan in my mind, he has a great voice and screen presence and he heavy makes the message of forgiveness work reasonably well and not just being mawkish like it should be! Stallone hams it up and has good fun even if his multiple personalities don't totally work. Clooney has fun in his small role but the rest of the cast are all cameos some of them are used pretty well and got a giggle but others just show their faces. However, they don't detract from the film and it at least will amuse parents to see people like Martin, Trejo, Cumming, Shalhoub, Buscemi, Paxton, Wood and Hayek. The out takes at the end made me realise how good the performances were - it just never dawned on me that, although I knew it wasn't real, that 95% of this was shot on greenscreen - making acting to anything that little bit harder.

Overall, this is a silly film but it is one that kids will love. The sheer sense of fun that Rodriguez brings to it is infectious and makes for a great 90 minutes with the kids. The star cast made it more enjoyable for me and helped the sense that everyone was just enjoying themselves. It is hardly a great film but it does just what you expect it to do and who can ask anymore than that? On the basis of this I will definitely be watching the first two films when I cross their paths. Sad - but true!