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Spy Kids 3-D - Game Over

Spy Kids 3-D - Game Over

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I must save the world! Stay away!
Review: SPY KIDS was great! I had a lot of fun with my posse of kids, and even at 30 I had a good time. But this time out? Whoa, this is bad! Even the 3-D is bad. Antonio Banderas is a cameo, and Juni is the focus here. Even his sister is smart enough to remain asleep for the first hour or so of this clunker. Nobody's fault here - they are all great actors, but this time out I kept looking for a quarter to go play a game in the lobby! It would have made more sense, and been way more fun. Stay away! Game over indeed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: spy kids 3D IS the best movie ever!!!!!!
Review: it's the best it's the greatest movie EVER!
i LOVED it.
if you got a headach then why didn't you go out of the room for a few minutes?
that's what they told you before the movie started!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Game Over
Review: The third and final installment to the Spy Kids series of movies makes a grand attempt to go out with a bang, but instead just mercifully goes away...

THE STORY:

Juni Cortez comes out of "retirement" to save sister Carmen from an evil Virtual Reality game that threatens to corrupt the lives of America's youth (yuk yuk yuk) forever. Juni must enter the VR game and battle through 5 levels of CyberWarfare facing other gamers and assorted CyberMonsters to save Carmen.

THE COOL THINGS:

Obviously the big sell of this movie are the 3-D special effects. You'll get your old school 3-D glasses (red lens in one eye, blue in the other) at the box office and the movie conveniently tells you when to put them on. The virtual reality/3-D world of the video is just awesome to see and the "high-tech" battles of the movie are a nice contrast to the mutated creature/monsters of the previous movies. Overall, the movie gets an 'A' for FX. Another big plus going for this movie is the prominent role of Grandpa Cortez (the legendary Ricardo Montalban) who aides Juni in rescuing Carmen. That's about it for the cool stuff though...

THE CRITIQUE:

Something just feels off and missing from this movie. Much of the charm of the first two movies is lost. There are no "cutesy" bad guys in this film, just follow "CyberWarriors" and virtual robot baddies. The pacing of the movie also just feels very off. The journey of Juni and his friends to Level 5 of the game, while at parts exciting, just feels very un-epic and un-exciting. The ending of the movie is also very anti-climatic. The movie is just extremely short. I found myself quite underwhelmed when Juni and the crew finally "saved" Carmen and reached Level 5 to "beat the bad guy." Have you ever found yourself doing and seeing something you were looking forward to and when it was over thought to yourself "That's It????"

One cool thing at the end was bringing back much of the characters from the previous films (a nod to the franchise reaching it's finish) but again, it just feels so anti-climatic. The addition of Sylvester Stallone as the crazed Toymaker was a nice touch for the adults (with nods to Rocky in the bloopers) but seriously, how many of the little kids in the audience even know who Stallone is or having memorable recollections of Rocky or Rambo?

BEST SCENES:

1. Juni vs. Demetria is the "Battlebot Competition"

2. The Race scene

3. Lava Surfing

THE VERDICT:

I'm a big fan of the Spy Kids series and quite honestly, "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" simply underwhelms. Sure, the action and FX are well done, but the story and pacing of the movie just doesn't deliver the same amount of "oomph" that the first two films do. If you're looking for cool VR action this movie does that well in spades, but for an entertaining and enthralling story you can probably do better elsewhere.

Fare thee well Carmen and Juni Cortez, it was fun but sadly enough the Game really is over.

Recommendation: Stick with the first two movies.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The best in the series, minus the 3-d
Review: This is a family film that everyone can enjoy. Juni enters a game in order to save his sister and shut it down. The story is good, and every part is well acted. Only one big problem with the movie. There was no need for it to be in 3-D. And it is an unfortunate fact that the 3-D will be what causes most people to hate this movie. I am trying to pretend that it was not there.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A Weak Sequel
Review: Warning: There are some spoilers in this review!

I'm not a child, but I'll admit that I was excited about seeing 'Spy Kids 3: Game Over.' The original 'Spy Kids' was a great movie filled with fun spy gadgetry, lots of action, and a sweet story about a family working together to save the world from bad guys. So when 'Spy Kids 3' began rolling on the screen, I put on my 3-D glasses and expected to see a similiarly great movie.

Instead, 'Spy Kids 3: Game Over' was a mess of special effects and elaborate action scenes, a few of which really were impressive (particularly a mega-robot fighting scene, and a car race). The movie begins with the premise of Juni, newly retired spy kid, having to save Carmen (his sister) from a video game. The plot, however, quickly goes downhill as Juni ventures through the four levels of the game.

Carmen is not saved by Juni, but rather arbitrarily 'released' from the evil Toy Maker, and then shows a better knowledge of the video game (and surviving to the unbeatable fifth level) than her little brother. Their parents, who had been major characters in the first two films, only make brief appearances. In fact, 75% percent of the movie revolves around only Juni--a very bad decision, in my opinion. The first two films were great because it focused on a spy family working together. Take away the spy family, and you have a less interesting, less exciting movie.

It's obvious that the filmmakers were interested in using 3-D to its optimum potential. There were a few neat tricks here and there, but overall the visuals were blurry and the glasses just gave me a headache. I was relieved when the 'Glasses Off' sign appeared.

I'm glad to have seen the movie, just to know how the Spy Kids trilogy ends, but I never plan to watch it again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Way better then the 1st and 2nd!!!
Review: Way better then the 1st and 2nd!!! Robert Rodriguez did a unbelieveable job as director and making this movie so us viewers can watch it in 3-D. Another thing that is so much like Rodriguez is that he keeps the same actors from the first film he ever made (Desperado) and sticks with them throughout his whole directing career. For example Antonio Banderas who has had two box office flops (FemmeFatale, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever) since the Spy Kids films and George Clooney (Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn) who has had a great box office career (Ocean's 11) with the exception of Solaris which flopped really bad in 2002.
Also I admire Rodriguez for getting the struggling veteran actor as of late Sylvestor Stallone (Rocky, Rambo) back on the big screen. Who's last two films went direct to video, one a horror movie called Eye See You and the other a romantic wanna be gangster comedy called Avenging Angelo.

Anyway the BOTTOM LINE is: THIS MOVIE WAS GREAT ,STALLONE IS BACK, AND THE IDEA OF THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WAS THE MOST ORIGINAL THING SINCE THE 1ST MATRIX !!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Loved Spy Kids 3D
Review: It was most definately the best in the series.
Alexa Vega, Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Daryl Sabara, Salma Hayek, and Carla Gugino were all fabulous in their roles.
The 3D Glasses were a nice effect, but the movie would have ben great without them.
Thank You Robert Rodriguez for creating such a great, creative, imaginative series.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Spy Kids Movie Yet
Review: I loved the new Spy Kids Movie, (the final installment in the 3 part series)
The Effects Were brilliant as was the acting.
I liked seeing Sylvester Stallone and Salma Hayak's cameo's.
Robert Rodriguez and Carla Gugio had great cameo's also.
Alexa Vega stole the show, she is one of the most tallented young actresses out there (next to Raven-Symone).
Daryl Sabara was also quite good.
I would reccomend this movie to anyone.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Distracting popcorn flick lacking in substance
Review: It appears that the Spy Kids franchise is critic proof. How else to explain the success of this latet effort? Spy Kids 3-D was a pleasant distraction but like other recent 3-D efforts (Jaws 3-D anyone?)there was no substance. In many respects, the advertising is honest and accurate; Spy Kids 3-D plays like an extended Disney attraction. It isn't the worst kids movie but Robert Rodriguez demonstrates so much imagination and love of making movies in his first effort, I was hoping that it would translate into this as well. Sadly, it's an example of diminishing returns in action (or the third law of thermodynamics whichever you prefer).

After a promising opening featuring Floop the film literally becomes as predictable as the worst video game. This is about as high concept as they come; the story is very thin. Junie has retired from the life of a spy. Devlin the head of the spy agency asks him to return to help solve the disappearence of his sister Carmen into a computer game called imaginatively enough The Game. She disappeared while on assignment to prevent the the Toymaker from using it to enslave the minds of the world's children. Along the way we are treated to conflicts drawn right out of Tron but with visual graphics more literal and, in a sense, less imaginative.

The acting by the principle actors from the last two installments vary from glib to flat. It's not necessarily the fault of the actors; Rodriguez has written some of the worst possible dialog one could imagine for them to read. Part of that was intentional no doubt but, whereas the first film played with the cliches of spy melodramas with flair (and to some extent the second as well), the effect of the dial is heavy handed and dull.

Rodriguez's direction has never been this uninspired or unimaginative. He's never demonstrated a real flair as a director but his work always had a kinetic energy missing from more studied film directors. Here the direction is missing even that high level of energy. It appears as if he was editing the film and throwing as much visual info as possible in hopes that something would stick. It doesn't.

The gimmick that sells the latest installment is, of course, the 3-D effects. The red-magenta glasses don't provide the depth perception nor the effects of a polarized 3-D presentation. Still, they aren't bad. Many of the best sequences are quite arresting. This approach to 3-d creates the troublesome issue of making the film appear almost monochromatic at times. The muted colors prevent the 3-D effect from becoming as powerful as they could be.

Still, this is a movie for kids. No, strike that--it doesn't excuse the lazy film making on display here. It's clear that during the last third Rodriguez was desperate to juice up the film's conclusion anyway he could. How else to explain the multiple cameos by previous cast members? They certainly don't provide any additional power to the finale.

As a parent, I can safely say I didn't find anything offensive. On the otherhand I didn't find much of value. Compared to Finding Nemo Spy Kids 3-D is a failure. Kids will probably enjoy the novelty of wearing the glasses (although there was at least one child in our group that didn't want to wear them and ended up watching most of the movie without them on). It's a pity because Rodriguez original premise offered so much more to play with and offer as entertainment. I'd wait for the DVD to rent but I'm not sure if the 3-D novelty is going to be translated over and if it will work as well. Spy Kids 3-D isn't a failure just an underperformer that offered much more than it could possibly deliver either to a parent or to kids. It's the sugared cereal of the moment.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Quaker Movie
Review: Seriously, this is a film with a message. Not overbearing, not sappy sweet- but definitely there, and really good. It is powerful in what it shares about those physically challenged- not apologizing for them, nor belittling them, nor creating an exaggerated noble myth, but empowering them in their own right. It is powerful about what it says about forgiveness, and what the appropriate actions are towards those who we hate, and towards those who hate us. How do we choose in our response to those who would choose violence? Yes, the plot is simplistic, and the movie is definitely for kids. The 3-D effect is grating, because no matter how hard you try, it still looks fuzzy, and the colors definitely muted. (But it is fun after having them on for awhile to realize, as you alternately close one eye and then the other, that your brain has adapted each eye, so that the eye covered with the blue-green lens sees only red, and the one covered with the red lens sees only blue-green.) The acting is mediocre. But the words spoken here and there, the thoughts expressed, are powerful. I didn't expect to actually cry while watching Spy Kids III. But I did.


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