User reviews

The first "Spy Kids" is an incredibly over the top but entertaining film for younger audiences and even though I still recommend this sequel I think that its just a little too over the top. Story is of course about Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) who have become top spies for their agency but now they are in competition for the best jobs by another brother/sister spy team. A gadget called the Transmooger that can shut down any defense system is stolen from the President and Juni is blamed for his carelessness. The Agency sends Gary (Matthew O'Leary) and Gerti (Emily Osment) who are the children of Donnagon (Mike Judge) who is in charge of Operations so Carmen hacks into the computer and has the mission changed so that she and Juni are sent instead. They travel underwater to an island that is invisible and inhabited by strange looking creatures but they have to hurry because Gary and Gerti will be showing up eventually to get the Transmooger that they are trying to find as well. The meet Romero (Steve Buscemi) who is hidden underground because he was the one that created all the creatures and he thinks they want to kill him. Meanwhile, Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) are in pursuit to find their children along with the help of Grandfather (Ricardo Montalban) and Grandmother (Holland Taylor).

Not only did Robert Rodriguez direct this film but he also wrote, edited, produced, scored and did the production design. I'm sure he did other things as well and this shows that he remembers his days as a poor independent filmmaker with this type of self reliance. Rodriguez has a wild imagination and its not uncommon in his films for him to throw everything at an audience but the kitchen sink. This film is chock full of digital effects and at times it bordered on being more animated than live action. As much as I enjoyed the first film I always told people that I thought it would be even better if the story was more simplified. Have the kids in more realistic situations like James Bond but instead we got a cartoonish film with walking thumbs and gadgets that even Bond himself would laugh at. Here in this sequel it goes even more over the top with such outlandish situations that even Indiana Jones would be clueless. I couldn't decide which was more incredible, the giant monsters on the island or the fact that parents were sending their small children out on dangerous missions to save the world! Another thing I noticed was the sister of Haley Joel Osment who plays one of the other spy kids. It may be too soon to judge her but after watching Emily Osment's performance in this film she should beg her brother for acting lessons. She has an eternity to go. I am recommending this film for its wild imagination and high tech energy and their are some nice tributes to the great Ray Harryhausen but if they continue to make these sequels they might want to think about simplifying the stories.

After enjoying some success with the surprisingly enjoyable & cheesy "Spy Kids," Director (and all around good guy) Robert Rodriguez now brings forth a sequel, "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams" which is far less enjoyable and far more cheesy. As a matter of fact, you'd be hard pressed to find more cheese anywhere outside of a Wisconsin dairy farm.

Juni and Carmen Cortez (Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega) are back, now officially a part of OSS, and officially recognized as Spy Kids. But the OSS, just like every other government bureaucracy, cannot resist expanding upon a good thing, so now there is an entire army of "spy kids" at their disposal; but Juni and Carmen are, of course, the most renowned.

Within in the first opening minutes of the film, which takes place in a truly inspired theme park, we quickly discern that Juni and Carmen have rivals: the Giggle kids (Matthew O'Leary and Emily Osment) who dearly covet the Cortez' fame and status. With help of their conniving father (Mike Judge), the Giggles do what they can, not only to surpass the Cortez family, but to humiliate them as well.

Once again, we find the greatest threat to the OSS is the OSS itself, along with the internal politics and treachery which played a small but significant part in the plot of the first film. It seems as if the OSS is more of a threat to world peace than a help, and one wonders why Uncle Sam doesn't just shut the operation down and call it a day. Perhaps it would prevent the making of any more "Spy Kids" movies, which I'm beginning to think would be a very good thing.

The plot revolves around a device known as a "transmooker" -- which can be best described as the ultimate cloaking device, even able to cloak entire islands off the map. It also has the wonderful ability to render all electronic devices useless, which is quite a thorn in the side of the intrepid Spy Kids, who's reliance on James Bond style fancy gadgets is only a shade less than an alcoholic's dependence on his next drink. Of course the transmooker itself is an electronic device, but somehow is immune to its own nasty effects. (Only in Hollywood....)

So our two heroes, Juni and Carmen, locate the cloaked island, where the stolen transmooker was taken, and attempt to find it before their rivals, the Giggles kids, do. The island turns out to be a retirement resort for every single monstrous creature ever created by Ray Harryhausen ("Jason and the Argonauts," "7th Voyage of Sinbad," etc.). Except we are told that they were created by the socially insecure and somewhat troubled scientist "Dr. Romero" (Steve Buscemi) who was looking for some companionship, and a portable zoo. But of course those of us who've seen a few movies in our time know better.

During the same time, there is a completely boring and totally unnecessary sub-plot involving Carmen & Juni's parents and grandparents. The only reason the subplot exists is to cloak this poor homage to Harryhausen as a "family film." Yeah, right. I certainly fell for it.

Hollywood films, especially action-adventures and sci-fi flicks, often ask the audience to suspend logic and rational thought while the plot thickens. It is the price we pay, beyond the ticket price, for the pleasure of being "entertained." But Spy Kids 2 doesn't just ask for a suspension of belief, but a wholesale slaughter of anything remotely resembling intelligence. That's a big price to pay, and one I was unable to justify.

If Daniel Rodriguiez is such a fan of Harryhausen, then he should make "The 8th Voyage of Sinbad" or some such thing, rather than trying to find a way to incorporate Ray's creatures into a movie allegedly about espionage. The CGI recreations of Harryhausen's monsters was one of the more enjoyable aspects of this horrid film, but not enough to pull it out of the slimy pit in which very poor writing knocks it into.

The dialogue is stupid, even for kids to listen to. Most of the jokes fall as flat as the acting. Much of the cuteness and fun of the first Spy Kids film is completely lacking in the sequel. Instead, we have a very disjointed plot, an adventure that leads to nowhere, and a subplot that should have been locked in the submarine where it mostly takes place.

My Rating: 4/10

Carmen and Juni Cortez are official Spy Kids, working for an organization called OSS (which probably stands for something, but I'm not sure what). In the opening scenes we see the President's daughter, Alexandra (Taylor Momsen from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"), as a special guest at a futuristic amusement park. When Alexandra gets herself in trouble on a ride called the Juggler (which actually juggles the cars containing the passengers!), Carmen and Juni are dispatched to help her. But then a backup Spy Kids team of Gary (Matt O'Leary from "Frailty") and Gerti (Emily Osment, sister of Haley Joel) Giggles are sent in as well. The situation becomes competitive, with the Cortezes rescuing Alexandra while the Giggleses retrieve the dangerous device (the Transmooger) that she had stolen from her father's office.

As in the first film, Carmen and Juni's parents are Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid (Carla Gugino), who are also spies working for OSS. Gregorio is up for a major promotion, but like his children, he is also competing with the Giggles family. The dinner at which the winner of this promotion is announced is the launching pad for the heart of the film.

Other key characters returning from the first film are uncle "Machete" Cortez (Danny Trejo) and Felix Gumm (Cheech Marin). And then there is Doctor Romero (Steve Buscemi), who is a very interesting character.

The "film" was actually shot using high definition video, which looked good enough to never be a distraction. It had been transferred to film for exhibition, so the normal film wear and tear issues applied, especially since I saw it near the tail end of its theatrical run.

Besides using digital video, the director (Robert Rodriguez) also used another trick to save money: he did almost everything himself. He was the writer, cinematographer, editor, production designer, and visual effects supervisor, and also helped produce and score the film. Apparently he did much of this work in his garage in Austin, Texas.

The first film was very fun and unexpected. This one feels a *little* too much like more of the same, and it also adds a touch more gross humor than I think it needed to. It's still fun and definitely worth at least a rental, but it's not *quite* up to the level of the first film.

Seen on 10/9/2002.

To its credit, "Spy Kids 2" does indeed display a lot of creativity and imagination, and that makes it a lot better than most family movies Hollywood makes. However, while the first "Spy Kids" was a fun romp that kids AND adults would enjoy, this sequel isn't as much fun.

I think the biggest flaw is that this sequel is missing heart. We don't feel the warmth between the family members as we previously did. (Yes, the youthful siblings did fight and disagree a lot in the first movie, but you could still sense a solid bond between them.) There's no sense of the characters feeling danger, excitement, and a sense of adventure as they did the first time around. Instead, there is a coldness, a mechanical feeling this time, like they are very familiar (and almost bored with) with what they are experiencing, even with each other. The presence of two snotty and selfish rival child spies just furthers this somewhat sour tone.

While kids might not mind this too much, I think even they will agree with the second problem I found - the story here is VERY confusing at times. For one thing, the movie seems to start at chapter two, jumping ahead of itself before the audience is set and ready. Then after that, there are a number of moments where we keep thinking "Huh? How did (this character) get there all of a sudden?" and "Huh? What on earth happened off-screen to make (what we are now seeing) happen?" Very annoying. It's all made worse by a pace that is MUCH too fast, even for an adventure of this nature.

Note to Robert Rodriguez: I understand you will soon start "Spy Kids 3". Please not only take notice of what I've said above, but take note of Daryl Sabara ("Juni"). Though not a bad actor, there were a number of instances where he didn't enunciate his dialogue clearly enough, which lead me to rewind back a few seconds and use captions. Please take care of this on set, or at the very least, patch it up during post-production looping.

While I maintain the original film wasn't that good, it was still better than this film. Not that 'Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams' is god-awful or anything, it just didn't manage to eliminate the same problems the first film had. That was artificiality! This one felt even more artificial than the first! The visual f/x were fairly were decent in parts but also very fake in others, but the overall artificiality remains in the world of the Spy Kids themselves.

In the sequel, we see an established Spy Kid network which our heroes, Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara), find themselves having some competition from the Giggles children (Matt O'Leary and Emily Osmont) in the field of saving the world. The plot involves the Cortez kids heading to a mysterious island to retrieve a stolen weapon, while encountering genetically mutated (very fake) looking creatures, as well as a scientist named Romero (Steve Buscemi). Now, Romero is falsely advertised as the villain of the film, but from the onset he befriends the pair. Meanwhile, the Spy Kid's parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are looking for them with the grandparents (Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor) assisting them in their search.

Now, the problem with sequel is the overall storyline is not as good as the first film. There isn't a moment where I am drawn into this bizarre universe nor am I ever afraid for the characters, or feel they are overcoming major hurdles in the adventure or amongst themselves. It is this sort of artificiality that bothers me about 'Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams'. I've seen plenty of kids movies in my time, and many feel like they are genuinely overcoming a hurdle, or uniting a family rift or having a character reach a point of enlightenment. The sub-plot with the grandparents and Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) just didn't work for me at all, although the outcome was decent, the lead up to it was rather formulaic and uninteresting. Similarly, the father/son rift subplot was extremely tame and bland. 'Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams' also lacked villain power, as if the bad guys were doing their thing for the sake of doing it, rather than establishing some madness behind their methods. The overall plot was generally disappointing.

However, there is some decent moments. The interaction between Alexa Vega and Darly Sambara work very well and they are an extremely likable, but the writing and Robert Rodriguez's direction are just having them going through the motions, and the pacing of the film even seems awkward. Cheech Marin, Alan Cummings, Tony Shaloub and Danny Trejo all return in limited roles to further the plot. Mike Judge, of 'Beavis and Butthead' fame, returns in a bigger role as Donnagon Giggles and their is another decent cameo (which I won't spoil). Overall, for the reasons stated, the film lacks the magic of other kid's films and this is partly due to the artificiality of the story/characters and some of the visual effects.

**½ out of *****!

Sibling secret agents Carmen (Alexa PenaVega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) rescue the President's bratty daughter Alexandra. Siblings Gary (Matt O'Leary) and Gerti Giggles (Emily Osment) are competing fellow OSS agents. Donnagon Giggles (Mike Judge) is promoted to director of OSS over Gregorio Cortez (Antonio Banderas). Juni is blamed for losing the Transmooker device and fired. The device is tracked to a mysterious island off of Madagascar. Gary and Gerti are assigned by their father to go to the island. Carmen and Juni arrive on the island on their own. They discover their gadgets don't work and the island is filled with weird creatures. Their parents Gregorio and Ingrid (Carla Gugino) set off to rescue their kids with Ingrid's parents (Ricardo Montalbán, Holland Taylor) as stowaways.

Robert Rodriguez continues his kiddie franchise with everybody returning for the sequel. I continue to like the arguing Cortez siblings. I also like the Giggles as their foil. Rodriguez stays with his wild CGI style. There are some Ray Harryhausen-like touches such as the creatures and the warrior skeletons. I think some Rodriguez fans judge this franchise too harshly for being kids movies. This franchise exists as its own thing and should be enjoyed as such.

I enjoyed the first Spykids movie MUCH more than I thought I would, as it turned out to be a film that had appeal to BOTH kids and the parents forced to accompany them to the movies. It was well-written and innovative.

So what went SO wrong with THIS movie??!! Completely lost was all the charm of the first. Instead of naive agents who SOMEHOW defeat evil, the once-cute kids are now James Bond Juniors with super gadgets and powers!!! And, to make things worse, the movie is even more special effects drenched than the first. It's a total mess with unlikeable characters, a muddled plot and hackneyed writing. Adults or anyone with an IQ larger than their shoe size should stay away at all costs! If you LIKED seeing a good film followed up by a HORRIBLE sequel, you might also try watching Babe: Pig in the City. Somehow it manages to make an even better original movie and transform it into an even more unwatchable sequel! Only masochists should watch!

With slightly larger spies, this relatively young series had to grow up a little, taking on more mature jokes and story, but the all the elements of the first film are still evident. The sister- brother fighting, the fantasy-based story details, the wild technology, and of course, the importance of family are all stressed once again amidst the chaos and the outrageous action sequences. While the special effects don't quite mesh well with the live action, the outlandish references to The Clash of the Titans proved to be hilarious (if you find that kind of thing funny). Anyway, this film proved to be a little better than the first, considering young actors Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara feel a little more natural in their roles as super spy siblings. While the whole Spy Kid network seems a little far fetched, at least it is a movie one could take their kids to without the repercussions of too much violence or sexual content.

I used to love this movie when I was 5, but now when I watch it I just cringe. Animation looks obviously fake like you made it in your garage.

A sequel that improves upon the original! This time Carmen and Juni find themselves with rival same generation spies and need to find a chance to prove themselves as the best of the best. A top secret mission to destroy a device capable of shutting down all other devices on earth is plucked by them on a strange island in which a mad scientist (Steve Buscemi) has created and unleashed creatures that may overpower them. It has all the cheese and cool gadgets from the first chapter while also improving on visual effects which Rodriguez himself has a big part to play in as the 'One-Man Film Crew'! He even set up a symphonic orchestra in his garage to record the soundtrack which is pretty sweet! Banderas is hilarious in the film and reprises the role of Gregorio fantastically! Buscemi is brilliant as always and a joy to watch for all ages. The introduction of the Cortez grandparents is pretty awesome and Ricardo Montalban (The Naked Gun, Star Trek) and Holland Taylor (Legally Blonde, The Truman Show) are excellent! As the Cortez siblings grow in confidence during the series, the series itself seems to get bigger in scope and play with different genres. For example, this one definately tributes the classic creature features in the style of Ray Harryhausen! It does still have some cringey moments for older generations (the presidents daughter is quite an annoying side character; intentionally so) but they are not the target audience so therefore it doesn't fail on its goal and is a fun slice of entertainment

Another winner in Robert Rodriguez' budding `Spy Kids' franchise, equally as good as the first and showing real potential for the future. Rodriguez is perhaps the only filmmaker of kids' movies that seems to actually listen to what kids want and in the process delivers something every family member can indulge in--it's as delicious as chocolate, with plenty of giggles aimed at the seven to ten crowd and dazzling ideas and humor that parents can appreciate. Rodriguez has an extremely fertile imagination and while his visuals sometimes can't keep up (the digital effects are an occasional letdown) the concepts themselves are so ambitious and delightful that it's easy to look past the brief technological shortcomings. As in the first film, there are plenty of references to family films of the past (most notably `Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory' and the stop-action animation of Ray Harryhausen) and the overall design of both films is very similar. (Rodriguez seems to prefer shooting at twilight, giving everything an orange hue.) But it does seem more expansive, perhaps because he's creative enough to incorporate welcome new characters, such as the kids' grandparents (played with relish by Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor) and another brother-sister spy team (Emily Osment and Disney Channel favorite Matthew O'Leary) as well as fresh retakes on characters from the first film (Steve Buscemi takes on the Alan Cumming role). Rodriguez' screenplay once again takes on the theme of family but this time it's carried poignantly throughout (it got dropped rather quickly in `Spy Kids') and the result, coupled with his extraordinary vision, is a film that will thoroughly satisfy just about everyone.

I have seen some bad movies, but this has to be in the top 5. The Special effects were the worst I have ever seen (recently), and the acting is even worse. I think a 10 year old could have wrote a better script. Like 80% of the movie looked like it was a green screen. The only movie worse than this is Jaws: The Revenge. I think you should avoid this movie. I would rather watch jaws 3 than have to watch this movie again. The original was a okay movie, but this movie is not worth your time. the fight scenes are the worst I have ever scene. The jokes fell flat every time. I can not think of one good thing about this movie. Avoid this movie.

This is a scandalously bad film. None of the child actors should ever be allowed to act again, and neither should they be allowed to pass on their genetic material. On a serious note, the acting is appalling, the script is trash, the plot is horrible. This film will make you cringe with embarrassment. Some of the lines were so bad that I physically recolied from the screen. please don't watch this film, it isn't even bad in a way that makes it funny, it will just make you sad. When this film was made who was it supposed to appeal to? It's an insult to the intellignece of every child who has ever watched a film. To think that the director could ever have believed that anyone( including his own family) could like this film. I have written many better scripts than this one (although my scripts are actually quite good). Worst film ever!!

As the story begins, Juni and Carmen Cortez are agents on the rise in the new Spy Kids division of the OSS. Despite all their impressive skills and accomplishments, they're denied a promotion in the agency as a result of blatant nepotism. Still determined to make their mark, and much more importantly to upstage a pair of rival agents, they intervene in a mission to travel to a mysterious island and retrieve a sophisticated thingamajig that could be a potent threat if it falls into the wrong hands. Engaging sequel is far less cheesy than its predecessor, has a much better story, and lots of imaginative visual effects accompanied by exciting, cliffhanger action scenes. Overlong, and still corny at times, but has just enough of the right ingredients to entertain all audiences. ***

Here we have more demented fun in the mold of the first "Spy Kids". Again, the effects budget is refreshingly spent on something relatively creative for once, including some perky animated monsters. Imagine Ray Harryhausen on speed and you've got the idea. And be sure to stick around for the outtakes.

If the long discussed (but unnecessary) "Willy Wonka" remake ever gets off the ground, it should look a lot like this.

I saw this movie today {opening}, and it wasn't what I expected. Of course, everyone loved Spy Kids. Such a clever movie. I expected this one to be terrible. But, it was really good. It basically takes off where the first one left off, with the Cortez youngsters {slightly larger, as the tagline suggests} real spys. But, they have some competition. Gary and Gertie Giggles, the new Spy Kids of the year, are the kid's rivals, except for Carmen Cortez, who has a secret crush on Gary. Anyways, the secret "Transmooker" device is stolen. It is a device used to shut off all the power in the world. It gets stolen, and the Giggles kids get the assignment to the Island Of Lost Dreams to return it. But, the Spy Kids make a little switch in plans, and end up going to the Island Of Lost Dreams, where illusions are free. The gadgets are cool, Steve Buscemi is great, Mrs. Cortez' parents arrive, which means more trouble, and I won't tell you who the real bad guy is, because that would spoil the movie. The movie is very good, and has its cleverness, but it doesn't live up to the 1st one. I hope Spy Kids 3 will be better. 7/10

The original `Spy Kids' had a great screenplay, which combined action, comedy and special effects in right doses. The movie was excellent. This sequel has exaggerated in the special effects – I myself have felt like watching (not playing) a video game – and unfortunately has forgotten to have a story. The actors and actresses do not need to act, since it has special effects all the time. I was watching this movie with my wife and two teenagers (my son and my nephew) on DVD. We have to use the `REW' button at least three times along the film, since everybody has taken a nap in some part of the movie. Robert Rodriguez, please do not make `Spy Kids 3' ! My vote is five.

This was a very satisfying sequel to "Spy Kids". Even though I enjoyed the first film just a little bit more, "Spy Kids 2" thoroughly entertained me, my wife and my three children. As a parent, I appreciated how Carmen and Juni were in perilous situations, but it never felt like they were in deadly danger. I also enjoyed the overall message that family unity, love and respect is always important. Kudos to Mr. Rodriguez for including Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor. They were cool and funny! And is it any coincidence that the Cortez kids, their parents and their grandparents are all good-looking? I don't think so! Let's just say that the presence of Antonio Banderas (for my wife) and Carla Gugino (for me) made the movie that much more pleasant to watch. :) My family looks forward to spying on the further exploits of the Cortez family next year in "Spy Kids 3"!

Decent watch at best, probably won't watch again, but can recommend for a younger audience.

In traditional sequel fashion, this was worse than the original. It feels like it actually has a richer, more complex story to it with a better message of cooperation and right over wrong, but it relies too heavily on weird effects combined with a lack of technology working in the story.

What really sets it apart is cross competitiveness with a secondary kid team, which was really cool to suddenly see a young Emily Osment ("Young and Hungry"). And Steve Buscemi shows up as a mad scientist which is interesting all to itself.

The movie has its high points, but I feel like you spend far more time in the valleys.

I didn't like this one as well as the first installment (although both kids aged 7 & 10 liked it better) but it was still an entertaining film that really stressed the value of family and the importance of fighting for it.

This thing is the woooooooooooooorst movie ever. The plot sucks. I have no idea why Banderas made this movie. I think he wanted to have some time to loose or whatever. Everything is soooo damn fake. In the movie you see kids that are secret agents(the director had some imagination). But I know that Rodriguez is a great director but....

THEEEEE only thing I think was good is that it lasted only 1hour, but still it can be entertaining for very young children.

After reading some of these user reviews (especially the one about the Latino vs. White.... you have to be kidding me), I felt compelled to write one of my own. Spy Kids 2 had everything I expected - a whole new adventure with characters from first that is fun, exciting, humorous, and still manages to teach about doing the right thing. I also appreciated the references to the original ^_^ , and the special effects were even better than the first.

The hardest people to please in this case would be my 2 daughters (4 & 7) who own the first Spy Kids on DVD and have seen it so many times they can act out the scenes down to the facial expressions and body motions. When they saw Spy Kids 2 this past weekend they were transfixed and left the theater excited about seeing Carmen and Juni in their latest adventure.

A great movie for adults and kids... I cannot recommend this sequel highly enough!

Carmen and Juni return and are Level 2 OSS agents alongside their parents. After saving the president's daughter with help from Gary Giggle, the son of Donnagan Giggles, whom they saved in the first film, Carmen develops a crush on Gary while Juni develops a rivalry. However, when the OSS banquet is attack by men wearing manget suits, knwon as Magna Men, Juni is fired due to Gary making him drop a device they are after and pins the blame on him for messing up. However, Carmen gets him reinstated by hacking into the OSS database, and the two now go on a mission to recover the Transmooker and clear Juni's name. The mission takes them into Ukata, while Gary and his sister, Gerti, are sent to Gobi Desert, with Gary vowing revenge.

This is an okay sequel. While the story is neat, the movie is pretty much a special effects show, as CGI effects take center stage (especially with the DragonSpy vehicle, to the various monsters). Also. Old and new charcters grace this sequel (one of the best being Valentin, the grandfather of Carmen and Juni from their mother's side).

Dialogue is often cringey, plot is unoriginal, and characters are mostly ridiculously cartoonish. The heavy use of CGI is a poor substitute for plot and quickly gets boring. The charm and humor of the first film is lacking here.