Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writer:

Robert Rodriguez (written by)

Release Date:

7 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Huge New Adventure - Slightly Larger Spies

Plot:

The Cortez siblings set out for a mysterious island, where they encounter a genetic scientist and a set of rival spy kids.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Kid | Sequel | Mad Scientist | Banquet

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Gregorio Cortez
Carla Gugino	...	Ingrid Cortez
Alexa Vega	...	Carmen Cortez
Daryl Sabara	...	Juni Cortez
Steve Buscemi	...	Romero
Mike Judge	...	Donnagon
Danny Trejo	...	Machete
Cheech Marin	...	Felix Gumm
Matt O'Leary	...	Gary Giggles
Emily Osment	...	Gerti Giggles
Ricardo Montalban	...	Grandfather
Holland Taylor	...	Grandmother
Alan Cumming	...	Fegan Floop
Taylor Momsen	...	President's Daughter
Christopher McDonald	...	President of the USA

Also Known As:

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action sequences and brief rude humor.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:U (cut) | Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:L | UK:12 (uncut) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Arenal Lake, Costa Rica

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

The theme park, in reality Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, the section of the park is Gotham. Mr. Freeze (the ice blue coaster that goes vertical), Batman: The Ride (the yellow and black coaster) and the Flashback (the red and blue coaster with multiple loops) can be seen through out the scene.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Carmen and Juni are standing on the beach, cables are visible on the ground behind Carmen.

Quotes:

Grandmother: You tried to save us. Why?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ten Minute Film School: Big Movies Made Cheap (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Floop's Dream

Bigger, but not better, sequel

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.