SPY KIDS

2001

Those same people who think that the "Harry Potter" novels are for children, will probably stay away from this movie for the very same reason, and that would be a BIG mistake. As with the "Harry Potter" books, "Spy Kids" is an endlessly clever mix of reality and fantasy; creative, imaginative, colorful, funny and filled with verbal and visual images that will stay with you long after you've left the theater. Robert Rodriguez has written and directed this fairy tale of two children (Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara) who set out to rescue their kidnapped parents(Carla Gugino, Antonio Banderas,) who just happen to be retired spies! Think "James Bond" meets "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and you'll be operating on the same level as all of the people who put together this big comic book of a film. As in the "Batman" films of Tim Burton(who would have loved to have directed this), the villains are played by talented actors(Alan Cumming, Teri Hatcher, Tony Shalhoub) who know how to take tongue-in-cheek seriously! Because the director and several of the actors are Latin-Americans, there's a "latino" atmospheric-environment in this film, that adds an extra measure of color, to an already exotic, colorful film.(Thanks for the recommendation Catie; I really enjoyed it.)

4 Stars

NJB