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SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME
OVER review by Joseph B. Mauceri
REVIEW:
He¹s done drama, action, science fiction, fantasy and horror
for both adults and kids, and he does them all well. In his third
installment of the ³Spy Kids² franchise, SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER,
Rodriguez tackles 3-D technology and hits another home run. Rodriguez churns these films out so quickly because it is exclusively
his vision. All you have to do is look at the credits. Rodriguez
is director, writer, cinematographer, editor, composer, production
designer, visual effects supervisor, gets involved with the costume
designs and his special effects company, Troublemaker Digital Studios,
is responsible for a large portion of the effects in the film. When
you consider the numerous elements of the filmmaking process that
he is directly involved him, he is more involved in his films then
Steven Spielberg or George Lucas. There is simply no filmmaker like
him working in the industry today. Rodriguez¹s perfectionist nature
is counterbalanced by his visionary goals on each project. And these
credits are not just superficial ones. Rodriguez rolls up his selves
and gets his hands dirty with each of these elements. Starting with the script, Rodriguez is making this film for
his kids. In addition to getting their input, he often turns to
other friends, family members and fellow filmmakers for their input
in shaping his story. It¹s a simple adventure tale, filled with
lots of fun gags, easily digestible morals and plenty of action.
SPY KIDS 3-D has ³spy² elements, but has more of a ³Tron²/B-movie
feel. It¹s a B-movie in the sense that it¹s campy, like a Roger
Rabbit cartoon. The story focuses mostly on Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara)
and his dilemma of rescuing his sister and shutting down the game
before it can corrupt the minds of the children of the world. He
is aided on this quest by three ³beta testers² and his grandfather
(Ricardo Montalban). Rodriguez still manages to work in a lot of
cameos, and he somehow convinced Sylvester Stallone to play the
film¹s villain. As with the previous villains in the series, Stallone¹s
Toymaker is all about the comedy and he does it well. The Toymaker
is held in a cyber-prison where his three alter egos taunt him.
Stallone plays all three characters, an insane general, a mad scientist
and a philosophical hippie. It¹s tons a fun. Don¹t just take my
word for it. The children in the audience sat through the entire
film with saying a word. So the big question, how are the 3-D effects? This is a Robert
Rodriguez film, so could they be anything less than impressive?
I was a bit cautious because Rodriguez uses the anaglyphic process,
the glasses that use one blue and one red lens. It was a processed
used on quite a few films back in the 1950¹s, on films like ³Creature
From the Black Lagoon.² Rodriguez works with the advances in the
technology and the new digital technology to overcome many of the
process¹ shortcomings. In fact, he was able to have a digital monitor
on set so he could playback his shots and, by putting on a pair
of anaglyphic glasses, see if the 3-D effects were working. He places
the 3-D sequences mostly within the virtual world so he can manipulate
all the elements to achieve effects that are almost as good as the
IMAX 3-D process. The climax, which takes place outside the game,
I didn¹t feel it was up to par with the 3-D effects in the rest
of the film. It seemed a bit fuzzy. That could have been an effect
of wearing the glasses for so long. They do warn the audience that
if they should get a headache or eyestrain to take off the glasses.
So it¹s not a perfect process. Still, all the family thrill rides are not in the amusement parks this summer. Director Robert Rodriguez takes the Spy Kids into a virtual 3-D world and gives kids, both young and old, the most electrifying ride they¹ll have at the movies this summer. . Hey don¹t throw away those glasses! They will come in hand if you visit the film¹s website or buy the computer game. OFFICIAL
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