Where I Watched it: Netflix
English Audio Description Provided By: XTrax
Written By Mary Morrison
Narrated By: Gloria Deleon
For the record, I wasn’t a kid for the first Spy Kids film. So, this isn’t a case of anyone feeling like their childhood can’t be messed with, remade, or rebooted. And in the same year with Hypnotic, we already have seen a Robert Rodriguez joint this year, and the state of Troublemaker is clearly not great. He’s now remaking his own franchise, but for Netflix, with no intention of a theatrical release.
Aside from the kids, the cast that has been assembled to rival that of Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, George Clooney, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Alan Cumming, and the others that have passed through the first four films, are Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Billy Magnussen, and DJ Cotrona. Good lord.
The movie is a mix of the first Spy kids with the third Spy Kids. It’s an origin story with a videogame angle, just with none of the 3D, and having things being thrown at you from the screen. The kids find out their parents are spies, but their parents have been kidnapped, so they go to a special hideout where they learn all about their parents secret identities, and become spies. Then, they save the world. It worked the first time, right?
Your kids will probably like this. it just doesn’t have the same style it did the first time around. Rodriguez isn’t putting in the effort anymore, and likely his heart just wasn’t into remaking his own property. DJ Cotrona is boring as all hell as the George Clooney replacement, and this film is sorely missing Danny Trejo. But, Levi and Rodriguez are at least charming, and Magnussen is perfectly obnoxious as a villain.
However, the film seems dumbed down. Like a sequence where the kids walk past a boat, and ask what it is, to be given a cursory description. Even though it isn’t needed in that moment, you can’t help but feel that the scene is planted so the kids can use that vehicle in a later sequence. Truth.
Audio description? I have a feeling this film doesn’t look as good as the original, which I did get to see. So, the audio description does a decent job of exploring the various gadgets these characters use, and the technology that feels far advanced from what you might have in your home. There’s also a lot of focus on the video game element, and the description was sufficient. Again, even more than the first time around, I think this is aimed at kids. The kids themselves even feel younger. The original might have hoped to target the 8-13 crowd, while also not annoying parents, whereas this one is probably more the 5-10 crowd, and would tell a parent they can feel free to leave the room.
It’s hard for me to go negative here, because I’m not a child, and I really think kids will enjoy this, just like kids did at the time of the original, which is why this is a franchise to begin with. So, I’m staying pretty neutral on this, and going very average. It’s what Rodriguez did, so why not?
Final Grade: C
