5/5 Weýve Got A Franchise!!
  by Mr. JKW (Honolulu, Hawai'i)
"Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" is another in a line of great sequels to great movies. Overall, if you enjoyed the first film you'll be very pleased in the next installment in this "Bond for Kids" comedy/adventure series!!

THE STORY:

Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) are back in a bigger and wilder adventure than before. This time the Cortez siblings are locked in a dead heat to get to the bottom of a mystery concealed by a remote and mysterious island before a rival team of Spy Kids beat them to the punch.

THE COOL THINGS:

The "Island of Lost Dreams" expands upon the Spy Kids world tenfold as we are introduced to the entire Spy Kids organization including its hierarchies and ultra-cool weapons. The "monsters" in this installment are also more formidable looking (mutated/spliced animals) as compared to the comical mutated humans from the first movie. We also get introduced to the extended Cortez family tree as Ingrid's parents gain a supporting role. In all, seeing the competing Spy Kids and the newer and cooler weapons made this movie more enjoyable.

BEST SCENES:

1. The Monster Duel

2. Popstars Carmen and Juni!!! (HILARIOUS!!!)

3. Battle at OSS

THE VERDICT:

Spy Kids was generally regarded as a good, solid movie not only for kids and families, but anyone in general. It was fun, entertaining and all around enjoyable. Summed in a nutshell, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams is even better!!!

Highly Recommended

5/5 Lots of humor and excitement in this fast-moving adventure
  by Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA)
"Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, continues the cinematic adventures of the Cortez family. Alexa Vega and Darryl Sabara lead the cast as Carmen and Juni Cortez, a brother-and-sister team of kid secret agents. SK2 is a truly multigenerational story; in addition to featuring Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as the kids' parents, the film also costars Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor as the kids' maternal grandparents.

In this film, the spy kids trace a missing device to the fantastic island lair of an eccentric scientist (a fun performance by character actor Steve Buscemi). As the kids pursue their mission, they have a continuing rivalry with another brother-and-sister spy kid team (played with nice touches of Nellie Olson-ish nastiness by Matt O'Leary and Emily Osment). This kid-vs.-kid conflict gives an added kick to the fast-paced story.

SK2 is a really fun and exciting film. There are some wacky, Willie Wonka-ish images and satiric touches (one memorable sight gag involves some overprotective Secret Service agents). Some of the colorful special effects sequences seem to be homages to classic Ray Harryhausen films. And the film is filled with great spy gadgets; these kids really out-Bond 007 himself.

The performances are solid all around; the cast members have enjoyable chemistry with each other. The casting of Montalban (a sci-fi/fantasy icon due to his roles as Khan in "Star Trek" and Mr. Rourke from "Fantasy Island") is particularly inspired; the veteran actor brings tremendous charm and warmth to his role.

I haven't yet seen the original "Spy Kids" film, so I have to judge SK2 on its own. It's suitable, I believe, for the whole family; the violence in the film is of the cartoonish, non-lethal variety, and the film presents a nice message of family loyalty and togetherness.

4/5 Like Spy Kids 1....'cept better.
  by
I'm not a big fan of movie sequels, because they're made mostly for the buck and nearly always turn out rotten. But I've gotta say, "Spy Kids II" was a real swinger. (That's good.) Here's the basic plot:

The OSS now has a Spy Kids division, where kids do the dirty work adults can't. Carmen and Junie, the kids from the original movie, are some of the top spies. Also in this division are two troublemaker/brilliant kid spies who compete with them for different assignments. Through one thing or another, they end up on an island with large mutant creatures. Their mission? Get a transmooker device on the other side of the island and save the world...or something. Anyway, their parents find out, and go after them. Mix in the in-laws, and you've got a bizarre but really goofy plot that moves along really well.

Okay, that's just a small summary of the plot, but you get the basic idea. "Spy Kids II" turns out to be as funny..and creative...as the first movie. Even more so. It's not quite as weird as "Spy Kids I"...no mutant humans. Now mutant animals...well, that's just cool. So are the sophisticated high-tech gadgets. And the special effects...FANTASTIC. Also, Carmen and Juni get along much better, which is relief. Because the characters are already established, the storyline and the dialog of the movie seems to move along even better than "Spy Kids I". Gregorio's in-laws are a very nice touch, and it adds some pretty funny moments. The characters from the first movie, Floop and Minion, are also there, as well as Uncle Felix ("I'm not your uncle.") and Machete. This seems to make it flow easily from one movie to the next. And, of course, with moments like the theme park and the dance scene, (the ballet part, oh, I died laughing) it offered many laugh-out-loud for the audience to enjoy.

As for the cons of the movie, there weren't very many. The camara shots are kind of jumpy and jerky, like the first movie. Being a storyboard artist, I liked that, but I know that it gave some people headaches. The plot is a little confusing..you're not quite sure who knows what or how they found out unless you pay close attention, but nothing major. And the telepathy scene...why did they have that? It was kind of pointless. I wonder if there was more to that originally before the editing process. And, in the credits they have Carmen doing a teeni-bopper thing. Boy, speaking of pointless...

These are just minor things, of course. There were tips of the hat to "Jason and the Argonauts," "Indiana Jones," and "Jurrassic Park." It wasn't crude or especially violent (Though the skeleton part and the fighting mutant animals might scare some little kids.) there was hardly any swearing ... Overall, this was a delightful and witty movie that entertained the whole family.

Bottom line: If you liked "Spy Kids I", see "Spy Kids II", because it's even better. ...

5/5 Yet another imaginative kids movie!
  by Ahmed (Canada)
Spy kids is back! It's a great family flick and although it gets sort of stretched out in the middle, it quickly catches up on the plot. What makes this movie worth the 5 stars? Well it's creative, fun, and funny. Rodriquez is getting really good now with a family film that has a great plot! One thing good about this movie is that (just like Rush Hour 2), the sequel is better than the original. Kids as well as adults will love the imaginative devices and the fact that it's a sci-fi kids film. Just like Austin Powers makes up a dirty-parody version of the James Bond movies, Spy Kids make up a kids version of the James Bond movies! The movie is enjoyable. Those of you who loved the original will enjoy this. I still prefer Monsters Inc. though! Okay fine-it doesn't have the extraordinary special effects!... But... It's worth watching on the big screen. It's fine piece of entertainment!

What's it about?: The world needs the help of two super agents once again. Carmen and Juni are back except this time their mystery involves a "mystical" island. They are fighting against their enemies once again. They stumble onto a (mad?) scientist and his "mystical" creatures! But this time the mission is harder. So hard that their WHOLE family has to tag along as super spies.

Kids will love this movie that features really cool parents and fascinating kids that are spies. It's one of the better movies of the summer. A little something for Lilo &Stitch fans! The adventure in this sequel is better than the original's plot and this time there are more spectacular devices to enjoy.



4/5 Kid's movies get better every year.
  by (San Diego, CA USA)
Spy Kids 2 is hilarious. It's campy. It's one of the few kids movies that doesn't throw a lot of jokes in for parents to understand into the script, and it's wonderful.

The star of the show, by far, is Juni. He's hilarious. He's the coolest kid of any movie I've seen in a long time, and I've seen a LOT!

If you've seen Spy Kids and you liked it, you'll probably love Spy Kids 2. There's a ton of new gadgets, a bunch of jokes, and a ballet scene.

Yup, a ballet scene.

For adults, there's a lot of cool actors in this movie. Ricardo Montalbon from Fantasy Island (to stick with the Island theme) and Holland Taylor (Max from Mission: Impossible, to stick with the Spy theme.

A new spy family, the Giggles, is headed by the father, played by Mike Judge. Sound familiar? He was the writer/director of Office Space (also played Stan, the manager at Chotchkies) and creator of Beavis and Butthead.

Finally, a mad geneticist played by Steve Buscemi. (Reservoir Dogs, Con Air, Fargo, Armageddon... actually, what HASN'T he been in?)

Put them all together and you've got one entertaining movie.

Go see it!