30 Second Bottom Line: The Cortez family is off on another mission. Carmen and Juni want to be Level 1 Spy Kids (no supervision required, any teen's dream) and Gregorio and Ingrid¾AKA Mom and Dad¾are still the super spies we remember from Spy Kids. Even Grandpa and Grandma have a few tricks left in their spy satchel.
Story Line: Hair-raising rides dot the landscape at the Troublemaker Theme Park as the wild eyed owner (Bill Paxton) tries to entice the President's daughter, Alexandra (Taylor Mumsen), to pick one. She settles on the Vomiter, where the riders are locked in, spun around at the highest speed the law will allow…then juggled.
Alexandra removes the key used to stop the ride, which goes haywire. Enter Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara), the Spy Kids assigned to protect her. That's not part of Alexandra's plan; she's also stolen a valuable piece of equipment, used in national defense. All this so her father, the President, will come to her rescue, and she won't feel so lonely.
As Carmen and Juni use magnetic devices to climb the ride's steel framework to save Alexandra, the Spy Kids team of Gary and Gertie Giggles (Matthew O'Leary and Emily Osment) zips past them with the latest apparatus. It's clear the Giggles' have the hottest new gadgets…But how? This is certainly no way for Carmen and Juni to get to Level 1 status, where they can operate on their own. And why does Gregorio Cortez' (Antonio Banderas) promotion to Spy Kids head suddenly go to `bad dad' Donnagon Giggles? Thanks to Carmen's computer hacking skills, the Cortez' will have a chance to get the answers.
Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) is concerned about her children's wish to be independent. She knows the pitfalls of the spy game…very well, as we discover when her parents pay a visit. Holland Taylor and Ricardo Montalban, as grandma and grandpa, give new meaning to the term `active seniors.'
Carmen and Juni find themselves on an island inhabited by pinhead robots, a neurotic scientist (Steve Buscemi) and a varied assortment of hybrid animals. The kids are searching for the device that can control life forces and, of course, in the wrong hands can wreak havoc on the world. They are being hunted for by Donnagon, the wild beasts, Gary and Gertie, and their parents and grandparents. When their high tech, electronic gadgets fail in the magnetic field created on the island, Carmen and Juni use their minds to steer clear of danger. Will the bad guys win over these super Spy Kids? When pigs fly!
Tell Me More About It: Familiar characters return in Spy Kids 2 but do not dominate the plot. Writer-director Robert Rodriquez wisely uses Floopy, Minnion, and the Thumbs sparingly, to propel the story, keeping the material fresh. New characters and adventures await the Spy Kids.
Primary colors dominate the scenery. The interior of the Spy Kids school rocks…who couldn't learn there? And the warmth and depth of color in the Cortez home embraces you. The laboratory and caverns on the island are filled with surprises. It's Harry Potter meets The Jetson's; Harry has his magic and Carmen and Juni have science and technology.
Stick around as the closing credits roll. You'll get a rousing musical surprise.
DVD