Serving as a reboot to the titular franchise, Spy Kids: Armageddon is the fifth film in the series and focuses on siblings Tony and Patty Tango-Torres.
After they accidentally aid an evil game developer in unleashing a virus worldwide, their highly skilled spy parents, Nora and Terrence, are kidnapped while trying to protect them. Now, the two must get their own spy game on to save their parents and the world.
Story
Spy Kids: Armageddon introduces siblings Patty and Tony, who are huge video game aficionados. Their parents, Terrence and Nora, are secret spies working for the OSS (Organization of Super Spies) but keep this a secret from the kids.
Afraid of having enemies infiltrate their system, Terrence imposes strict technology restrictions on his children, but Nora doesn’t stand by it. Tony wins free access to the latest game called Hyskor after winning a card game at school.
Elsewhere, Nora and Terrence are ambushed by a character from Hyskor in the real world called the Heck Knight. It steals the latter’s watch that controls something called the Armageddon Code — an algorithm that can hack into any system or technology in the world.
When the code is stolen and their parents are kidnapped by the game’s creator, the siblings must turn into spies themselves to save the world.
Performances
Acting in Spy Kids: Armageddon is not anything groundbreaking but instills nostalgia for previous entries. Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla play Tony and Patty respectively.
The kids dish out innocent and sassy performances. It is a huge responsibility to carry a film’s narrative for two young actors, and they do right by it.
Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi play their parents Nora and Terrence. The two seasoned actors don’t have much to do except play goofy adults who change their perspective toward parenting as their kids turn into efficient spies. Much like Carla Gugino and Antonio Bendares in the original films.
Billy Magnussen plays the typical evil tech genius who wants to control the world. He is menacing but not very deeply written.
Positives
Aimed strictly at kids, Spy Kids: Armageddon hits home concerning its target audience. Director Robert Rodriguez succeeds in invoking the same goofy, childish, and adventurous spirit in the audience without taking the narrative too seriously.
The gadgets are cool, the vehicles are outrageous, and the evil enemy lair is an Augmented Reality galore. With a 108-minute runtime, the film is snappy and still manages to deliver a heartfelt message on honesty, positivity, teamwork, and family.
Some of the visuals are pretty impressive, especially the videogame world the characters enter in the final act.
Negatives
Spy Kids: Armageddon does suffer from predictability, clunky CGI in parts, overly silly writing, and sometimes, forced comedy. The film does make an effort to explain the villain’s motivation, but you can see it coming from a mile away, considering how often Operation Fireball is brought up for no reason.
The jokes don’t always land and it gets really difficult to suspend belief in some situations involving the kids.
Despite its familiarity, the film’s tropes feel rehashed from previous installments, but the new generation likely won’t notice it much.
Verdict
As a Spy Kids entry, Armageddon is up there among the better ones, however, it still misses the mark as a film in general. Children and older fans of the franchise will be delighted with it, but others won’t take much away from this goofy experience.
Spy Kids: Armageddon
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Date Created: 2023-09-23 13:36
2.5
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