Detective film a hit for young ‘Spy Kids’ captivates

In a world with far too many offspring from insipid Saturday-morning TV shows, it’s refreshing to see an occasional new idea in children’s films.

One such offering is the adventurous romp “Spy Kids.”

This isn’t to say that “Spy Kids” is a perfect film. It’s far too predictable and has too pat a happy end. But at least it isn’t populated by annoying cartoon monsters or precocious tots.

Life in an unspecified Latin American country is pretty dull for Carmen and Juni Cortez. This includes their consultant parents, Gregorio and Ingrid. But, as a flashback disguised as a bedtime story shows, their parents once led a more exotic life. You see, Gregorio and Ingrid are retired spies.

Gregorio (played by Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid (Carla Gugino) go on one last mission, and are, surprise, captured. So it’s up to Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), who learn of the parents’ occupation, to become “spy kids” and rescue them.

The parents are in the clutches of Fegan Floog (Alan Cumming), whose children’s TV show is adored by Juni. Floog is also a weapons supplier who is capturing secret agents who had been involved with an artificial-intelligence project.

Thanks to years of physical training, the two children too quickly take to being spies, rapidly gaining a grasp of oddball gadgets (these devices were one of the highlights for my 5-year-old daughter. But it’s their brains that ultimately win the day.

The film’s director, Robert Rodriguez, definitely has experience in action films, in such works as “Desperado” and “From Dusk Till Dawn,” but this is his admirable first venture into the kiddie realm. The movie is packed with thrills, but the violence is kept to a minimum. Floog’s monsters are more strange than scary, especially to children well versed in today’s kids’ TV.

My junior critic loved the film, and now wants to become a “spy kid” (damn that McDonald’s merchandising tie-in for adding to the delusion that this is a feasible career choice). She was glued to the screen, with precious little fidgeting. Even the popcorn and drink got set aside.

Most adults will find “Spy Kids” enjoyable if not suspenseful. It’s not as well developed a recent children’s work as “Chicken Run,” but it certainly will beat the other option currently in cinemas, “Pokemon 3,” in the eyes of most adults.

Dale McGarrigle is the NEWS’ veteran entertainment writer and editor of the scene. His 5-year-old daughter Samantha will soon outgrow this “spy kid” notion, even if the sunglasses do look cool on her.