game over

THE FLICK: At their best, Robert RodriguezÕ ÒSpy KidsÓ films are seat-of-your-pants storytelling, blessed with a healthy dose of improvised imagination. The director makes no secret that he likes to work fast and loose, below the studioÕs radar, giving him free reign to make movies his way. The results are a mixed success, with the second film in the series, Island of Lost Dreams, still the most inspired. In the case of ÒSpy Kids 3D: Game Over,Ó the formula is a tad muddled, with most of the series regulars (Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino and even senior Spy Kid Alexa Vega) relegated to third act cameos. This time the series weakest link, Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), is assigned the big mission: stop a cyber-baddie named the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone) by entering the video game world to prevent kids everywhere from being brainwashed. Ricardo Montalban as Grandfather Cailsta Cortez follows him into the game to help spring JuniÕs kidnapped spy sibling, Carmen. Even without the 3D gimmick, ÒGame OverÓ is full of visual razzle-dazzle with giant robot boxing matches, Tron-style racetracks, and assorted digital death traps. In fact, itÕs more enjoyable in 2D, allowing the candy-colored action set pieces to really shine. But the movie was sold as a 3D extravaganza (utilizing the old-school red/blue glasses) and achieves an admittedly cool level of depth and distance in certain scenes. The DVD comes with four pair of glasses and, for a retro-family night in, you could do much worse than ÒSpy Kids 3D.Ó THE FEATURES: The highlight of any Rodriguez DVD is his ÒTen-Minute Film SchoolÓ feature, in which the director rips through how he achieved such elaborate effects on a small budget. This time his solution was lots (and lots) of green screen work, which allowed him to film the actors in almost any setting, at any time. Banderas and some of the big name actors were inserted into scenes months before principal photography beganÉand damn if I could tell! Rodriguez also contributes a typically awesome commentary track (awesome, that is, if youÕre into technical stuff made simple). More extras includes a fairly standard 30-minute ÒMaking OfÓ segment, a before-and-after effects montage, a multi-angle (including storyboards and animatics) look at the lava surfing scene, a 3D point-and-click racing game, outtakes of Bill Paxton on-set with his son, and footage of Alexa Vega performing songs at the filmÕs premiere. The film itself features a widescreen 16 X 9 transfer with Dolby 5.1 sound, which looks and sounds predictably terrific since Rodriguez shot on a Hi-Def video format. FINAL SCORE: ÒGame OverÓ still has the hyperactive energy of its predecessors, but the video-game plot seems an odd fit (Rodriguez admits that the idea wasnÕt originally thought up for the Spy Kids series). ItÕs fun to look at, though, and still has more imagination per minute than big-budget family film flops like ÒCat in the Hat.Ó ItÕs a safe bet your kids will spin this disc quite a few times.