4.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Under-age agents Juni and Carmen Cortez set out on their newest most mind-blowing mission yet: journeying inside the virtual reality world of a 3-D video game designed to outsmart them, as the awe-inspiring graphics and creatures of gaming come to real life. Relying on humor, gadgetry, bravery, family bonds and lightning-quick reflexes, the Spy Kids must battle through tougher and tougher levels of the game, facing challenges that include racing against road warriors and surfing on boiling lava, in order to save the world from a power hungry villain.
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa PenaVega, Daryl Sabara, Ricardo MontalbanFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 80% |
Adventure | 62% |
Sci-Fi | 11% |
Action | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This title is currently available only in this edition: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over / Adventures
of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D.
You might be forgiven if you come away from Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over wondering if writer-director Robert
Rodriguez simply was jonesin’ for a Tron
remake and wasn’t about to wait around for Disney to get to it (which of course they ultimately did with Tron: Legacy). Like the Disney semi-
franchise, a lot of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over takes place within the virtual confines of a videogame, and also like
Tron, winning the “game” means eventual freedom and release back into the “real world” (that being a
decidedly
relative term in any Robert Rodriguez film). When the film was first released in 2003, 3D technology still meant utilizing
those relics of the fifties, red and cyan colored glasses, and many people found the film’s 3D positively migraine inducing
(I
am one of those people who always had very problematic reactions to watching 3D in this older format, one of the
reasons I’ve been so appreciative of the much easier to take RealD process). Even putting aside the 3D element,
however, (as Lionsgate did with their previous Blu-ray release of the film, Spy Kids 3: Game Over), viewers might be inclined to experience
another kind of headache, one borne by this film’s manifest shortcomings in developing a compelling story, as
well
as the very derivative quality that will remind more than a few of Tron in either of its iterations.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with both MVC (3D) and AVC (2D)
encoded 1080p transfers in 1.78:1. A lot of viewers complained about Rodriguez's The Adventures of Sharkboy and
Lavagirl in its original anaglyph 3D theatrical presentation, especially since those old style "red-cyan" glasses robbed
the image of so much color. The weird irony here is that Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over is kind of desaturated to begin
with, so even with the newer 3D technology at play, the palette here doesn't always pop with the vivacity that some might
expect. With that somewhat minor issue put aside, the rest of the news is mostly very good indeed. The basic image here
is incredibly sharp and well defined, with excellent fine detail in midrange and close-up shots.
There's a lot of "meta" talk in this film about the headaches that 3D technology creates, and even with the easier to
assimilate newer 3D technology used here, this is still such a relentlessly "in your face" presentation that some more
sensitive viewers may have problems at times, especially when so much visual information is coming straight out toward the
viewer. I personally had a few issues at various points in the film, but I have always had an intense sensitivity to 3D. My
display revealed some significant crosstalk at the very edges of the frame (something that also cropped up in The
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl), but only when there were objects right there and in the foreground. Rodriguez
loves 3D technology and he thrusts all sorts of objects out at the viewer with abandon. It may simply be a bit too
much for some.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over features a wonderfully aggressive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that really explodes once Juni enters the game world. All sorts of bizarre electronic sounding effects populate the surrounds, and in such standout sequences as the race (as derivative as it undeniably is), there are some fantastic panning effects as well as some fulsome LFE. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented, and is also rather widely skewed in various sequences, adding to the immersion. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range is extremely wide.
Rodriguez experienced the law of diminishing returns with each of the Spy Kids films, and this third entry is probably the overall weakest of the original three. That's ameliorated somewhat at least by the inventive production design and especially by Stallone's hilariously over the top performance. This new 3D presentation is an eyeful (and a half), and fans may want to revisit the film now to see if with this newer technology the 3D experience is a bit easier to take. The film itself is something of a hit or miss affair, but this Blu-ray comes jam packed with excellent supplements and boasts good video and superior audio, so it comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
2002
2005
2001
2011
2001
2009
2010
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2004
2005
2007
2018
2019
2009
2014
2004
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2017
2005
2010
2014
2008