:: Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams

Writer/ Director/ Producer/ Director of Photography/ Production Designer/ Editor/ Composer (amongst several other roles) Robert Rodriguez should have enlisted in some help with some of these roles for Spy Kids 2. Returning again with the Cortez family, this sequel (as is so common and almost expected these days) is not quite up to the calibre of the first Spy Kids movie.

This time the Cortez Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) have their first mission to accomplish and have bigger and better gadgets and equipment to assist them. Their mission is to travel to the island of lost dreams to stop a mad scientist from producing giant hybrid zoo animal creatures and return the power back to the volcano, as it will produce disastrous consequences for all.
However, Carmen and Juni are faced with new competitors, Gary and Gerti Giggles, who want to be the first ones to save the mountain, and during this battle of wills, Carmen experiences her first crush on her rival and experiences conflict with her brother.
The importance of family brings the Cortez parents Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid (Carla Gugino) and her parents to their children’s rescue, ironically destroying another family in the process of their mission to save the world.

In this Spy Kids instalment the adults are portrayed as clichéd, cartoon-like characters, whereas their children’s enjoyment lies in receiving the latest technical advances in gadgetry available.
Rodriguez must be commended on his creations of the zoo animals and the fantastical tree house that doubles as a work office for the Cortez children, seeming like an awesome childhood fantasy.
Shot on digital video, Spy Kids 2 takes the Cortez family on a children’s James-bond style adventure, succeeding in that but left with little else, however might just be enough to please younger viewers that were fans of the first.