Spy Kids: Armageddon Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Spy Kids: Armageddon Review: Is It Worth Watching? Spy Kids: Armageddon is a 2023 American spy action comedy film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Rodriguez and Racer Max. It is the fifth installment in the Spy Kids film series. The film stars Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Connor Esterson, and Everly Carganilla, with Billy Magnussen, D. J. Cotrona, and Joe Schilling in supporting roles.

For a few late millennials, the Spy Kids franchise has assumed a sort of vaguely remembered, but beloved mantle.

The movies, particularly the 2001 original, were wacky and grandiose, goofily futurist adventures with cartoonish stakes. If you were a kid, Spy Kids (along with the 2002 sequel and 2003 3D edition) were an ultimate fantasy, with sick gadgets and cool parents (international super spies played by Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino).

Spy Kids: Armageddon, Netflix’s reboot of the franchise with the original writer-director Robert Rodriguez, understands the wells of nostalgia it’s tapping, though it doesn’t always reach it. To be fair, it doesn’t really have to; like the original, the 94-minute film is aimed squarely at children.

As with the original, the reboot is set in Austin, Texas, where the Tango-Torrezes live unassuming lives in a device-laden pad. Unbeknownst to their children, Terrence (Zachary Levi, tapping into humor from his Chuck days) and Nora (Gina Rodriguez), are active super-spies in possession of the Armageddon code, which has the ability to hack into any device in the world and maybe all of them at once.

Tony and Patty just want to play video games and are frustrated by their dad’s strict tech rules. He views their elaborate video game of choice as brain rot; they see it as training.

Perhaps the best nod to adults is that the creator of this game, a mercurial, power-hungry tech baron nicknamed The King (Billy Magnussen, not on the level of Alan Cumming’s Fegan Floop but still vulnerable and cartoonishly sinister), reads as a parody of Elon Musk.

In the film, the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology. They must then become spies themselves to save their parents and the world.

Spy Kids: Armageddon was released in the United States on September 22, 2023, by Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its action sequences and humor, but criticized its plot and characters.

Here are some of the things that critics liked about the film:

• The action sequences are well-choreographed and exciting.
• The film is funny, with some good jokes for both kids and adults.
• The cast is solid, with Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi giving particularly good performances.

Here are some of the things that critics didn’t like about the film:

• The plot is simple and predictable.
• The characters are underdeveloped.
• The film is a bit too long.

Is Spy Kids: Armageddon Worth Watching?

Whether or not Spy Kids: Armageddon is worth watching depends on your personal preferences. If you are a fan of the Spy Kids franchise, or if you are looking for a fun and exciting family film, then you will probably enjoy this film. However, if you are looking for a film with a complex plot and well-developed characters, then you may be disappointed.

Here is a summary of the pros and cons of Spy Kids: Armageddon:

Pros:

• Fun and exciting
• Great cast
• Impressive special effects

Cons:

• Predictable plot
• Unddeveloped characters
• Long runtime

Overall, Spy Kids: Armageddon is a fun and entertaining film for kids and adults alike. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s definitely worth watching if you’re a fan of the Spy Kids series or action comedies in general.