Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011)

It's terrible. It's a tragedy that both Jessica Alba and Joel McHale from The Soup played characters in this. Butt-bombs, barf bags, etc. It takes toilet humor to the extreme. Sure little kids will find it enjoyable, but anyone over the age of 10, stay away from this and never look back! Also 4D, really? Doesn't most moviegoers hate 3D? Why 4D? It's just 3D, but with those stupid pop-up numbers to make you scratch the number and smell those stickers that smell worse the cigarette smoke. And one last thing. A TALKING Australian-ACCENT DOG (no joke) with face-palm inducing one-liners such as "Somebody put that on YouTube." and stuff like that. But there is only one thing that I like about this movie. Carmen and Judi are back. They got the original actors that played them and was defiantly a nostalgic tribute to the first 3 movies. All in all, just save your money. If you really want to see how bad it is, wait till it comes on RedBox.

Fmovies: I'm so glad I loved this movie. It's not normal that so many people find it so bad. So much resentment, such poor capacity of wonder... I hope you people do find the time to spend with your loved ones. Loved the message, loved the way it all flowed. I had a great time. A great experience to share with wife and kid. The acting is actually nice. The special fx are just enough. Not eccentric, not about visual wonder, but rather just perfectly adapted to convey purpose and meaning. The scenery is excellent. The script consistent. Predictable? So what? Is there anything more predictable than death? And that doesn't stop us from living. Nor does that stop us from enjoying life. It's not an excuse. I love this movie.

I don't think this was a bad film, granted it wasn't a good film but for me I couldn't help relate it back to the original movies and in that sense I think it did well, it didn't stray too far from the original plot lines and I liked that because I was afraid after all these years it would have changed completely.

So many of these reviews rate it as "cheep and crappy", well it's definitely cheap, the graphics are pretty much exactly the same as the original films and its not going to win any awards for being a brilliant flick but the movie wasn't made for YOU, it was made for the kids.

I think as a kids movie, or family movie, it does well and I believe the children will love it just as I loved the originals when I was younger. Yes the plot is cliché and predictable but to a kid it's a whole other world where they can be a hero without growing up.

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World fmovies. This movie is not only the worst movie of the summer, it could possibly be the worst movie I have ever seen. I took my two boys aged 7 and 4 to watch this sorry excuse for a movie. The boys actually were fairly entertained, but I must say they are not exactly seasoned veterans of the movie watching experience.

We saw it in 2D but also had the '4th D' experience. This amounted to a card they gave you that you scratch and sniff at certain points during the movie. It is a horrible gimmick that does not even work. I scratched as hard as I could and could only smell a faint flowery smell. That is only one minor flaw of the movie.

The other flaws are as follow. The acting is horrendous. How they continue to let Jessica Alba act and even STAR in a movie is a decision that some Hollywood exec will eventually pay for with their job. Her lack of acting abilities were only surpassed by the rest of the cast. But it was not entirely their fault as the film's basic plot and script was about as thin as Kate Moss on a hunger strike.

So what do you combine with horrible acting, a thin plot and countless moronic lines written by the worst screen writers they could dig up? Mindless violence that is not suitable for small children. This movie is supposed to be about spy kids I presumed, based on the title. Most of the scenes and actions were played out by adults and the plethora of punching and kicking scenes was immature and detrimental to young, easily influenced minds.

This movie is disturbing for young children and is completely inappropriate for children of all ages. It also is so horribly acted and the screenplay so ill-conceived that adults are left wondering how in the world Hollywood can continue to put out such dribble and expect us to shell out our hard earned dollars on such mindless 'entertainment.'

To sum it all up, avoid this movie at all costs. Even if your children have seen the other versions and beg you to see it be strong and suggest alternatives. Show Hollywood that you will not be swayed by their slick advertising and inept film-making.

I have often said that in order to enjoy mindless movies like "Transformers", we should "leave our brains at the door of the cineplex". Well, in order to enjoy this "Spy Kids" sequel, we need to lower our IQ to the level of four-year olds! 'Mindlessness' doesn't quite cut it, it is juvenile indulgence, meaning, it is only for kids below five.

And if you have been following the cinema ads and promos, you would know that this movie comes in 4D - with the added dimension of 'smell'. For that, viewers are given a numbered card (called Aroma-Scope) so that they can scratch-and-smell when the number appears on the screen. This is a childish gimmick aimed at kids. For adults, it is more of a nuisance because the scents are faint and the exercise distracts us from the action on the screen. Although there are many fart and poop scenes, the Aroma-Scope only provides scents of chewing gum and other edible stuff (thank goodness for that). History has demonstrated that all smell-o-vision gimmicks mostly stink.

Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) is such a dedicated spy that even when she is nine months pregnant, she manages to take down notorious villain Tick Tock (Jeremy Piven) before going into labor and retiring from her spy duties. Her aim is to devote all her time to her newborn and her step-kids, Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook) and hubby Wilbur (Joey McHale).

Soon, however, she may not have that much time. One year later, Tick Tock and accomplice, The Timekeeper (also Piven), are back at their attempt to rob the world of 'time' - and Rebecca, Cecil and their 'guard dog' Argonaut (voice of Ricky Gervais) must save the world (what else?). Also, they team up with Marissa's niece and nephew, Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara reprising their former Spy Kids roles) to make this mission a family reunion of sorts.

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez seems to be milking the same old cinema-script cow, urging parents to spend more time with their kids. This 'message' has been used by almost all family movies throughout the decade. The time-theft and time-travel conceits can be puzzling to children even if they allow Rodriguez to make use of all sorts of time-related gags. Of course, Rodriguez cannot resist the poop and fart gags, as well as throwing food all over the place. These, I understand, are the laugh-out-loud staple for American kids below five.

Among the cast, Blanchard and Cook are suitably cute and effective as the new title characters. Bringing back former Spy Kids, Vega and Sabara, is a good idea, adding a nostalgic touch for parents in the audience. Ditto that for Danny Trejo's short cameo as Uncle Machete. However, the irony of Daddy Wilbur being a 'Spycatcher' on TV is lost on the kids and scores no points with the adults.

As for Jessica Alba (as Marissa, the younger sister to Antonio Bandera's character), she provides the main box-office lure, nothing more. Strictly kids' stuff. (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Spy Kids films, they were fun, entertaining and ideal family films. Spy Kids 3 was rather mediocre and disappointing, but any horrible assets that film had was nothing compared to this.

When I entered the theatre to watch this, yes I wanted to see it despite the trailer not looking that good, I thought if it is bad surely it can't be as bad as The Adventures of Sharkboy and LavaGirl. I was wrong, as awful as that film was Spy Kids 4 takes the cake as Rodriguez's worst film.

The film for starters looks cheap. The camera work at best is odd, and the effects lack clarity. The gadgets looked cool from the outset but once the nappy bombs for instance are introduced they lose their appeal very quickly.

I didn't think much of the soundtrack either. I found it rather generic here rather than jaunty and memorable. And Rodriguez's direction is his most unfocused and inept directing job in my opinion of his career.

The script is awful, relying far too much on tired slapstick and heavy-handed messaging, while the story is rushed and much too thin for the film's running time and the action is dull and not helped by the haphazard editing.

Acting-wise, this film is disappointing. It was nice to be Daryl Sabarra and Alexa Vega here but other than the basic concept of the movie, them and Rodriguez, there seemed to be no connection to its predecessors. The new kids do what they can, but they aren't as confident or as appealing.

Jeremy Piven does give his all into a very underwritten and uninteresting villain part and his two other roles as well but at points it feels like he's overdoing it. Danny Trejo is wasted, Antonio Banderas was cut which is yet another reason why this doesn't feel like a Spy Kids movie, Jessica Alba does nothing with her role other than look pretty, while even Ricky Gervais is flat.

The cast are not helped by how their characters are written. The characters here are so cardboard, it is difficult to engage with them on any level.

Overall, despite the trailer I was all for seeing this film. But it was awful(as part of a franchise and on its own terms) and a big disappointment. 1/10 Bethany Cox