Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over


Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over is a 2003 American spy action comedy film, the sequel to ', and the third installment overall in the Spy Kids franchise. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and co-produced by Elizabeth Avellán, it was released in the United States on July 25, 2003 by Dimension Films. The film stars Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Ricardo Montalbán, Holland Taylor, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Judge and Cheech Marin. Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed $197 million on a $38 million budget.
Though this was initially intended to be the final installment in the Spy Kids series, it was eventually followed by a fourth film, ', in 2011.

Plot

Juni Cortez has retired from the OSS, working as a private detective. He is contacted by US President Devlin, former head of the OSS, who informs him that his sister Carmen has vanished whilst on a mission.
Juni arrives at the OSS, reuniting with a reformed Donnagon Giggles and his wife Francesca, who explains that Carmen was captured by the Toymaker, a former OSS informant. He was imprisoned in cyberspace years earlier, but has created Game Over, a virtual reality-based video game, which he intends on using to escape back to reality when a gamer wins the unbeatable Level 5. Juni agrees to go into Game Over, find Carmen, and stop the Toymaker.
In the game, Juni learns he has nine lives, quickly losing one on the first level. He meets three beta testers, Francis, Arnold, and Rez, who give him passage to the Moon, which serves as Level 2. On the Moon, Juni is informed that he can summon an ally into the game to help. He chooses his disabled grandfather Valentin, who has personal history with the Toymaker. With a power up, Valentin gains a robotic body suit that allows him to walk. Juni participates in a robot battle arena, battling and defeating a girl named Demetra.
Juni meets the beta testers again, who believe he is “The Guy”, a legendary player who will beat Level 5. Rez is unconvinced, challenging Juni to participate in a high stakes race. He wins with help from Valentin, meeting Demetra again, who joins the group. The group proceed to Level 3, where Juni and Arnold have to battle in a death duel. Juni nearly loses, but Demetra steps in, sacrificing herself to let him continue.
On Level 4, Juni reunites with Carmen. She explains to him that the Toymaker was responsible for Valentin’s condition. The group reach a lava-filled gorge, believing they have to reach the end by surfing down the river. Donnagon and Francesca fear Valentin will seek revenge against the Toymaker, and they sabotage the game to kill the players. However, the lava proves to be harmless. The group reach the door to Level 5, meeting “The Guy”, who has one hundred lives. He leads them into Level 5, only to instantly lose all lives to a trap.
Inside, they encounter Demetra, who claims she managed to return through a glitch. Carmen identifies her as the Deceiver, a program designed to trick players. Demetra confirms this to a devastated Juni. The Toymaker appears in a mecha, revealing Level 5 is his prison, now freed thanks to the players entering. Valentin unlocks the door to the real world, with Demetra holding it open so everyone can escape. Juni, Carmen, and Valentin awaken in the OSS, assuming the Toymaker is still imprisoned. However, the Toymaker’s army of robots appear in a nearby city. Valentin reveals he deliberately freed the Toymaker.
Juni and Carmen race to the city, finding it overwhelmed by the robots. The two summon their extended family to help: Their parents Gregorio and Ingrid, their uncles Machete and Felix, their grandmother Helga, as well as friends including Fegan Floop, Alexander Minion, Dinky Winks and his son Dinky Jr., scientist Romero, and former rivals Gary and Gertie Giggles. Together, they destroy the robots, save the Toymaker’s personal unit. Valentin flies into the robot, confronting the Toymaker. To the Toymaker’s surprise, Valentin forgives him for his crimes. A moved Toymaker shuts down his robot, making peace with Valentin.
Together, Juni, Carmen, and the rest of the Cortez clan celebrate the importance of family.

Cast

The film score was composed by Robert Rodriguez and is the first score for which he takes solo credit. Rodriguez also performs in the "Game Over" band, playing guitar, bass, keyboard and drums, including the title track, "Game Over", performed by Alexa Vega.
All selections composed by Rodriguez and performed by Texas Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by George Oldziey and Rodriguez.
  1. "Game Over"
  2. "Thumb Thumbs"
  3. "Pogoland"
  4. "Robot Arena"
  5. "Metal Battle"
  6. "Toymaker"
  7. "Mega Racer"
  8. "Programmerz"
  9. "Bonus Life"
  10. "Cyber Staff Battle"
  11. "Tinker Toys"
  12. "Lava Monster Rock"
  13. "The Real Guy"
  14. "Orbit"
  15. "Welcome to the Game"
  16. "Heart Drive"
  17. "Game Over "
  18. "Isle of Dreams "

Box office

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over opened theatrically on July 25, 2003 in 3,344 venues, earning $33,417,739 in its first weekend and ranking first at the North American box office. It is the series' highest-grossing opening weekend. The film ended its run on February 5, 2004, having grossed $111,761,982 domestically and $85,250,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $197,011,982, making it the best performing film in the series.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 45% approval rating based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 5.42/10. The website's critical consensus states: "The movie will be found wanting if one is not taken in by the 3-D visuals." Metacritic reports a 57/100 rating based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Bob Longino of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that "the 3-D process will hurt your eyes. The onscreen characters, who also wear 3-D glasses, even say so when it's time to take them off." However, he also stated that it helped mask what he deemed as an overall lack of a story. Jim Lane of Sacramento News and Review called the 3D scenes "murky and purple like a window smeared with grape jell-o." Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars out of four, suggesting that perhaps Rodriguez was held back by the film's technical constraints. Ebert also admitted to showing disdain for the 3D gimmick, saying that the picture quality with the 3D glasses is more murky and washed out than the crisper and more colorful 2D films. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle noted Carmen's absence for much of the film and criticized the plot's repeated scenes of Juni attempting over and over again to reach Level Five. Kimberly Jones of the Austin City Chronicle praised the visuals but called the plot twig-thin and stated that the parents' near absence in the story makes Rodriguez's continuing theme of family ties seem much less resonant than in the other films. The reason the characters were in minor roles and cameos was because Rodriguez was filming Once Upon a Time in Mexico while writing the third Spy Kids film.
For his performance as The Toymaker, Sylvester Stallone earned a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor at John J. B. Wilson's 2003 Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony.

Home media

The film was released via VHS and DVD on February 24, 2004 by Dimension Home Video. The film's 3-D effect was not removable on the DVD release, but a 2D version was available on a second disc, and on television airings. In April 2011 the film was re-released on DVD, but only in 2D and named Spy Kids 3: Game Over.
The 2D version was released via Blu-ray on August 2, 2011. On December 4, 2012 Lionsgate released the 3D version as a double feature with The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl on Blu-ray 3D.

Novelization

released a novelization of the movie in June 2003. The novel was written by children's book author Kitty Richards. The posters and end of the credits even say "Read the Talk/Miramax Books", telling the viewers to read the print retelling.

In popular culture

In "The Never-Ending Stories" episode of the animated TV series American Dad CIA agent Stan Smith tells the class he is teaching that he is the only contributor to the Wikipedia article on Spy Kids 3-D.