Product Details

• Actors: Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo, Antonio Banderas, Ricky Gervais, Jeremy Piven
• Directors: Robert Rodriguez
• Writers: Robert Rodriguez
• Format: Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 22, 2011
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B005FLSZRO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,050 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World (Three-Disc 3D Blu-ray / Blu-ray / DVD Combo + Digital Copy)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As happens with many creative people, director Robert Rodriguez became very interested in making things for kids when he started having children of his own. Thanks to his blessed events we were blessed with the delightfully zany entertainment of Spy Kids in 2001, about a brother and sister who join their parents in the family business of being international superspies. Rodriguez spruced up his tall tale with lots of color, pizzazz, and bold, broad strokes of family-friendly intrigue, plus all the outlandish gadgets that befit an inventive mind and technologically inspired spirit like the one that made him such a dynamic filmmaker to begin with. It didn't hurt that he had Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino on board as the spy parents, along with two wonderfully talented child stars (Alexa Vega and Darryl Sabara) as their pint-size secret agent progeny. After two sequels and 10 years, Rodriguez's reinvigorated resurrection of the franchise relies on a new family with oblique ties to the original (only Vega and Sabara return, as full-grown, full-fledged spies) and does a suitably energetic job of making zippy fun for the fourth-grade crowd. Others are certainly welcome to enjoy the excitement, so long as they have a special affinity for fart, poop, and vomit jokes mixed with bold, pop-art production design, kid-approved techno gadgets, and special effects that play up the slapstick nature of the original Spy Kids ethos. Jessica Alba is the spy mom this time, a job she's kept hidden from her TV journalist husband (Joel McHale) and step-kids Rebecca and Cecil Wilson (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook). The secret doesn't last long, of course, and the two kids, along with her bubbly one-year-old daughter (who supplies most of the poop and vomit), join in the fight against the malevolent Tick Tock and his mysterious boss Time Keeper. These wacky villains can manipulate time and plan on creating some sort of apocalyptic meltdown based on their uniquely nasty ability. That's about the best description one can give; the plot is extremely convoluted, but it's pretty much superfluous anyway. The point of the show is to watch in delighted glee as the kids play with all the cool toys, the good grownups triumph, and the director makes juvenile poetry using slapdash digital effects and nonstop, gentle potty humor to amuse his core audience of enchanted children. Jeremy Piven has fun playing multiple roles and Ricky Gervais practically steals the movie (for the adults, at least) with his riffing banter giving voice to a robot dog in service of the spying Wilson family. Though it's a far cry from the original wit and offhand originality of his first Spy Kids adventure, this fourth installment is ample proof that Rodriguez is keeping up with what kids want in throwaway entertainment and has the technical skill to make the visuals pop off the screen to fill in any gaps of logic or boredom. --Ted Fry

Product Description

The action packed franchise is back…with the next generation of Spy Kids! Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all: married to a famous spy-hunting television reporter (Joel McHale), with a new baby and intelligent twin step kids, Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook). When maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) disrupts her domestic bliss--threatening to take over the planet--Marissa comes out of retirement as a top secret agent. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action! With a little help from some familiar Spy Kids friends, Carmen (Alexa Vega), Juni (Daryl Sabara), and their faithful dog Argonaut (Ricky Gervais) and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Smell You Later: Slapstick Silliness And Obvious Humor Introduce A New Generation Of Spy Kids November 22, 2011

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Amazon Instant Video

Director Robert Rodriguez seems determined to keep the "Spy Kids" franchise alive at all costs. "Spy Kids: All The Time In The World" is essentially a reboot as opposed to a true sequel as it launches viewers upon the adventures of a new central family. Yes, original kids Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara are on hand as grown counterparts of themselves, but it feels as if they are passing the torch to the younger generation. While this, the fourth in the series, has much of the visual inventiveness you've come to appreciate from Rodriguez, it does lack some of the easy charm of the first couple of pictures. Trading cleverness for obvious humor, though, has its drawbacks. Thankfully, on on-demand, we are spared the theater's Aroma-Scope scratch cards that surely promised a plethora of unpleasant smells. (For the record, I liked it when John Waters did it, but that was a different story entirely). The movie plays to a certain demographic--if you think passing gas, vomit, and other bodily emissions are hysterical, this might be just up your alley. I always hear the argument "but the movie is for kids" when people are defending entertainment of this type, but the point seems rather irrelevant when you think of all the good kids' movies with genuine smarts.

Jessica Alba plays Vega and Sabara's aunt. She, too, is a spy. Upon giving birth to her daughter, she decides to quit this dangerous occupation to focus on her new baby, husband (Joel McHale), and step kids (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook). However, when a nefarious mastermind starts moving time forward at an alarming rate--the fate of the very world is in jeopardy. She has had prior dealings with another criminal who holds the key to this mystery, so she is drafted back into service. This being "Spy Kids," though, Blanchard and Cook are soon up to their little necks in danger as well. Will these darn kids be able to save humankind? I won't ruin the surprise. Jeremy Piven is cast as Alba's superior at the agency, and Ricky Gervais provides unusual support. Everyone is game and, as I said, certain visuals are fun to watch. But that being the case, I found most of the actual humor forced and flat. There are only so many times passing gas can effectively be used as a punchline!

The movie, despite its slapstick silliness, wants to have its share of warm moments as well with the family drawing closer. I never really responded to Blanchard, though, who needed more discipline than understanding. I love Jeremy Piven, who despite having a large role, is never given any real comedy. And Gervais, to my mind, is a comic genius but his running monologue is uninspired and obvious. All the elements were here to make a good picture, I even liked the plot well enough--the screenplay just needed that extra push to make it more fun and funnier. Mostly for the kids, I can't really make this much of a recommendation. It's easy enough to watch (since I didn't have to smell it), I just wanted to laugh along. Overall, about 2 1/2 stars but I'll round up for the kiddies. KGHarris, 11/11.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars For Adults Not as Entertaining as Prior Ones, But My Kids Enjoyed November 25, 2011

By L. Erickson TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

My kids ages 5 and 7 really liked this film, so I decided to rate it 4 stars, although on my own I would have given it 3 (I am not the target demographic after all.) I think Antonio Banderas and Alexa Vega lifted these films a bit in the past, and without them, it is feeling tired. In this one, a new generation of parents and kids are introduced, and they do OK, but lack the charisma of the original. The tone of the movie is different too - much more focus on humor, and a fair amount of slapstick. The highlight for me was Ricky Gervais voicing a robotic dog - he gets some of the best lines of the film, although my kids didn't quite get him. Jeremy Piven has some good moments as a two-faced agent/villain, but he also overplays it at times. Jessica Alba and Danny Trejo are fine, but don't compare to Banderas and Vega.

The plot is so-so, although I did appreciate the stepmother/blended family theme, as I do think that is relevant to many modern families. I also appreciated that even though this is an action movie, it is more focused on humor than violence. And as I said, my kids really loved it, they were riveted throughout, so for a family film, that gets it to 4 stars in my book.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Smell You Later: Slapstick Silliness And Obvious Humor Introduce A New Generation Of Spy Kids November 10, 2011

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

Director Robert Rodriguez seems determined to keep the "Spy Kids" franchise alive at all costs. "Spy Kids: All The Time In The World" is essentially a reboot as opposed to a true sequel as it launches viewers upon the adventures of a new central family. Yes, original kids Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara are on hand as grown counterparts of themselves, but it feels as if they are passing the torch to the younger generation. While this, the fourth in the series, has much of the visual inventiveness you've come to appreciate from Rodriguez, it does lack some of the easy charm of the first couple of pictures. Trading cleverness for obvious humor, though, has its drawbacks. Thankfully, on DVD, we are spared the theater's Aroma-Scope scratch cards that surely promised a plethora of unpleasant smells. (For the record, I liked it when John Waters did it, but that was a different story entirely). The movie plays to a certain demographic--if you think passing gas, vomit, and other bodily emissions are hysterical, this might be just up your alley. I always hear the argument "but the movie is for kids" when people are defending entertainment of this type, but the point seems rather irrelevant when you think of all the good kids' movies with genuine smarts.

Jessica Alba plays Vega and Sabara's aunt. She, too, is a spy. Upon giving birth to her daughter, she decides to quit this dangerous occupation to focus on her new baby, husband (Joel McHale), and step kids (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook). However, when a nefarious mastermind starts moving time forward at an alarming rate--the fate of the very world is in jeopardy. She has had prior dealings with another criminal who holds the key to this mystery, so she is drafted back into service. This being "Spy Kids," though, Blanchard and Cook are soon up to their little necks in danger as well. Will these darn kids be able to save humankind? I won't ruin the surprise. Jeremy Piven is cast as Alba's superior at the agency, and Ricky Gervais provides unusual support. Everyone is game and, as I said, certain visuals are fun to watch. But that being the case, I found most of the actual humor forced and flat. There are only so many times passing gas can effectively be used as a punchline!

The movie, despite its slapstick silliness, wants to have its share of warm moments as well with the family drawing closer. I never really responded to Blanchard, though, who needed more discipline than understanding. I love Jeremy Piven, who despite having a large role, is never given any real comedy. And Gervais, to my mind, is a comic genius but his running monologue is uninspired and obvious. All the elements were here to make a good picture, I even liked the plot well enough--the screenplay just needed that extra push to make it more fun and funnier. Mostly for the kids, I can't really make this much of a recommendation. It's easy enough to watch (since I didn't have to smell it), I just wanted to laugh along.

3-D: For those with 3-D technology, the film comes across well in that regard. The fanciful scenes have a real depth with the extra dimension, but there aren't really out-of-screen shots to take it to the next level. Neither the best or worst the technology has to offer, this doesn't elevate the movie to a different level of quality. Overall, about 2 1/2 stars but I'll round up for the kiddies. KGHarris, 11/11.