Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (also known as Spy Kids 3: Game Over) is a 2003 American spy action comedy film, the sequel to Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, and the third installment overall in the Spy Kids film series. 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.[1] The film features an ensemble cast including Antonio Banderas, Steve Buscemi, Alan Cumming, Carla Gugino, Bobby Edner, Salma Hayek, Courtney Jines, Mike Judge, Cheech Marin, Ricardo Montalbán, Matt O'Leary, Emily Osment, Bill Paxton, Ryan Pinkston, Daryl Sabara, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvester Stallone, Holland Taylor, Danny Trejo, Alexa Vega, and Robert Vito. Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed $197 million on a $38 million budget.

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Produced by
Written byRobert Rodriguez
Starring
Music byRobert Rodriguez
CinematographyRobert Rodriguez
Edited byRobert Rodriguez
Production
company
Distributed byDimension Films[1]
Release date
  • July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$38 million[3]
Box office$197 million[3]
3D glasses for "Spy Kids 3D". Glasses included with DVD release did not include the strap.

Though this was initially intended to be the final installment in the Spy Kids film series, it was eventually followed by a fourth film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, 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 paraplegic 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., Romero, Gary Giggles and Gerti 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

Music
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (Music from the Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by
Robert Rodriguez
ReleasedJuly 22, 2003 (original release)
GenreSoundtrack, pop rock
Length47:15
LabelMilan Records
Robert Rodriguez film soundtrack chronology
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
(2002)		 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (Music from the Motion Picture)
(2003)		 Once Upon a Time in Mexico
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
Filmtracks
SoundtrackNet

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.[4]

All selections composed by Rodriguez and performed by Texas Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by George Oldziey and Rodriguez.

  1. "Game Over" (vocals by Alexa Vega)
  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" (performed by Bobby Edner and Alexa Vega)
  17. "Game Over (Level 5 Mix)" (performed by Alexa Vega)
  18. "Isle of Dreams (Cortez Mix)" (performed by Alexa Vega)
  • Tracks 17–18 produced by Dave Curtin for DeepMix.

Release

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 (Spy Kids 3: Game Over) 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.[5] On December 4, 2012 Lionsgate released the 3D version as a double feature with The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl on Blu-ray 3D.[6]

Reception

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.[7] 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.[3]

Critical response

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."[8] Metacritic reports a 57/100 rating based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[10]

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.[11] Jim Lane of Sacramento News and Review called the 3D scenes "murky and purple like a window smeared with grape jell-o."[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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.

Other media

Sequel

It was followed up in 2011 by a fourth film in the series, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.

Novelization

Talk Miramax Books 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 "The Never-Ending Stories" episode of the animated TV series American Dad (Season 15, episode 9, first broadcast April 9, 2018) 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: Game Over.

References
  1. "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (2003)". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. "SPY KIDS 3-D GAME OVER (U)". British Board of Film Classification. July 21, 2003. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  3. "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (2003)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. February 6, 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  4. Ruiz, Rafael (August 24, 2003). "SoundtrackNet: Spy Kids 3D: Game Over Soundtrack". Soundtrack.net. Autotelics. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  5. Plath, James (May 15, 2011). "Spy Kids films are headed to Blu-ray". DVD Town. HD DVD.org. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  6. Kauffman, Jeffrey (December 7, 2012). "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over / Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  7. "Weekend Box Office Results for July 25-27, 2003". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. July 28, 2003. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  8. "Spy Kids 3-D - Game Over (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  9. "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  10. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore.
  11. Longino, Bob. "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over". accessAtlanta. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  12. Lane, Jim (July 31, 2003). "Film>Short Reviews: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over". Sacramento News & Review. Chico Community Publishing. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  13. Ebert, Roger (July 25, 2003). "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  14. LaSalle, Mick (July 25, 2003). "Game's over for latest 'Spy Kids'". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  15. Jones, Kimberly (July 25, 2003). "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  16. Rodriguez, Robert (July 25, 2003). "An Interview with Robert Rodriguez (2003)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
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