Metascore

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 45 Ratings

  • Starring: Jeremy Piven, Jessica Alba, Joel McHale
  • Summary: On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson has it all...married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca and Cecil, who clearly don’t want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilburur, wouldn’t know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case - Marissa’s a retired secret agent. Marissa’s world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper threatens to take over the planet and she’s called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world’s most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits. With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen and Juni Cortez, and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they’re at it.(The Weinstein Company)

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  • Director: Robert Rodriguez
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Family
  • Rating: PG
  • Runtime: 89 min
  • More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 14
  2. Negative: 7 out of 14
  1. Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    Aug 19, 2011
    67
    Far more coherent than its immediate predecessor, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D benefits greatly from its two likable young leads and some of the series' wittiest, pun-filled writing.
  2. 60
    Far more charming, quick-witted and high spirited than anyone could have expected...for a film that didn't screen for press. It's gimmicky up the wazoo (not just 3D, but scratch-and-sniff "Aroma-Scope" cards handed out at screenings) and it's all the better for it.
  3. Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    Aug 19, 2011
    38
    Nobody has much that's funny to say or cool to do. Even the spy gadgets are lame.
  4. Reviewed by: Tom Russo
    Aug 20, 2011
    38
    Alba, meanwhile, is again ridiculously shoehorned into a comedy gig, although she does have an amusing opening bit spying while nine months pregnant. If only diaper bomb gags weren't the inevitable follow-up.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 22
  2. Negative: 16 out of 22
  1. I have seen all four spy kids movies. This movie was good, but not good enough. You like the kids, and i likes how they showed the original kids as adults in the movie, but it just wasn't enough. The movie itself was good. It mimiced the first movie very well. If you had to compare movie one to movie four, movie one wins. On it's own, however, it is pretty good. I don't believe it deserves to be bombed, but it doesn't deserve anything above an 8 at all. Also, let me warn you. The aromascope didn't work, and I never expected it too. Being able to smell things on the screen doesn't enhance the movie at all. It isn't a proper use of any future 4D tools. Expand
  2. 5
    I took my 8 yr old grandson to see this movie. He seemed to enjoy it. Out theater didn't show it in 3D. I found it to be quite borring. The theater gave us cards to smell at different times and I thought thay all smelled the same. My grandson they all smelled like soap. Expand
  3. First and foremost, realize that this is a movie for young kids. That said, the fact that your making a movie for kids does not mean that it does not need a coherent plot, sincere acting or thoughtful direction.

    The movie is cute. The kids, played by Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook, are by far the best part. They're cute, they seem to enjoy themselves for the most part. Rowan Blanchard in particular showed a good range of character and emotion. As well Jeremy Piven was great. He seemed to have fun with the role, and seemed to really try to do what he could within the constraints of the script and the direction. Ricky Gervais as the voice of the dog was also great, but again, within the script and direction.

    I can't help but feel that they, and this movie as a whole, could have shined, if only ....

    First, the biggest problem with this movie is that the vast majority of the humor involves farts, vomit and poop. I think that's an insult to kids everywhere. You can walk up to a kid almost anywhere, make a funny face and say "Poo-Poo" and get a laugh. It doesn't mean it's actually funny. The humor was an embarrassment.

    The script needed to be tighter. It's like they started with a great idea, and then a whole bunch of people got involved and said "Yeah, but wouldn't it be better if ..." No. It wouldn't. The script needed a lot of trimming, especially with the throwaway subplot of the Dad's failed TV career. It was just too rushed. And that's just ONE example. Ironically, in a movie absolutely overflowing with idioms and metaphors about TIME, the writers tried to cram too many ideas into too little time. Focus, people!

    The movie would have been better without the baby. I would just eliminate her from the plot completely. What I really liked in the writing was the message about spending time with family. They did sort of bludgeon the message to death, but I liked the fact that they focused not only on the time parents spend with their kids, but the time kids are willing to spend with their parents. They showed neglectful parents AND neglectful kids, and I liked that. That message, in a better, more focused plot, would have gone down a lot better.

    Finally, I enjoyed seeing Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara back as Carmen and Juni Cortez ... BUT, I feel that they were only really INTO this movie when they were TOGETHER. Together, they had chemistry, and familiarity and fun. Apart ... they just seemed distant and dislocated. And again, we COULD have made the movie without them. It was nice to see the original Spy Kids all grown up, but it was subplot we could have trimmed and not really known it was gone.

    Overall, this was NOT a horrible movie, but it could have been a lot better.
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  4. For once, I'm a big fan of the Spy Kids movies, all 3 of them. Although Spy Kids 3 wasn't that great for 3-D viewing just the 2-D is way better. A fourth installment with no Carmen and Juni may seem feel a little queasy and with a long set of casting, I have no other choice but to make Spy Kids: All the Time in the World needs to put this franchise into bedtime. And on second thought, a wasteless movie of the so-called "4-D" "Aroma-Scope." It will make your eyes scanned into a lava pit. Expand

See all 22 User Reviews