Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features 4th Installment of Pint-Sized Sleuth Franchise

Written and directed as usual by series creator Robert Rodriguez, Spy Kids 4 looks pretty much like the last gasp of an expiring film franchise. The long-in-the-tooth protagonists of the prior installments, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), have aged out of their lead roles in favor of precocious twins Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil Wilson (Mason Cook).
The picture’s plot is implausible ab initio, when we find the adolescents’ 9-months pregnant stepmom, Marissa (Jessica Alba), in hot pursuit of Danger D’Amo (Jeremy Piven), the proverbial diabolical villain bent on world domination. Despite contractions coming a couple minutes apart, the indomitable OSS Agent manages to apprehend the menace to society before arriving in the delivery room with just enough time to give birth to her little bundle of joy in the company of a hubby (Joel McHale) who thinks he’s married to an interior decorator.
However, this is not the final time that Marissa will hear from her nefarious nemesis, since the creep is determined to get his hands on a powerful red-sapphire necklace capable of speeding up time to the point of planetary collapse. And when she falls into his evil clutches, leaving humanity on the brink of extinction, guess who springs into action to save the day equipped with lotsa cool gadgets?
Yet, of far more consequence than the improbable exploits of these pint-sized sleuths is Spy Kids 4’s profusion of bodily function fare. A concatenation of scatological humor likely to keep only tiny tykes in stitches and howling away at a poop and fart jokes.

Fair (1 star)
Rated PG for mild action and rude humor.
Running time: 88 minutes
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
4-Disc Combo Pack Extras: Blu-ray 3-D, blu-ray, DVD and digital copies of the film, deleted scenes, spy gadgets, an interview with director Robert Rodriguez, “Spy Kids Passing the Torch” featurette, and more.