Spy Kids: All The Time In The World 3D

The action-packed franchise is back with the next generation of Spy Kids. Marissa Cortez Wilson (Alba) has it all, married to a famous spy-hunting television reporter (McHale), with a new baby and intelligent twin step-kids, Rebecca (Blanchard) and Cecil (Cook). When the maniacal Timekeeper (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 (Vega), Juni (Sabara), their faithful dog Argonaut (Voice Of Gervais), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world! (Tricia Spears)

Special features include six deleted scenes (HD 08:12); a Robert Rodriguez interview with a Kid Reporter (SD 06:58); the featurette Spy Kids: Passing The Torch (HD 07:59); Rowan & Mason's Video Diary (HD 04:52); the following featurettes: How To Make A Robotic Dog (HD 03:46), Ricky Gervais As Argonaut (HD 04:20), and Spy Gadgets (HD 03:51); and up-front ads. The four-disc set includes a Blu-ray™ 3D, a Blu-ray Disc™, a DVD, and a digital copy.

The 1.78:1 1080p MVC picture, while colorful and warmly textured, does not match the 2-D presentation's quality. Fleshtones are excessively reddish toned, which appears generally unnatural. The color palette is rendered with a strange unsettling balance that, at times, is distracting. Resolution reveals nice detail overall, with fine features and object textures clear throughout. The 3-D rendering, which is a stereoscopic conversion by Speedshape, is inconsistent as well. Some segments exhibit excellent depth and dimension and others appear unnatural. While the special effects lend themselves to a strong negative parallax dimension, the out-of-screen effects do not always work and cause the imagery to confuse. Still, many segments exhibit perfectly natural and convincing depth and dimension, and some are outright spectacular. Generally, object and human shapes exhibit natural volumes, which is nicely effective dimensionally. Fast action sequences at times appear slightly smeared in 3D, and this film is ripe with dazzling visual effects. Some crosstalk or ghosting is apparent and quite noticeable at times. Overall, though, while appearing highly "produced," this is a visually engaging 3-D experience that will please its intended audience: kids. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is quite active throughout, to keep pace with the effects-laden action. The sound is dynamic and, at times, loud without refinement. The surround channels are aggressively energized and directional, for a holosonic® spatial experience. Atmospherics and sound effects are actively directionalized and localized, for an effective soundfield presentation. Deep bass is extended in the .1 LFE channel to, at times, sub-25 Hz to heighten the action. The music score is densely perceived with a wide and deep soundstage and dynamic presence. Dialogue is intelligible but often wanting in spatial integration. This is a special-effects-laden soundtrack that delivers a punchy sonic experience that nicely supports the visuals. (Gary Reber)