Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (also known as Spy Kids 4-D: All the Time in the World) is a 2011 American 4D spy action comedy film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is the fourth and final installment in the Spy Kids film series, and is a stand-alone sequel to 2003's Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. The film stars Jessica Alba, Joel McHale, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Ricky Gervais, and Jeremy Piven. It is the only film in the series without the participation of Antonio Banderas or Carla Gugino and to not be distributed by Miramax Films.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Produced by
Written byRobert Rodriguez
Starring
Music by
  • Robert Rodriguez
  • Carl Thiel
Cinematography
  • Robert Rodriguez
  • Jimmy Lindsey
Edited byDan Zimmerman
Production
company
Distributed byThe Weinstein Company
Release date
  • July 31, 2011 (2011-07-31) (Los Angeles)
  • August 19, 2011 (2011-08-19) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$27 million[2]
Box office$85.6 million[3]

The film held its world premiere screening on July 31, 2011, in Los Angeles, California and was then released in the United States on August 19, 2011. It is the only film in the series that uses "Aroma-scope" to allow people to smell odors and aromas from the film via scratch & sniff cards (reminiscent of the 1981 film Polyester).[4]

Plot

OSS agent Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba) is attempting to capture a bespectacled criminal named Tick Tock (Jeremy Piven), who purchases a mini-disk stolen from OSS. Despite being nine months pregnant, she continues her pursuit against the admonitions of her boss Danger D'Amo (also played by Piven). Tick Tock is captured and the mini-disk, which contains information on a weapon of mass destruction called Project: Armageddon, is retrieved.

At the hospital, Marissa meets her spy-hunting TV host husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), who thinks she is an interior decorator and has never caught a spy, and her two stepchildren by him, twins Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook). Marissa gives birth to a daughter, Maria. Wilbur has created a 5-year plan in which if his show is successful, he will spend more time with the kids. Rebecca does not accept Marissa as a replacement for her deceased mother and delights in playing pranks on her. Attempting to strengthen her rapport with Rebecca, Marissa gives her a red-sapphire necklace that she says her own parents gave her when she was Rebecca's age.

The media reports that time is speeding up at an increasing rate. A criminal mastermind called the Time Keeper claims responsibility, saying that he will unleash Project: Armageddon as a punishment upon a society that he believes wastes time with meaningless pursuits instead of treasuring time with the loved ones. The Time Keeper demands that Tick Tock bring him the Chronos Sapphire, which is revealed to be the jewel in the necklace Marissa gave to Rebecca. The OSS calls Marissa out of retirement and instructs her to bring the Chronos Sapphire with her. When Marissa asks for it from Rebecca, it further strains their relationship. When Marissa arrives at OSS headquarters, she discovers that the box Rebecca gave her did not contain the jewel, but it contained baby food.

Tick Tock's henchmen break into Marissa's house, and Rebecca and Cecil are directed to take refuge in a Panic Room, where they view a video of Marissa informing them of her secret career and that their dog Argonaut is revealed a talking, weaponized robot (Ricky Gervais). The twins escape and go to OSS headquarters, where Marissa's niece and their step-cousin, Carmen Cortez (Alexa Vega), whose extended family is taking a seaside vacation for a few weeks, gives the twins a tour of the defunct Spy Kids Division.

Rebecca and Cecil go after the Time Keeper. Their search leads them to a clock shop, which is Tick Tock's headquarters. The twins view a video of the Wells Experiment, which reveals the nature of the Chronos Sapphire in Rebecca's necklace, as it saves a boy frozen in time by the experiment. The twins are captured by Tick Tock but are rescued by Marissa and Carmen, though Tick Tock manages to steal the Sapphire. Wilbur begins an investigation to capture his first spy, informing his cameraman of his 5-year plan. The cameraman digresses it since the kids will have grown up in 5 years, and he should spend time with them before their childhood is over. Wilbur's investigation leads him to the clock shop, but he is shocked to learn that Marissa is a spy. He then gets fired when he destroys the footage that he and his cameraman filmed of the battle and becomes estranged from Marissa and the children.

As time continues to speed up, OSS agents are debriefed on the Wells Experiment. The OSS shut down the experiment, and placed the device under lockdown. Among the agents assigned to the case is Carmen's estranged brother, Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara). The twins confront Danger over the fact that his watch is similar to the one worn by the Time Keeper, and his name is an anagram of "Armageddon." He reveals that he is the Time Keeper and imprisons them. When a group of OSS agents led by Marissa, Carmen, and Juni return to the clock shop to confront the Time Keeper, he freezes the agents in time using circuity in their ID badges and does the same to 18 major cities. Juni, who wasn't frozen due to Carmen angrily throwing his ID badge, manages to free Marissa and Carmen.

Danger reveals that his father was head of the Wells Experiment, and he was the boy frozen in time. His father spent the rest of his life trying unsuccessfully to set him free. The OSS managed to shut down the experiment with the Chronos Sapphire. Now Danger plans to use the Armageddon Device to go back in time to spend more time with his father. Cecil deduces that Danger has already tried this before multiple times, but he comes back worse each time and reveals that Tick Tock and his minions are all versions of himself. Rebecca tells Danger that he should use what time he has wisely instead of trying to acquire more of it. When the time vortex opens, Danger finally meets his father, then he returns as an elderly form of himself and realizes that Cecil was right as he could not change anything. He shuts down the device, and Tick Tock is apprehended by Wilbur, who is reunited with Marissa and the children, promising he won't wait to have time for them, instead he will make time for them. Carmen and Juni announce they will co-lead a revived Spy Kids program, while Rebecca and Cecil become recruiters of new agents, including the kids watching the movie.

Cast
  • Rowan Blanchard as Rebecca Wilson, Wilbur's daughter and Marissa's step-daughter.
  • Mason Cook as Cecil Wilson, Wilbur's son and Marissa's step-son who has hearing loss.
  • Jessica Alba as Marissa Wilson (née Cortez) Rebecca and Cecil's step-mother, Gregorio and Machete's sister, and Carmen and Juni's paternal aunt.
  • Joel McHale as Wilbur Wilson, Marissa's spy-hunting reporter husband.
  • Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez, a top-secret agent for the OSS and former Spy Kid.
  • Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez, a formerly retired OSS agent and former Spy Kid.
  • Ricky Gervais as the voice of Argonaut, Rebecca and Cecil's robot dog.
  • Belle and Genny Solorzano as Maria Wilson/Spy Baby, Marissa and Wilbur's daughter, and Rebecca and Cecil's half-sister.
  • Jeremy Piven as Danger D'Amo/Time Keeper, Tick Tock, Danger's father and the Time Keeper's henchmen.
  • Danny Trejo as Isador "Machete" Cortez, Carmen and Juni's uncle and Marissa's brother.
  • Angela Lanza as Female Spy OSS Agent.

Production

Development

Robert Rodriguez was prompted by an incident on the set of Machete (a stand-alone film focusing on the Spy Kids supporting character of the same name) to start envisioning a fourth main film in the Spy Kids series. Star Jessica Alba had her then-one year old baby Honor Marie and was dressed to appear on camera when her baby's diaper "exploded". Watching Alba change the diaper while trying not to get anything on her clothes prompted Rodriguez to think "What about a spy mom?"[5][6] Production on the film was officially announced on September 25, 2009, six years after the release of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, by Dimension Films.[7] The script for the film was completed by Robert Rodriguez in December 2009.[8] The title for the film was officially revealed as Spy Kids: All the Time in the World on March 24, 2010 as well as an August 2011 release window,[9] which was later updated to an August 19, 2011 release date.[10]

Filming

Filming began in the fall on October 27, 2010.[11] Filming concluded in February 2011.[12]

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and on DVD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy combo packs on November 22, 2011.[13]

Reception

Box office

The film took in $4 million on its opening day and $11 million over the three-day weekend, debuting in third place behind The Help and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. That was on the low end of expectations, but an executive of The Weinstein Company said, "We're okay with this number. We're going to be in good shape with this film, and it will play for the rest of the summer". The following weekend, it dropped 48% to $6 million, and took sixth place, and on the following weekend, it earned an additional $6.8 million over the four-day Labor Day Weekend. As of November 2011, the film earned $38 million in the U.S and $47 million in other countries for a worldwide gross of $85 million, becoming the poorest performing film in the series.[3]

Critical response

The film received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 22% based on reviews from 59 critics, with an average rating of 3.9 out of 10. The websites consensus states "Burdened by a rote plot and unfunny scatological humor, All the Time in the World suggests that the Spy Kids franchise has run its course."[14] On Metacritic it has a score of 37 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[15] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a B-plus on an A-plus to F scale.[16] Common Sense Media gave the film 1 out of 5 stars. The website reads, "Positive messages can't save worst film in action series."[17]

Accolades
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2011 ALMA Award Favorite MovieNominated
2012 Blimp Award Favorite Butt KickerJessica AlbaNominated
2012 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor and Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Ten and UnderMason Cook and Rowan BlanchardNominated

Other media

Cancelled sequel

Dimension Films had announced the fifth installment in the Spy Kids film series following Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. It was under talks to have the original cast expected to return. However, the film was permanently delayed from its intended 2012 production,[18] as the film's stars Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook, who are no longer kids, were both committing to current projects (Girl Meets World and Speechless respectively), and the planned sequel got cancelled as a result.

Reboot television series

On June 16, 2016, Netflix and The Weinstein Company announced an animated CGI reboot of the Spy Kids film series titled Spy Kids: Mission Critical, which was released in 2018.[19]

Notes
  1. ^ The Walt Disney Company had to cut their own share with The Weinstein Company to 5% after the latter party lost their bid to reclaim Miramax Films.[20][21]

References
  1. "Spy Kids – All the Time in the World". British Board of Film Classification. August 11, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. Kaufman, Amy (August 18, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Conan' may not conquer 'The Help'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  3. "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  4. "'Spy Kids 4' Hitting Theaters with an All-New Form of Smell-O-Vision". FirstShowing.net. June 24, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  5. Wilson, Lisa (August 15, 2011). "Busy Alba relates to 'Spy Kids' mom". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  6. Thompson, Bob (August 14, 2011). "Spy mom, real mom". ottawacitizen.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  7. Connelly, Brendon (September 25, 2009). "Dimension Confirm Details of Scream 4, Spy Kids 4, An American Werewolf in London Redux and More". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  8. Connelly, Brendon (December 21, 2009). "Robert Rodriguez Sequel Log-Jam: More Machete, Sin City 2 and Spy Kids Reboot". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  9. Moody, Mike (March 24, 2010). "'Spy Kids 4' to be released August 2011". DS Movies. Digital Spy. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  10. Rich, Katey (March 24, 2010). "Spy Kids 4 Sets August 2011 Release Date". Cinema Blend. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  11. Lussier, Germain (October 27, 2010). "'Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World' Now Shooting; Jeremy Piven Playing The Villain". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  12. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jessica-alba-announces-pregnancy-wrapping-100316
  13. "Spy Kids 4: All The Time in the World". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  14. "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D". Rotten Tomatoes. August 20, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  15. "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. August 19, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  16. Finke, Nikki (August 21, 2011). "'Conan', 'Fright Night', 'Spy Kids 4D' Flatline; 'The Help' Needs No Help At No. 1, 'Apes' #2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  17. "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World - Movie Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. May 12, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  18. "Dimension Films Announces Production Of Spy Kids 5 In 5D". The MQ. September 21, 2004. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  19. Brian Steinberg (June 16, 2016). "Netflix Readies Animated 'Spy Kids,' 'Llama Llama' Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  20. "Miramax movies, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Ron Tutor". NYDailyNews.com. February 3, 2011.
  21. "Bob Weinstein Updates us on SCREAM 4, SPY KIDS 4, HALLOWEEN 3, and Other Dimension Film Projects". Collider.
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