Last year we were exposed to the Cortez siblings, two pint-sized heroes who discovered their parents were in fact spies in 2001's "Spy Kids". The film finally brought the world of spies to the youngster masses. The film was flashy, funny and a real treat to watch. Probably the biggest star of that film was probably director Robert Rodriguez who finally delivered a fresh, groundbreaking and smart family film all sizes could enjoy.

Now it's 2002 and we are bracing for the inevitable sequel to that small smart family film. "Spy Kids 2" allows us to revisit the "spy-kids" as they are becoming apart of a whole new division of spies. Other parental spies are bringing their children into the services of "OSS-Junior". The Cortez kids from the first film are locked in a head-to-head battle of wits and gadgets with two other kids, the Giggle siblings. One of the head-to-head scenarios involves the president's daughter, Alexandra. However the film's central mission involves the two sets of kids finding themselves on an island where a scientist named Romero (Steve Buscemi) has made his own genetic creations and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

The Spy Kids sequel uses a lot of the lingo and history from the first film as it expands on the world of the Cortez family. There is a lot of the same kind of jokes and family shocks that were such a treat in the original. I especially enjoyed the conflicts between Antonio Banderas' father character and the mission involving his intruding in-laws. I also enjoyed Steve Buscemi as the reluctant scientist. I liked the almost polar effect of the typical "Frankenstein" style of relationship between scientist and monster.

I did really like the film for the risks it takes as it continues the trends set up in the first film. I liked the homage to "Indiana Jones" (watch for the idol in the film) and the Ray Harryhausen skeletons from "Clash of the Titans". The creatures that inhabit the island did remind me a lot of Harryhausen's films. Kids will have a blast watching these beasts. From the "Spork" to the "Slizzards", I am sure we will see these funky creatures on toy shelves soon.

The central problem is that there is just so much jammed into this sequel that the film does begin to lag in places. The original film was tight and knew the story it wanted to tell. This film has expanded its scope and special effects and you lose some of the family magic. There are also references to the original film that even the most alert audience member may miss if they haven't seen the first film recently. When they refer to the Floop character and the joke about Cheech Marin not being their uncle I found myself getting side tracked and trying to remember the first film.

I liked the film but "Spy Kids 2" falls into the same chasms as most sequels as it tries to top the original by being bigger. Bigger isn't always better.

(3.5 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer