James Bond gets shaken, stirred and shrunk down to size in Spy Kids, a light-hearted family adventure that has as many messages about life as it does cool gadgets.

Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino play Gregorio and Ingrid, two super spys who give up their cloak-and-dagger adventures to settle down and have kids.

On the surface, they seem the perfectly normal family, at least in a Hollywood kind of way. They live in the lap of luxury in a mansion on the hill, the children, 12-year-old Carmen (Alexa Vega) and her eight-year-old brother Juni (Daryl Sabara), attend private school, and mom and dad are successful consultants.

But the Cortez family has a secret, and we're not talking about the fact the parental units are really kung-fu buttkicking agents. Carmen has been skipping school, Juri is friendless and the target of the class bully, and Gregario and Ingrid miss their adrenaline-jacked former lives.

When America's top agents go missing, Gregario and Ingrid are called back into action but are soon captured by Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming), a twisted Pee-Wee Herman-like character who hosts a popular children's television program.

Informed by their fake uncle (Cheech Marin) that their parents are really secret agents, the genes kick in and Carmen and Juri set out on a mission to rescue the world, and more importantly, their family.

With enough hi-tech wizadry at their disposal to give Q gadget envy, the kids fight a host of baddies trying to block their assail on Floop's Willy Wonka-like castle.

The toughest part of the battle, though, is trying to get past their sibling rivalries long enough to work together. The interaction between Carmen and Juri provide the movie's best moments, there just aren't enough of them.

Characters preposterous

Director Robert Rodriguez keeps the action hopping, the violence cartoonish and the characters as preposterous as those in his more adult fare (El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn).

But what makes Spy Kids a winner -- at least with the younger audiences -- is the notion children can be heroes. While it's a tried, tested and true ploy, it's never gotten this kind of high-gloss treatment before.

For adults, Spy Kids could have use a few more laughs, but for kids, this is nothing but a guaranteed hit. (More on: Spy Kids).

(This film is rated PG)

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