Spy Kids: Armageddon is a 2023 action comedy film and the fifth film in the Spy Kids franchise. Long time director Robert Rodriguez returns to helm the film from a script written by himself and his son Racer Max. The film stars Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Billy Magnussen, D. J. Cotrona, and newcomers Everly Carganilla and Connor Esterson. Set in the same continuity as previous films, Armageddon tells its own standalone story that is not affected by other Spy Kids installments.
In the film, the children of the world’s greatest spies unwittingly help a corrupt game developer gain control of a computer virus that lets him take control of the world’s technology. Now the kids must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world. The film was released on Netflix September 22, 2023.
Previews: Date announcement
, Trailer
Spy Kids: Armageddon includes examples of the following:
- Call-Back: The film has several nods to past films:
- One of the kids finds a copy of the book How to Be a Spy from the first film.
- There is a shot of a child-sized plane, similar to the one used by Carmen and Juni in the first film.
- The kids discover an adorable robot companion much like Juni’s in the second film.
- Some of the enemies brought into the real world are skeletons, similar to the ones from the second film.
- The AI guarding the safe house asks the children for their full names, like the one encountered by Carmen and Juni in the first movie.
- While at the safe house, Tony assures his sister that they have "All the time in the world" to prepare to rescue their parents.
- Cool Plane: Much as in the first film, there is a shot of a child-sized plane flying through the skies in the date announcement.
- Cute Machines: At the end of the date announcement, there is a moment of the kids cooing over an adorable crab robot.
- Everything Is Online: The Armageddon code is a major threat because of this, affecting even ATMs and home security systems.
- Five-Aces Cheater: Tony's lack of integrity is shown early in the film when he's playing a card game based on Hyskore at his school, and pulls out a winning card from his pants pocket instead of from the deck or his hand of cards.
- Gadget Watch: The date announcement has a brief shot of the parents checking their watches as they emit holograms.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the climactic fight, Terrence tries to defeat The King by throwing his hammer at him, but it's against the rules of the game, so Tony jumps in and takes the hit so his father won't get penalized. As The King intended for his game to better humanity, this act of self-sacrifice then awards Tony enough points for a revival and the power to defeat The King.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: Because The King made Hyskore with the intent to make people "better", Tony pulling a Heroic Sacrifice that could've killed him instead rewards him with the power to defeat The King.
- Hollywood Hacking: What the Armageddon code is capable of. It can hack into any system in the world with ease. It is so good, not even the creator, Terrence, can stop it. It's because it wasn't actually him that completed the code. He stole the basis and worked on it, but he was incapable of finishing it. It was actually his son, Tony, that completed the code without knowing that he did so.
- Honesty Is the Best Policy: Patty completely believes in this, with her reaction to learning about her parents' jobs as spies being to call them Hypocrites for teaching her to be honest but then lying about their lives. In the climax, this integrity convinces The King's most powerful Hyskore enemy, the Heck Knight, to stand down instead of fight her.
- In Medias Res: The film begins with the kids, Tony and Patty Tango-Torrez, exploring what looks like an ancient temple with some built-in technology before falling into a dark hole that the opening title appears from. It then cuts back to a few days earlier before any danger occurred, and is revisited in the second half of the film where it turns out to be a part of The King's Supervillain Lair and the hole is a harmless secret passage.
- Inside a Computer System: The film's climax has Tony, Patty, and their parents use virtual reality gear to go inside the Hyskore game in order to take down The King and his digital minions.
- Lazy Alias: The true identity of the villainous "The King" is a man named Kingston. Additionally, his first name, Rey, is Spanish for “King”.
- Lovable Rogue: Contrasting his sister that believes Honesty Is the Best Policy, Tony has a habit of using tricks to get what he wants, from cheating at a card game at his school to accidentally instigating the film's main plot by stealing his father's keys and playing Hyskore when his parents had grounded him, letting The King steal the Armageddon code through the connection. In the film's climax, he's genuinely concerned that he lacks the power to overcome the villain without any tricks prepared.
- Overt Operative: When the kids reach an OSS base, Patty points out how stupid it is that their logo is blatantly displayed on the building.
- Product Displacement: The video game systems that Tony plays, and are later converted into spy gadgets, all have their identifying logos and button symbols removed; however, they're still recognizable as popular brands in other ways, such as one scene of Patty holding a pair of Joy-Cons.
- Punny Name: Rey Kingston's game Hyskore is pronounced the same as "High Score".
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Rey 'The King' Kingston is a video game developer who initially uses The Armageddon virus to lock all of the world's electronic devices, including those that shouldn't have internet access, until its users can clear segments of his game Hyskore. He claims to his minions that this is part of a plan to force people to learn how to be better through Game Theory.
