Home Video Picks & Passes 07.05.20

A Mission: Impossible gets a thumbs-up.

(photo: Paramount Pictures)

Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011) — PICK

Spy Kids (2001) — PICK


Spy vs. spy! Two enormously fun and imaginative espionage action romps are now on Amazon Prime — one for the whole family, the other for teens and up.

The family-friendly one is Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids, a colorful, whimsical forerunner to The Incredibles, the most successful of the “marriage and family as an adventure” genre.

Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino play former rival superspies-turned-husband-and-wife whose kids know nothing of their parents’ swashbuckling past.

When Mom and Dad are pulled back into the game, it turns out that the good fight is now a whole family affair.

If you’ve lost track of the installments in Tom Cruise’s biggest franchise, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol — from Incredibles director Brad Bird — is the one that, for my money, kicked the series into high gear.

I wasn’t crazy about the first two M:I sequels, but Bird’s contribution — highlighted by its gonzo Burj Khalifa set piece and breathless stunts that don’t always come off flawlessly — is ridiculously entertaining, with breezy confidence and plenty of charm.

 

CAVEAT SPECTATOR: Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol: Intense action violence; some suggestive content, including images of erotic art; a few instances of profanity and some crass language. Teens and up. Spy Kids: Comic violence and mild scenes of menace and suspense.  Kids and up.