“Armageddon” Trailer Shows Us a New Generation of “Spy Kids”

Robert Rodriguez may not have had a strong past decade. But it can't be denied that the last time he partnered with Netflix to update an old property, it was raging success. We Can Be Heroes - a sequel to his 2005 kiddie action flick The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl - became the streamer's most viewed film of 2021. While 2011's reboot All the Time in the World didn't result in another trilogy, Armageddon feels primed for algorithmic success.

Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi play the hot parents this time. But they're sidelined early, as the precocious kids (Everly Carganilla and Connor Esterson) must not only train to become spies, but also rescue their parents. Billy Magnussen (Game Night) plays the big bad, which should at least provide some good laughs. He's an expert at playing an overconfident dummy. The film marks Robert Rodriguez's latest collaboration with his son Racer. The duo also wrote the low-budget Red 11, and Racer has popped up in multiple films, including Alita: Battle Angel.

Spy Kids: Armageddon premieres exclusively on Netflix on September 22.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.