The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D

The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D opens with a shot that may make fans of 3-D films let out an involuntary “Wow!” The image of ocean water moving right in front of the viewer comes as close to life-like as any 3-D film has managed. The movie makes good on that promise for the first five minutes as the narrator explains the history of the title characters. There is a perfect blend of humor and cutsiness during this sequence that matches the very best moments of Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids franchise. Sadly the film loses its way very quickly after that opening. The day-to-day existence of the hero is so downbeat, with his quarreling parents and the constant cruel harassment of his classmate, it wipes away any feeling of whimsy. Hopes rise when the film moves back into the 3-D fantasy world of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, but before long the narrative drive goes out of the film. The roadblocks on their path become more and more arbitrary, and one quickly senses that they exist for no reason other than to create more 3-D effects. The novelty of these effects wears off fairly quickly. There is lip service paid to the idea of the power of dreams, but because Rodriguez has failed at a basic storytelling level those themes never resonate (unlike his seamlessly integrated message about the importance of family in the first Spy Kids film). Shark Boy and Lava Girl might have had a fighting chance to overcome its faults if there were engaging actors, but Rodriguez’s usual casting acumen is nowhere to be found. All the performers, both the child and adult actors, come of wooden and very much two-dimensional. As the closing credits roll a 3-D fan is again likely to let out an involuntary “wow,” but this time out of sadness for a wasted opportunity.