Spy School (2008) User Reviews (9)

Fun Family Film

[TroyeEvans · 4/10 · 18 October 2011]

Is it that bad? No, not at all. In fact, as a kids film it is above average. There are good films in all categories and this is a very outstanding one in its.

First, it's a good family comedy. Surely parents will have a good time with their kids watching this. It is a nice little family film with a nice plot and there is something to learn from as well.

Compared to the Spy Kids series, this lacks action and effects. But it makes up for that with an unpredictable plot, and I like that very much. The story development is smooth and the acting is good.

Towards the climax in the end it gets pretty intense and there are quite some unexpected twists.

To conclude, this is really an enjoyable piece of family comedy.

Got this movie when I was five because the cover looked cool. I was wrong

[leobbiagi · 5/10 · 30 October 2020]

Note to everyone on the cover the kid has all these cool gadgets on him and it looks like hes kid James Bond who goes to school to learn to be a spy. It is nothing like that. It's about a kid who lies all the time and in the end he learns that lying is bad and saves the world...by lying so.... yeah. Wasn't boring tho. Then again I was five when I watched it.

makes Spy Kids look like a seminal masterpiece

[PandoraProductions4 · 3/10 · 17 March 2015]

Boy, oh boy, does Spy School suck. Watching it was the most unpleasant movie-going experience I've had in a long time. It seems to be attempting to ride on the success of Spy Kids and other kid agent movies (Catch That Kid, etc.), but having been made in 2008, it arrived too late on the scene, as the public had already tired of that type of film. Even if it had been released in the right year, it still wouldn't have stood up to the aforementioned Spy Kids, because despite it's title "Spy School", the main character in the film is not a spy, nor does he attend a school for spies. In fact, there are no cool or interesting spy gadgets or software in the entire movie. There are a few horribly choreographed action scenes and that's about it in terms of excitement. In the beginning of the film we are introduced to Thomas, the main character, who is a complete jerk with no charisma whatsoever. He uncovers a plot to kidnap the President's daughter and so on. There are some pointless and tiresome love triangles, subplots, and moral pontificating that divert attention away from the "story"- and I'm using the word story here very loosely.

Perhaps you think I'm battering this film too hard. It's just kids movie, after all, right? Well, I don't see how any kids would be entertained by this film. It has a convoluted plot that would be hard for a young child to follow, and barely any exciting sequences throughout. It's not engaging on an emotional level; plus the romance parts would probably be too mushy for children. There are so many better films for children out there.

A big problem in the movie is the casting. The red-haired boy who plays Thomas is so unlikable that I grew to hate him by the end of the film. The President's daughter is played by this pudgy little girl who looks like the Honey Boo Boo child. The adults are all stereotypes and forgettable. The one bright spot in this movie is AnnaSophia Robb. They should have given her the leading role. Perhaps then this film would be more watchable.

Anyway the plot builds to a climax that is so dumb when you think about it, that it's almost funny. Almost.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone but a die-hard AnnaSophia Robb fan, and even then it'll take some willpower to get through this piece of trash.

worst movie in years

[mindplay · 1/10 · 13 February 2009]

I won't get into the details, but this movie has the most ridiculous plot of any movie I've seen in years - even our 10-year old wasn't fooled by this story.

Reasonably good actors, actually - the kids, anyway, the adult actors didn't really deliver... but even with world class actors you couldn't have pulled off this one, so you can't really blame them.

Sheer amateur nonsense! Yikes!

I don't know how this movie received a 5.1 rating - since it has only received about 200 ratings, I can only guess the kids who acted in the movie asked all their friends to rate it.

Amateur hour

[DannyP88 · 1/10 · 18 June 2023]

There is this thing that amateur screenwriters do, and inept directors overlook: they forget how people actually talk. Elementary school children don't generally speak -- to each other, to parents, or to authority figures -- like they were reading passages from a Victorian-era novel. Stiff dialogue every once in a while can be overlooked... but when every... single... line... of... dialogue is cringeworthy, it leaves one stunned that the film's producers didn't just decide to turn "Spy School" (a/k/a "Doubting Thomas") into a parody (think "Airplane") and leave it at that. This cliché-riddled film is also very clumsy with its details; e.g., Did kids in 2008 really know who Joe Namath was? Would a coach only be addressing 8 of his players for his NFL pregame speech? Did kids in 2008 really use the word "crud?" Is it realistic (or even appropriate) for a teen girl to put the moves on a lead character who looks like he's about 9 years old? (In fact, the film seems to have been written with older teens in mind... again, pre-teens just don't act like they're super-concerned about painstakingly and properly enunciating every awkward syllable of the oh-so-long words and sentences they've been hired to regurgitate.) And the title? One-third of the way in to the film, and (mild spoiler) not a "spy" in sight. "Spy School" ("Doubting Thomas") is a tortuous watch.

not bad

[jimvandemoter-50236 · 7/10 · 14 July 2019]

This movie has it's flaws, but despite all that i enjoyed it. Forest Landis is a hoot and Anna Sophia Robb is as cute as can be as a tom boy. Not a great flick by any standard but it's still a fun flick. The teacher with the fake bee hive hair and the one armed phys ed teacher are just off the hook. Just relax and enjoy the ride.

As Good As It Gets For A Young Adult Fantasy

[chicagopoetry · 8/10 · 20 December 2008]

Spy School is a really good movie. Although it doesn't share the science fiction special effects of Spy Kids, it has a similar appeal. The camera work and the lighting are excellent. The plot is not predictable; there is actually a mystery going on here that kids and adults will enjoy. The kid actors are wonderful. There's even some cool music, including two renditions of Macho Man. Of course what would a teenage spy caper be without some crawling through the ducts, but that's forgivable. This is a great movie to share with your children. Nothing less than innocent here, don't worry. The most violence is a gun than never shoots and a guy falling a few feet off a ladder. Otherwise this is perfect entertainment for the entire family.

Rider Strong ; )

[savana_gutierrez · 9/10 · 24 May 2018]

Rider Strong was so hot in this movie well he's hot in everything he does. The movie was kinda good I guess for a kid's movie i'm giving it 9/10 stars because Rider Strong was in it, it probably deserves more of a 7/10. I like that the Winn Dixie chick acknowledged the fact that Rider is cute, "he not only cute for a teacher, he'd be hot for a rockstar!" They probably only put Rider Strong in the movie because they needed somebody to play the hot teacher, of course Rider is the best one for the job. The movie title doesn't really make sense, it makes you think it's about kids who go to a school to be trained to be spys kinda like Spy Kids. But really it's about this kid who lies a lot, and when he is finally telling the truth nobody believes him. Also the kid likes this British girl, I'm pretty sure she is Cindy Loo Whoo from the Grinch, but the Winn Dixie chick likes the lying kid instead even though they've been friends forever. I actually enjoyed this movie and I liked that they made Rider Strong a big character in it, and that he helped the main character out with stuff and he always had his back.

Absolutely Amazing!

[mohito-soccer · 10/10 · 17 February 2013]

This movie is great the acting is superb! What a great movie for all ages it has some good politics! I cannot stress how great this movie is the music is amazing. It includes "Macho Man." The camera angles are perfect the lighting is great. I cannot believe a masterpiece such as this is on Netflix. There is a fantastic plot with great suspense that leaves you wriggling in you chair or sofa until the credits are over! Malcolm J Grism is absolutely fantastic his voice and his posture is perfect for the worst type of villain that you could imagine. Even more than Lord Voldermort! Grism says his famous line "Grism! The name is Malcom J Grism! And yes, I most certainly will get away with this!" Another great line of his is "Back! everybody back! Or I'll have no choice but to do something that wouldn't be very nice!" The actor of Malcom J Grism deserves at the least a best supporting actor Oscar nomination.