Spy Kids 4While a valid argument can be made that Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids franchise went south at about the time the story's focus pointed away from the people and towards the mechanical gadgets (sometime after 2 and before the 3D debacle), there's no denying that all those spy gadgets and flash-bang gimmicks are some of the coolest examples of movie-making magic around. They perhaps don't make the best movie, but are super cool to look at nonetheless.

And it's on those whiz-bang gadgets and the bubble-gummy environment that Rodriguez has chosen to focus his attention again in Sky Kids: All the Time in the World, the fourth installment in the action-packed secret spy series. In fact, the filmmaker and his pint-sized stars discuss many of the film's gadgets and cgi special effects (specifically the hammer hands) in the following featurette that takes us behind-the-scenes of The Wilson family's mysterious world of spies and secret agents.

It looks like the new film is overly embracing all the artificial stuff that ruined the franchise the first time around. For instance the film is being presented in what they are calling 4D Aroma-Scope, with the little scratch and sniff cards that will be handed out to all audience members. Didn't that already fail with The Wild Thornberry's movie several years ago? Anyway, let's give the film the benefit of the doubt. After all, this is Robert Rodriguez, creator of Machete.

You can watch the Spy Kids: All the Time in the World featurette below or check it out in hi-definition over at apple.com.

And here's the trailer for those who missed it when it came out a couple weeks ago:

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World stars Jessica Alba, Joel McHale; Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, and Jeremy Piven. It will release wide to the theaters later this month on August 19th.