Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams **** Dir: Robert Rodriguez With: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Steve Buscemi 100 mins, cert U www.spykids.com

The warmest welcome back to the Spy Kids, the feisty Cortez siblings, Carmen and Juni, the children of adult spies Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino. As teeny special agents, they journey through the ocean in one of their fantastic vehicles to investigate the mystery of a deserted island. A sort of Jurassic Oz-Park, splendidly presided over by Steve Buscemi.

This sequel cranks up the mainstream kid action, and cranks down the weirdo fantasy-design stuff of the original. Also, slightly disappointingly, it diminishes the role of the grown-ups. Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor are here brought on as Banderas's overbearing parents-in-law, and very amusing they are too, though not given that much to do. And Banderas himself, so unutterably dire in the last couple of his grownup films, is here very charming in this sweet-natured role. Writer-director Robert Rodriguez has given us a cast-iron family hit.