When I was younger, I remember liking this (though enjoying the second much more). When re-watching it again recently, it doesn't hold up well. It's condescending, it yaks and wise-cracks too much, it's loud and weird and it's the beginning of a quadrilogy of one and a half at least decent movies.
This was the first Robert Rodriguez movie I ever saw. I thought it was cool when I first saw it, but now I recognize it as a bad movie. I just don't understand why Rodriguez feels the need to make awful garbage like Spy Kids, Shorts, and all that other garbage when he is capable of making cinematic awesome like Sin City and Planet Terror.