Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Review

"Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" reviews

Movie

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-03-27 21:44:26

Rating

1/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Unfortunately for everyone, agent Cody Banks is back. This time 'round, Cody's secret mission takes him to London, but not even this mini Bond's ride on London's Millennium Wheel can add sprightliness to this sluggish spy tale.

Story

Things haven't changed much since we last saw teen spy Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz): His parents (Cynthia Stevenson and Daniel Roebuck) are still in the dark about what their now 16-year-old son does for a living and drop him off for the summer at Kamp Woody, which is really secret teen CIA training program. But it turns out the camp's director, Diaz (Keith Allen), is a rogue CIA agent who has stolen a top-secret mind-control device that he plans on individually implanting into the teeth of the world's leaders in order to rule the planet. When he escapes to London to begin his evil undertaking, Cody must pose as a student at an elite boarding school for musically gifted kids to get close to his target, who is in cahoots with the headmistress' husband. As if that was not enough, Cody also has to deal with his new ''handler,'' the clumsy buffoon Derek (Anthony Anderson), who keeps botching up their plans, all while keeping his identity a secret from the other students at school. Will he succeed in stopping the bad guys from taking over the world?

Acting

Poor Muniz. The Malcolm in the Middle star has fallen prey to studio execs who seem eager to jump on the teen spy bandwagon by riding on the coattails of Spy Kids' appeal and the modest success of its original film rather than churning out a decent PG flick. While Muniz is still charming as Cody, an adolescent wise beyond his years, his character comes across as a stick in the mud when paired with a slapstick character such as Anderson's Derek. In the first film, Muniz got to act like a kid, an inadequate teen smitten by his agency mentor Ronica, played by Angie Harmon. Here, none of the characters seem to have any common sense and Cody is forced to be the mature one. This switch sort of takes the fun and innocence out of it. And poor Anderson. The comedian is stuck in the role of the inept CIA reject whose disguises perpetuate every black stereotype imaginable, including a cook ''straight outta Compton'' and robe-wearing African. Hannah Spearritt, who plays Emily, a Scotland Yard agent also posing as a student, is the brightest addition to the cast but her role is almost marginal in this sequel.

Direction

Director Kevin Allen, who brought us the 2000 hairdressing comedy The Big Tease, delivers a teen actioner that mechanically plods through its formulaic script. The film has all the ingredients necessary for a delectable spy pic--cool gadgets, exciting chases, diabolical villains, covert hideouts--but the end product is as bland as kidney pie. While the original Agent Cody Banks had a sophisticated sense of humor to it, this sequel is clumsy and crass. Cody's awkwardness around the opposite sex in the original film, for example, was sweet. Here, the team of writers--Don Rhymer, Harald Zwart and Dylan Sellers--injects perverted overtones into the film that are just so wrong. Take ''Kamp Woody,'' bandleader Mr. Jerksalot, the invariable references to Cody's instrument and the boatload of phallic-looking weapons, including a retainer that can act as a receiver with proper tongue manipulation or Diaz's giant charged flashlight. For viewers who somehow missed the writers' not-so-clever nuances, there is plenty of unoriginal dialogue to roll your eyes at, including the Brit gem, ''Don't get your knickers in a twist.''

Bottom Line

The boring and at times offensive Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London lacks the cleverness and charm of its predecessor. This is one franchise that should be grounded before it takes off for any more international forays.

Movie

AGENT CODY BANKS 2

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-25 21:43:20

Provider

Review

Just last year Frankie Muniz debuted on our screens as Cody Banks, a sort of junior James Bond who was great at the espionage lark but couldn't talk to girls. Well just twelve months later Cody is back in another adventure which sees him trying to track down an errant agent in London.

Directed by Kevin Allen, this sequel finds a far more professional Agent Banks in the capital to try and bring in his former mentor (Keith Allen) and the mind-control device data he stole. Along the way he must try and contend with his comedy sidekick partner (Anthony Anderson), a young orchestra he's meant to be playing in and a host of British stereotypes.

While the first Cody Banks movie was fun, inventive and only too aware of it's OTTness, this follow up takes itself far too seriously and pays the price.

A lukewarm plot, average performances (especially from Allen as the baddie) and a woeful knowledge of London's geography means that anyone over the age of ten is going to be left banging their heads on the seat in front of them during this cinematic mess.

Much like Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids franchise, this film is aimed at it's younger viewers but where Rodriguez succeeded, Banks has failed. Gone is the youthful air, wit and style of the original (something the Spy Kids kept in it's first sequel) and in it's place are cheap gags, ill-conceived set pieces and some truly cringe worthy moments including the Queen bopping to a orchestral version of Edwin Starr's War while the Japanese PM dances on a table.

The movie does have a few high spots such as Paul Kaye's cameo as an oddball Q type but they really are very few and very far between while even former S Club star Hannah Spearritt's turn as a British agent can't lift proceedings.