Stormbreaker Review

"Stormbreaker" reviews

Movie

Stormbreaker

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-10-13 22:47:33

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

The secret agent actioner Stormbreaker is definitely more James Bond for tweens than Nickelodeon fluff like Agent Cody Banks. Maybe it has something to do with the British accents.

Story

Or maybe it's because there's a really cute teenage super spy in it. Meet Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer), said cutie who lives with his uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor), a boring bank manager. Or is he? After Ian mysteriously disappears, Alex soon learns his uncle was a spy for Britain's secret intelligence service MI6 and, unbeknownst to Alex, has been secretly training him—scuba diving, mountaineering, martial arts as well as knowing several languages—so Alex can take up the family business. Suddenly, Alex's whole world is turned upside down. He is immediately recruited by Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) to go after billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke), who created a mega-computer, Stormbreaker, which could bring about the end of the world. With the help of his housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and his friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger), Alex takes Sayle head-on in a dangerous race against time to stop the evil plan. No big whoop.

Acting

Newcomer Pettyfer—who apparently beat out over 500 teenagers to win the role of Alex Rider—does an admirable first attempt, if a tad stiff. He's got some big shoes to fill, bringing to life a character beloved by fans of the best-selling series by novelist Anthony Horowitz, but he has more than enough potential to hone those skills. And with his wind-swept blonde hair, dreamy eyes and lilting British accent, he should be a surefire hit with tweens of the female persuasion. The rest of the colorful cast fits in nicely. Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), with all his delightful little ticks, is fun as Mr. Blunt—the "M," as it were, of the spy organization—and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) as his second in command, Mrs. Jones. Silverstone, who was once Clueless but now grown up, is surprisingly quirky as the devoted housekeeper, while Rourke is sufficiently slimy as the villain. Then there's a small laundry list of character actors who add to the proceedings, including Missi Pyle (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Sayle's dominatrix-esque paramour, and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings' Gollum AND King Kong) as Sayle's severely scarred, grunting henchman. Wonder if Serkis will ever get to play someone normal for once.

Direction

British director Geoffrey Sax (White Noise) keeps to the spirit of the books, something author Anthony Horowitz was adamant about before finding the right people to adapt his stories. No big studio feel here, but there is plenty of action—motorcycle racing, dangling from tall buildings and even a chase on horseback. There are also plenty of cool gadgets, all things a typical teenager might have, such as a super-charged PDA. And numerous and nefarious ways to dispose of our young hero. At one point, Alex finds himself in a water tank with a giant jellyfish, who won't necessarily attack, but if Alex gets tired of treading water and drifts into the marine invertebrate—well, you get the picture. This kind of standard James Bond fare reminds me of Dr. Evil, who says in the first Austin Powers, "No, no, no, I'm going to leave them alone and not actually witness them dying, I'm just gonna assume it all went to plan. What?" Thankfully, Stormbreaker doesn't take itself too seriously, but rather has fun with the genre and introduces a new young hunk to make the young girls swoon.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 1/2 stars.

Movie

Stormbreaker

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-07-20 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

A couple of years ago some movie execs across the pond decided to try their hand at making a 'James Bond Jr' type of family film. The result was "Agent Cody Banks" and, quite frankly, the less said about that the better. But now a home grown team has decided to try and resurrect the genre with "Stormbreaker", the first film based on Anthony Horowitz's popular Alex Rider novels.

The action centres on 14 year-old Alex (Alex Pettyfer), a tousled blonde orphan who lives with his seemingly boring banker uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) and their housekeeper Jack (Alicia Silverstone). But when his uncle is killed in a car crash, Alex finds out that his guardian was actually a spy working for MI6 and that he was assassinated while investigating shady US businessman Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) and his generous Stormbreaker programme - which will put a state of the art computer in every school in the land. Soon Alex has taken Ian's place and is up to his neck in espionage and gadgets.

First the good news - "Stormbreaker" stands head and shoulders above "Agent Cody Banks" in every way. With exciting action, a decent script (adapted by Horowitz from his own book) and a phenomenal Brit cast (including Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Damian Lewis, Stephen Fry and Robbie Coltrane), this is one summer blockbuster that should appeal to teenagers and their parents alike. Pettyfer is solid enough in his debut role and there's a decent balance between comedy and thrills. But things do sometimes feel rather un-sophisticated at times while Mickey Rourke seems happy to play it by the numbers as a rather uninspired baddie.

However a decent cast and proven pedigree (the books are BIG sellers!) means this could be the start of something big.

Movie

Stormbreaker

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-07-18 15:54:08

Provider

MRIB

Review

14-year-old Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is no ordinary child, he's a lethal weapon. Turns out he's a bit like a teenage James Bond, but a whole lot younger and blonder than Daniel Craig.

Rider's just a regular British teenager living a mundane existence with his seemingly normal bank manager uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor). However, when Uncle Ian dies in mysterious circumstances it becomes clear that he living a double life as a spy. Naturally the only person who can get to the bottom of his murder is our teenage extreme sports hero who is recruited by MI6's Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo) to pursue the bad guys. Fortunately old uncle Ian taught Alex all about scuba diving, mountaineering, shooting and martial arts along with a few hundred languages, so this first mission shouldn't be too tough. Although Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), the world's most dangerous assassin may have something to say about that.

You'd be right in thinking you've seen Stormbreaker before because it shares undeniable parallels with Agent Cody Banks. Unfortunately Stormbreaker takes itself way too seriously though and precocious Alex Pettyfer's rather arrogant interpretation of Rider means the film lacks the charm a family blockbuster requires.

However, the stunts, most of which are real (not CGI) combined with amusing cameo performances from Robbie Coltrane, Alicia Silverstone, Jimmy Carr and Stephen Fry will bring a smile to the faces of many regardless of age but this is unlikely to be the start of another long-running movie franchise.

Stormbreaker Review