|
Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) reads spy stories and wants to be more than
just an ordinary kid, so naturally he jumps at the chance to attend a CIA
summer-camp for junior spies - it's so undercover, not even his parents
know what he's up to. His first assignment is to get close to Natalie Connors
(Hilary Duff) and find out about the secret project her scientist father
(Martin Donovan) is working on. The problem is Cody is extremely shy around
girls - at spy school he learned how to drive like a stuntman and fight
like Bruce Lee, but they didn't have a class in how to be cool with the
ladies. It's up to his "handler", Agent Miles (Angie Harmon),
and the rest of the CIA team to give him a few pointers and fast; Connors'
Nanobot Project is nearly complete and the bad guy Brinkman (Ian McShane)
and his henchman Molay (Arnold Vosloo) have a dastardly plan - the world
is in jeopardy. Not to mention if Cody takes off one more time, he's going
to be grounded.
The movie works best if you keep in mind that this is a bunch of really silly ideas - secret agent summer camp, a junior operative, the safety of the world in the hands of a kid not even old enough to vote. It doesn't work when it takes itself too seriously and tries to be more of a James Bond movie - it strives for more than its characters are capable of delivering.
The adults may have some problems getting excited about this movie, but it's entertaining for the kids. One young man in our audience went so far as to say, "that was the coolest movie I've ever seen in my whole life" and he meant it. Although, some of the younger people were pretty scared by Molay.
Frankie Muniz is adorable and not in an over-the-top cutesy way. He makes a believable shy-guy when it comes to girls, gets to be a regular kid doing kid things, and still is impressive doing the action stunts and fight sequences. Depending on how well this does at the box office, there are surely more adventures of Cody Banks to come.
Why it's cool to be a secret agent in high school:
- The handlers are hot
- The gadgets are cool (x-ray sunglasses and a personal helicopter jet-pack)
- The ice cream is pistachio - shakes, not stirred
- You can get help with your homework
- A CIA team will come in, not to sweep the house for bugs, but to sweep
literally - great way to get your chores done
- No problem if you need a Ferrari - the mission requires you to impress
the girls
- The best part is you get to beat up bad guys and save the world - unless
your little brother rats you out to your folks.
Home
|
