AGENT CODY BANKS

Starring:
Frankie Muniz
Hilary Duff
Angie Harmon
Keith David
Martin Donovan
Arnold Vosloo
and Ian McShane

Director:
Harald Zwart

Running Time:
102 mins

Out to buy on DVD 24th November 2003

 

The CIA need to get close to renowned nano-technology scientist Dr Connors (Donovan) and they need to find out why he is associated with known terrorist Brinkman (McShane) and his henchman Molay (Vosloo). The only way to get close to him is through his 15 year-old daughter Natalie (Duff) and they are going to need a special kind of agent to do just that. His name is Banks, Cody Banks (Muniz) but the problem is that he is still in school and is so shy he can't even speak to girls.

There is a new spy on the world espionage scene and this time he is stuck in the middle of another attempt at world domination. A lot to take on when you have homework and chores to do first.

After the success of the Spy Kids series there were bound to be more teenage spies appearing on the silver screen trying to cash in on the trend but Agent Cody Banks is more of a homage to Bond than an all out fantasy adventure.

Talented TV actors Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) make this movie far better than it should have been. Muniz is a good comedic actor who takes to the action very well. You can't help but like the normality of the guy as he has qualities that we can all adhere to. Hilary Duff, as the object of Cody's mission and affections is also good although her role should have been a lot bigger than the usual damsel in distress.

Again the old world domination theme is played out again with Ian McShane (TV's Lovejoy) and Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) been the poorer Dr Evil and Number 2. Even with their mountain peak base, complete with monorail, a standard piece of equipment for any evil layer, they aren't quite tongue-in-cheek enough to really pull the roles off. Angie Harmon as Cody's CIA handler Ronica Miles however is a talent to watch out for.

It has all the gadgets, the humour and the action of a Bond or a XXX and plays well to its intended teenage audience. While it doesn't have the charm of the Spy Kids movies, the film is still good fun for all the family. Now where can I get some of those X-Ray specs?

Audio Commentary with stars Frankie Muniz, Angie Harmon and Harald Zwart, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, 2 x Easter Eggs, Creating Cody’s World mini-featurette, Developing Agent Cody Banks mini-featurette, Posting Cody Banks mini-featurette, Director’s Diary mini-featurette, Frankie Muniz Going Big Agent Action mini-featurette, How to Talk to Girls mini-featurette, Cool Make-Up Tricks From Hilary Duff mini-featurette, Storyboard to Film Comparisons, Multi-Camera Sequences, Theatrical Trailer, Original theatrical trailer, Agent Cody Banks 2 Teaser, Interactive menus & Chapter selections


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2003