Agent Cody Banks (1 and 2)

OK, not only did I watch Agent Cody Banks one night, I followed it with Destination London the night after. Overall I was pleasantly surprised, and the films are very different from one another.

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Cody Banks is a 14 year-old drafted into the CIA via a spy summer camp (of course). Bad guys want to take over the world with a mad plot. He stops them (in both films).

We’re introduced to Cody (Frankie Muniz from TV’s Malcolm in the Middle) in the first film with a scene at home followed by an short action sequence. These cover the obvious bases so we know who he is – an average teenager with above-average abilities.

The film’s madman with views of global domination is Brinkman (Ian McShane) who is forcing one Dr Connors to create a horde of nanobots capable of eating metal. Brinkman even has an evil henchman (Arnold Vosloo from The Mummy).

Banks is taken under the wing of a rather hot “handler” and between them they wheedle Cody into the interests of Connors’ daughter to infiltrate the mountain lair of Brinkman. All very James Bond Jr., really. Oh, and there are gadgets. And a mad inventor who creates them.

The film has action, slapstick and laughs. The effects are pretty decent for what is a comparitively low-budget offering and it offers bags of entertainment. As ever in a good kids’ film, adults are made to look bad compared to the children.

Points for spotting the “Flynn” reference late on in the movie.

Destination London is a little different. It’s more of a children’s film than the first offering. The action is more slapstick, the plot a little simpler and the humour more kiddie. There’s even a random fart gag and a character called “Jerkalot”. This time we have another madman intent on taking over the brains of many heads of state. Along with more gadgets and the most bonkers “Q” rip-off character, it’s a worthy sequel though not as good as the original from this adult’s viewpoint.

Neither movie is as good as Stormbreaker, but that’s partly due to Alex Rider being English. And like Bond, to be a good secret agent you really have to be English.

OK, or Scots. Or an Aussie. Or Welsh.