"Agent Cody Banks" is fun. Granted, it's extremely predictable, seen-it-all-before fun, but fun nonetheless.
It should be lauded on those grounds. Its overall upbeat nature, however, eventually is overshadowed by its predictable plot twists and Bond-rip-offs.
"Agent Cody Banks" is more than it could be but less than it should have been.
I can just see the studio executives sitting in their offices deciding to make this film. Clearly they were thinking, "last year 'XXX' brought James Bond to dumb people; now 'Agent Cody Banks' will bring it to 12-year- olds!" And in this regard, it succeeds wonderfully.
The escapist Bond-style story is perfect fodder for the pre-pubescent crowd, especially if they are experiencing it for the first time. But for those of us who can name at least three James Bonds, "Cody" turns tiresome quickly.
The plot is simple enough: Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) has been trained in secret by the CIA to be a junior operative since he was a pre-teen. Now that the world is being threatened by an apparently motiveless super villain, he is called into action. Cody must woo the daughter of a scientist who has been duped into working with the villain and ascertain what exactly they are planning.
Helping Cody along the way is his mentor, Ronica Miles (Angie Harmon). Her relationship toward Cody is mostly to baby sit him, although it sometimes takes a disturbing turn towards a sexual interaction, especially while she is wearing her black leather tube-tops around a 15-year-old boy. Her whole character creeped me out.
Muniz is serviceable as Cody, playing off his pubescent awkwardness well. He chose this project wisely, as it basically turns "Malcolm in the Middle" into "Malcolm in the CIA." He does fine against the adults he must act with, if only because they seem to be not far beyond his level of ability. All in all, Muniz doesn't take many risks and therefore doesn't fail, but his performance is lacking the dashing bravado that we want to see from our superheroes, even the young ones.
Harmon is in her role as CIA operative merely as eye candy.
When she is not showing off her cleavage, she is dressed up as a nurse or wearing a black leather jumpsuit. She does no acting of note, and it is clear that her main role was to appeal to the 14-year-old boys in the audience and the fathers that brought them to the theater. She does that well, as she is quite the looker, but I found myself wondering why else she was in the film.
Hilary Duff appears as Cody's target, the scientist's daughter. Duff is probably the highlight of the movie, but that's not saying much. She is skeptical when she has to be and coy when she wants to be. All in all, she is the only character we haven't figured out the moment she steps on screen. All I have to say is good for her, she serves as the brightest point in a dimly lit bulb.
Director Harald Zwart brings a sort of awkwardness to the story that is extremely rare to see in a spy genre film. Normally marked by their debonair style and sly intrigue, this is the most straightforward spy story I have ever seen. Zwart has done nothing of note to this point in his career and does nothing to distinguish himself here. This film unfortunately lacks the vivacious attitude and style of its kid-spy movie counterpart "Spy Kids," but fortunately does not include Antonio Banderas, which is always a good thing.
I will not lie to you and say that I did not have fun watching "Agent Cody Banks."
This is not to say that it is a good movie, for it is not. I enjoy a great deal of bad movies, and this is neither the worst nor the best among them. This is simply a made-for-TV, Sunday night on ABC movie that somehow made it to the big screen with a couple of kid actors that we recognize.
I am sure that the kids in this movie will go on to bigger and better things, especially Duff, who actually can act. I think this movie is worth renting if one of those rainy Charlottesville Saturdays sneaks up on you in the next few months. But if not, save your money and catch it on TBS next year.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
