Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006)

After the death of his uncle, the 14-year-old schoolboy Alex Rider is forced by the Special Operations Division of the UK's secret intelligence service, MI6, into a mission which will save millions of lives.

Director:

Geoffrey Sax

Writers:

Anthony Horowitz (novel), Anthony Horowitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Alex Pettyfer, Mickey Rourke, Sophie Okonedo

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Bolger	...	Sabina Pleasure
Robbie Coltrane	...	Prime Minister
Stephen Fry	...	Smithers
Damian Lewis	...	Yassen Gregorovich
Ewan McGregor	...	Ian Rider
Bill Nighy	...	Alan Blunt
Sophie Okonedo	...	Mrs. Jones
Alex Pettyfer	...	Alex Rider
Missi Pyle	...	Nadia Vole
Mickey Rourke	...	Darrius Sayle
Andy Serkis	...	Mr. Grin
Alicia Silverstone	...	Jack Starbright
Ashley Walters	...	Wolf
Alex Barrett	...	Gary
Richard Huw	...	Teacher

Storyline

Alex Rider thinks he is a normal school boy, until his uncle is killed. He discovers that his uncle was actually then redirected up a mountain in his coffin for burial. Alex is recruited by Alan Blunt to continue the mission. He is sent to Cornwall to investigate a new computer system, which Darrius Sayle has created. He plans to give the new computer systems to every school in the country, but Mr. Blunt has other ideas and Alex must find out what it is.

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Plot Keywords:

child in danger | cricket the sport | teenage boy | railway station | american | 

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Taglines:

Mission one in the series that has reinvented the spy genre.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of action violence and some peril

Details

Country:

UK USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker

Filming Locations:

Hyde Park Corner, Hyde Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,244,892 (United Kingdom), 23 July 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$215,177, 15 October 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$652,526, 12 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuelson Productions,Isle of Man Film,The Weinstein Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The biggest most expensive British independent film ever made up to that point.

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Goofs

At the beginning when Alex Rider gets up to speak to the class, the microphone box is visible on his back, when they do the overhead view of the hall.

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Quotes

Alex Rider: I get gadgets?

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Man of the Year/Infamous/Little Children/Tideland/Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker/Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

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Soundtracks

Blame
Written by Greg Walsh
Performed by Transluzent feat. Carla Vallet
Arranged by Greg Walsh
Produced by Greg Walsh
Orchestral transcription by Alan Parker
Recorded and Mixed by Paul Stevens and Greg Walsh
Published by Pao Pao Publishing SA (2002)
©Ark Records

User Reviews

An excellent adaptation of the novel

I've read all the Alex Rider books - largely to see what my three sons were raving about. The books are action from page 1, well crafted stories in the James Bond genre, with plausible science. I have thoroughly enjoyed them. Stormbreaker is not the best book in the series, but I can understand the movie makers starting there as it gives them the option to make at least five more Alex Rider films! The film follows the book pretty faithfully, though with a few inevitable cuts and the introduction of a character from a later book. More is given to the female characters, particularly Alex's housekeeper/guardian (Jack Starbright/Alicia Silverstone), presumably to widen the appeal beyond teenage boys and their dads. The relationship between the nasty head of MI-6 his deputy Miss Jones and the reluctant spy Alex is nicely transferred from the book. I particularly liked the Miss Jones characterisation. I thought the SAS training camp and the relationship with Wolf could have been handled better - the reasons for Wolf handing over the cap badge were a bit weak in the film, but are much stronger in the book. Overall, the plot in Stormbreaker is not the strongest in the series, so I am sure many will criticise this, but the studio have done an excellent job of transferring what there is to the screen. The location shooting in London is fabulous. It is so nice to have a well-crafted British movie in this genre after having to sit through the awful SpyKids series...