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:

Alex Rider - you're never too young to die...

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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

Anthony Horowitz named the company that distributes Alex Rider Stormbreaker Productions, after the first book in the series.

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Goofs

Sayle says that the Portuguese Man o' War's scientific name is "Physalia physalia", but the correct name is "Physalia physalis".

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Quotes

Alex Rider: What is this place? Hogwarts?

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Connections

References Goldfinger (1964)

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Soundtracks

I Predict a Riot
Written by Nick Hodgson, Ricky Wilson, Simon Rix, Nick Baines and Andrew White
Performed by the Kaiser Chiefs
Published by Rondor Music London Ltd.
Courtesy of Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

User Reviews

Decent film, but has obvious flaws throughout

Stormbreaker is a 2006 film about a 15 year old, Alex Rider, who is recruited into the MI6 spy agency and assigned a mission to expose the plot of an evil mastermind billionaire.

This British film, based off a novel, was a decent watch. The basic premise is of a teenage James Bond. The film can be applauded for a decent plot centering around the main character, although this plot is far from perfect as I will mention later on.

But issues in the production of the film are quite clear. Fighting scenes were poorly choreographed, with the apparent use of quick camera pans completely overloading and confusing these scenes. The colour scheme seems ever so slightly saturated throughout the film, which seems strange seeing as though this is a fairly recent 2006 movie.

The plot too wasn't perfect. The main character Alex is whisked from his normal life to spy training, and then his mission, all in a few weeks. It makes absolutely no sense that MI6 would choose to send a new teenage recruit on this risky mission in place of an experienced spy. This, alongside other glaring plot holes, make the film rather unbelievable.

The plot is fairly predictable, and hardly has you on the edge of your seat. Clearly in writing the screenplay adaptation of the novel, key elements were skimmed over or overlooked, creating a strangely paced film plot.

While the acting of Alex Rider is done very well by actor Alex Pettyfer, one notable misfire was in the character of Alan Blunt, playing the MI6 director. However, perhaps the error was not in the abilities of actor Bill Nighly, but rather in the poor characterisation of his character by the writers. This character comes off as harsh, insensitive, and interestingly enough blunt, after his name, potentially leading me to believe this character was intentionally written as such. Regardless, his character is definitely unpleasant.

This film cannot qualify as a notable or impressive spy film, but it has the foundations of a good movie. While predictable, the plot definitely has potential, and had more time been spent on its development it would have vastly improved. Clearly more care needed to be taken in choreography of the fight scenes.

However, the film isn't a horrible watch. There are definitely worse ways to spend one and a half hours.