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:

You're never too young to dare.

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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 subsequent Alex Rider novel Russian Roulette acknowledges that a teenage spy is unusual.

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Goofs

In the scene where Alex is chasing the white van he cycles through a car wash and comes out completely dry.

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Quotes

Alex Rider: Mr. Grin, can you hear me?
[silence]
Alex Rider: Mr. Grin?
[silence]
Alex Rider: Ok, Mr. Grin, I want you to take me to London as fast as you can!
[Mr. Grin turns the helicopter sharply]

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Connections

Features The Avengers: Never, Never Say Die (1967)

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Soundtracks

Hey Kid
Written by Julian Emery, John Kwiecinski, Jason Perry and Matt Willis
Performed by Matt Willis
Courtesy of Mercury Records Ltd.
Under license from Univeral Music Operations Ltd.
©Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd. and EMI Music Publishing Ltd.

User Reviews

A teenage boy becomes a spy to track down the mystery behind the new Stormbreaker computers.

I came to watch this film because I have been a fan of the Alex Rider books for many years. However, I was rather disappointed by the film. The main problem was that the film was very different from the book, with many parts of the story changed and with parts added. The ending was entirely made up for the film. I disliked the way that many of the actors chosen had no resemblance to how the character was described in the book.

I also felt that many of the action and fighting scenes were overdone and the superfluous parts annoyed me. The acting, particularly from the person playing Herod Sayle, was boring and unimaginative. The film was very jumpy in places, and I thought that people who had not read the books would have been confused by the ending. I thought that some of the lines in the film were quite strange and didn't really fit in with what was being said/going on!

However, I still gave the film a 4 out of 10 rating because of the many (usually unintentionally) funny scenes. I was particularly amused by Bill Nighy's acting in the role of Alan Blunt. Stephen Fry also added some comedy to the story in his role as Smithers. The film is reasonably watchable, probably because it only lasted 90 minutes.