Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a regular teenager with a regular uncle. However when his uncle is killed, he finds that his uncle was actually a British super spy. He reluctantly joins MI6 in the footstep of his uncle. Wealthy Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) proposes to donate super computers called Stormbreaker to the schools, but MI6 suspects foul play.This is definitely some sort of James Bond jr. It just does it so badly. Alex Pettyfer is a pretty boy for the screaming girldom. However he is little more than that. And he joins so reluctantly that it grates. Alicia Silverstone is misused here as a nanny. It may be better if she was actually the mom. Mickey Rourke is playing the villain with glee. He's a cartoon, but considering the kiddie fare, it may be a good thing. All of it is rather too silly to watch.

Growing up in the late nineties and early two-thousands, I noticed how popular fantasy and junior secret-agent movies were with young children. It seemed everywhere kids were playing with action figures, wearing apparel from the latest adventure movie, or quoting and impersonating their favorite movie hero. Such films of my generation that were quick, run-of-the-mill fads were the two Agent Cody Banks, the Spy Kids trilogy, and maybe throw in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl for good measure, to keep with the fantasy-adventure theme. These films couldn't have mattered less to me - I was too busy watching TV I wasn't supposed to be watching and getting films from my uncle that were far too thematically mature for my age.However, as I grew up, my curiosity to the strange and relatively broad array of junior actioneers from my childhood had surfaced and I began watching these types of films every now and then. The only action film from my childhood that seems to have held up is Spy Kids. Both Agent Cody Banks films are hopelessly ordinary action-fare with not much more than a few cool gadgets and the occasionally watchable action sequence. Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, the first in the planned-series of Anthony Horowitz novel adaptations, however, is about as ordinary and as forgettable as a teenage action film can be. It's named after the first book in the Alex Rider action/mystery series by Horowitz, all of which were once planned to have a film counterpart. After Stormbreaker's disappointing numbers at the box office, the sequel and all other films were scrapped, leading to an upset Horowitz and a practically stillborn franchise.Stormbreaker, as it's simply called in everywhere but America, isn't a bad film by the usual standards, but plagued by indifference, monotony, and the usual spy-movie offerings with a younger hero who may as well be a special effect. Alex Rider is played by Alex Pettyfer, a fourteen year old boy who is ejected from his typical life to avenge his uncle's death against the ruthless computer hacker Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke), whose most evil attribute is possessing the ability to talk in a rigid voice and chew on a toothpick simultaneously. The "Stormbreaker" in the title is a powerful super-computer which will be placed in every school in America and, after being launched by the Prime Minister, will have unknown consequences far from the planned ones, which is to provide people with smooth technology.The film has all the right components for the genre such as the love-interest, the helplessly ordinary teen boy, the cool gadgets (the Nintendo DS with interchangeable cartridges that will provide a different weapon is pretty damn slick), the ruthless villain who looks more frightening then he is, and the grand finale. When I say the "right" components, I mean the relatively predictable ones. Films like Stormbreaker are hard to make because everything the novel seemed to touch isn't unfamiliar to audiences. Even without reading the novel, I can see Anthony Horowitz had the pleasure of grabbing the pen for the adaptation of his film, showing the material doesn't stray too far from the book.The purpose of the Alex Rider books is to give kids some harmless escapism that, while fun, isn't really necessary reading. Like the Artemis Fowl series, it would seem these kinds of books are best left to the page. This way, even if the reading is light and rather formulaic, kids will have the ability to imagine the action in their heads and exercise their right to dream and envision things. Having a film based on books like these isn't really vital because they dilute that sort of imagination. When it comes down to this series, if one needed to choose, kids should be given the novel of Stormbreaker - not the DVD.Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Mickey Rourke, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, and Missi Pyle. Directed by: Geoffrey Sax.

Well, if you haven't read the actual book I believe this is of no interest to you.To those who have read the book I think the director is some sort of dummy who just flipped through the book and skipped the most important scenes. For example,the quad bike chase wasn't even mentioned in the flip'in film By the way, I think Anthony Horowitz is an excellent author and I do not think this by far his fault. They messed up the names too.Like it's Crawley-not Crawford,Felix Lester which they've somehow changed into Kevin Blake. And,for God's sake it's Herod Sayle not Darrius Sayle. Plus Sabina Pleasure ins't supposed to be in this film. Her first appearance is in Skeleton Key.If you have read the book do not,I repeat do not watch this blasted movie.

First there was Spy Kids, then there was Agent Cody Banks, and then director Geoffrey Sax (White Noise) brought us this attempt to turn James Bond into a child. Basically orphaned teenager Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is just like any ordinary school boy, but he doesn't know that his uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) is a secret agent working for the government, and he only finds this out when his uncle is killed in action. Alan Blunt (Bill Nighy) explains to Alex that he was thrust into the super spy world ever since he was a child, for many years he has been unintentionally training to become the next, and he is the only one to carry on the latest mission. Recruited by Blunt and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo), and armed with a variety of special gadgets by Smithers (Stephen Fry), the assignment is to go undercover in the compound of billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke). Sayle is donating a free Stormbreaker mega-computer to all British schools, and it is up to Alex to try this new system out for himself and make sure there's nothing wrong with it, which of course there is. Alex finds out more secrets going into restricted areas, and he also meets Sayle's sidekicks with vixen publicist Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) and scar-faced mute servant Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis). The gadgets help the young spy to escape capture, and it a rush against time to get to Sayle before his plan to launch the Stormbreaker weapon in Britain gets underway. In the end, with some help from his housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and his friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger), Alex saves Britain, defeats the villain, and goes back to school, but his spying continues. Also starring Damian Lewis as Yassen Gregorovich, Jimmy Carr as John Crawford and Robbie Coltrane as Prime Minister. Rourke is your typical camp Bond style villain, the young hero is okay in his short time, the supporting cast of well known Brits makes for good viewing, and the Bond inspired action and special effects are alright, not a bad family action adventure. Worth watching!