Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: October 13, 2006

4.6	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Ratings

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SamOct 14, 2006

Clichéd, ridiculous, and rancid, Stormbreaker lacks anything that reminds you of the words "Fun" and "full of life"

2 of 2 users found this helpful

AndrewM.Jan 26, 2007

This film is a typically by numbers affair in many respects. The worst aspect is the trite dialogue which is riddled with Alex's cringeworthy one liners. What makes this so unconvincing is the actor himself has the hard-man value of a This film is a typically by numbers affair in many respects. The worst aspect is the trite dialogue which is riddled with Alex's cringeworthy one liners. What makes this so unconvincing is the actor himself has the hard-man value of a kitten with three legs. If you can get past this, which I couldn't, there's a possibility you might enjoy it.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

JuraMJul 28, 2009

The novels thrill you with teenage espionage, action and drama. This movie doesn't. To get quickly to the point the movie is so full of "cheese" the excitement is ruined. This movie had a lot of potential to become a teenage classic but The novels thrill you with teenage espionage, action and drama. This movie doesn't. To get quickly to the point the movie is so full of "cheese" the excitement is ruined. This movie had a lot of potential to become a teenage classic but the director's completely wrong direction with the movie turns it into a woeful "action-comedy" when it should of definitely been on par with the balance of realism and fun in the newer James Bond movies. Ridiculously stupid costume choices and horrible castings (looks at the "ginger" Jack Starbright, eye-liner on Rouke and the "stormbreaker machine" which is a COMPUTER, not a giant rotating eye.) plus the bland acting of an actor who was way too old for his part as Alex ruined the film. Extremely disappointing! I hope a new director can take a new direction and turn these films into what they should be.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

BrianLApr 29, 2008

this is not even related to the book.... what the hell, who kill people hanging upside down from a helicopter anyway? and why not just shoot alex rider in the head?

1 of 2 users found this helpful

PetrovitaFeb 24, 2012

Another teenage money-in-the bank movie, cheesy as hell. Alot of money spent into it, no doubt about it, but the story is lacking. Another movie that ruins a great books reputation cover. Do not watch this for the book, but only if you enjoyAnother teenage money-in-the bank movie, cheesy as hell. Alot of money spent into it, no doubt about it, but the story is lacking. Another movie that ruins a great books reputation cover. Do not watch this for the book, but only if you enjoy teenage spy films with oneliners and uniteresting characters.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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MovieGuysSep 21, 2013

Average fare floating in the sea of washed away movies. It tried to be like James Bond, but was so patted with kid gloves and bubble wrap around the edges that it came off as too overprotective, like the kind of movie a kid's mom wouldAverage fare floating in the sea of washed away movies. It tried to be like James Bond, but was so patted with kid gloves and bubble wrap around the edges that it came off as too overprotective, like the kind of movie a kid's mom would suggest instead when he/she wanted to see Skyfall.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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MovieMasterEddyApr 3, 2016

"Stormbreaker" is a high-profile bust. Opening July 21 in Blighty, amid much hoopla as a "homegrown" blockbuster, film pulled a disappointing $2.3 million from 370 screens the first weekend and looks to wilt fast once word gets out, even"Stormbreaker" is a high-profile bust. Opening July 21 in Blighty, amid much hoopla as a "homegrown" blockbuster, film pulled a disappointing $2.3 million from 370 screens the first weekend and looks to wilt fast once word gets out, even among Rider fans.

Horowitz’s young-adult novels, centered on a 14-year-old school boy who becomes an agent for MI6, have a semi-believability that’s completely vanished in this first screen version, scripted by the author himself. Mulched down into standard action fare, and directed by TV vet Geoffrey Sax (“White Noise”) as if he’s analyzed every Hollywood blockbuster of the past 25 years, pic emerges as a coldly calculated exercise in mid-Atlantic filmmaking that’s unsure exactly who its audience is.

This is a British “Spy Kids” without the fun, or a teenage “Johnny English” without the humor. Not helped by a wooden perf from (then 15-year-old) newcomer Alex Pettyfer as Rider, pic yoyos between eccentric supporting perfs by locals (Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry), who try to squeeze some laughs from the witless script, and bemused perfs by Yank guests, Mickey Rourke (as a mixed-race villain), Alicia Silverstone (as a housekeeper called, uh, Jack) and Missi Pyle (as a distant relative of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS).

Luckiest thesp is Ewan McGregor who, as Rider’s largely-absent uncle, Ian, doesn’t survive the opening credit sequence. Turns out Ian prepared his nephew for an MI6 career by interesting him in scuba diving, martial arts and foreign languages. Soon after Ian bites the dust, courtesy of Russian villain Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis, in pic’s only effective perf), Rider is recruited by MI6 boss Alan Blunt (Nighy) and his deputy, Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo).

Prior to this, young Rider has chased bad guys through London on his mountain bike, escaped from a car crusher, defeated five meatheads with his kung-fu, and stumbled on MI6’s underground HQ.

So aud already knows he’s not an average school boy. Script then double-underlines this with an unnecessary training sequence in Wales, where he’s officially dubbed “a lethal weapon.”

Story finally comes into view around the midway mark, as Rider visits Darrius Sayle (Rourke, extravagant) at a Blofeld-like HQ in the wilds of Cornwall. There, he uncovers a plot involving rigged computers by the dusky villain and Gregorovich.

Aside from the dialogue, which doesn’t have one decent laugh in it, no attempt is made by Horowitz to capitalize on Rider’s youth in an original way. Upper-crust kid seems to have no weaknesses and operates as simply a teen version of James Bond, sans the wise-cracking charm and sexual frissons. He’s given a g.f. of sorts (Sarah Bolger), but only so he can use her horse in the finale.

Tech package and action staging are slick but impersonal; color processing on the print caught was cold and unattractive. Andrew MacRitchie’s restless editing and Alan Parker’s booming music both add to the feeling of being beaten into submission by a relentless machine.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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