Agent Cody Banks
Agent Cody Banks | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Harald Zwart |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Jeffrey Jurgensen |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Denis Crossan |
Edited by | Jim Miller |
Music by | John Powell |
Production company | |
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[1] |
Language | English |
Budget | $28 million[2] |
Box office | $58.8 million[2] |
Agent Cody Banks is a 2003 American action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. Frankie Muniz stars as a 15-year-old who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and save the world by going undercover for the CIA as a James Bond–type superspy. Hilary Duff, Angie Harmon, Keith David, Cynthia Stevenson, Daniel Roebuck, Darrell Hammond, Ian McShane, and Arnold Vosloo co-star. It was filmed in British Columbia and was released in the United States on March 14, 2003.
It was the first major film project for Duff apart from the film spinoff of Lizzie McGuire, as well as for Harmon, who had just come off a three-year stint as Assistant D.A. Abbie Carmichael on NBC's Law & Order. Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London was released the following year. Agent Cody Banks's executive producers include Madonna (whose then-production company Maverick Films acquired the script) and Jason Alexander (he was originally attached to direct before being replaced by Vic Armstrong, who was ultimately replaced by Zwart).[3]
Plot
[edit]Cody Banks, a 15-year-old high school junior, applies for a junior field ops position at the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division after completing a training summer camp. Answering to his handler Agent Ronica Miles, Cody is called upon a mission to find information about a scientist named Dr. Albert Connors. Connors is employed by a SPECTRE type organization named ERIS led by Dr. Brinkman, and his henchman François Molay. As all CIA agents are known to Brinkman's organization, the CIA uses the unknown Banks, who is placed into the prep school of Dr. Connors' daughter Natalie, the William Donovan Institute.
Cody soon finds he has no social skill with girls and has no time to do this while balancing his chores and homework. The CIA decides to help by doing his chores and homework, trying to build his status, and going into the school to set him up with Natalie. The CIA also assemble a varying team of "experts" to train Cody into how to talk to girls, and issue him with a variety of gadgets with various functions.
Eventually, Cody befriends and falls in love with Natalie after rescuing her from a falling a ladder while putting up a banner, and he is invited to her 16th birthday party, where he goes undercover to her father's lab. Cody finds that Brinkman plans to use nanobots — which can destroy any carbon or silicon-based substance — to destroy the world's defense systems so he can threaten anyone who opposes him. Since the nanobots are inactive in the cold, he plans to use ice cubes to distribute them. After Connors, Brinkman, and François leave the lab, Cody tries taking one of the ice cubes, but melts when in his possession.
After Cody fights some delinquents at the party, the CIA suspends him from the mission. Meanwhile, with Connors refusing to aid him in his plans, Brinkman has François and his henchmen bring Natalie into his base in the Cascade Mountains. Meanwhile, Cody, disobeying orders to avoid Natalie, eats ice cream at a local restaurant with her. Cody attempts to explain things to Natalie but François and a group of henchmen ambush Cody and abduct Natalie.
With Cody removed from the mission, he gives his brother Alex the $5,000 from the CIA in exchange for keeping his disappearance a secret. Knowing Natalie's location via a tracking device in a necklace he gave her as a birthday present, Cody travels to the mountains using a rocket powered snowboard and other devices. After being discovered by Ronica, Cody persuades her to help him rescue Natalie. The pair infiltrate the laboratory and Cody rescues Natalie, also explaining the truth about why he went out with her.
However, Brinkman holds Natalie hostage and puts an ice cube with a nanobot inside on her forehead to make her father program the system. Cody activates a series of explosive charges he and Ronica planted throughout the base, and in the ensuing battle, Ronica fights off several of Brinkman's men, and Natalie places the ice cube with the nanobots into his mouth, causing the nanobots to devour him from the inside out. Cody later defeats François and sends him to the CIA using the SoloTrek XFV, before fleeing the exploding facility with Ronica, Natalie and Dr. Connors. The CIA welcomes Cody back to the team and congratulates him for completing the mission, and Cody and Natalie start a relationship.
Cast
[edit]- Frankie Muniz as Agent Cody Banks, a 15-year-old teenager who applies for the junior ops division
- Hilary Duff as Natalie Connors, Cody’s love interest, a 15-year-old teenager
- Angie Harmon as Veronica "Ronica" Miles, Cody’s supervisor
- Keith David as CIA Director
- Ian McShane as Dr. Brinkman, leader of the ERIS who wants to take over the world
- Arnold Vosloo as François Molay, Dr. Brinkman's right hand man.
- Martin Donovan as Dr. Albert Connors, Natalie's father
- Daniel Roebuck as Mr. Banks, Cody's father
- Cynthia Stevenson as Mrs. Banks, Cody's mother
- Connor Widdows as Alex Banks, Cody's 10-year-old younger brother
- Darrell Hammond as Earl
- Peter New as Rosychuk
- Noel Fisher as Fenster
- Jessica Harmon as Natalie's friend
Production
[edit]For his participation, Muniz was paid $2 million, the highest paid to a child actor at that point since Macaulay Culkin.[4] Agent Cody Banks was developed as part of a broader strategy by MGM to make less-expensive films that can appeal to younger and niche audiences.[5] Both Muniz and Angie Harmon did most of their own stunts.[6] The film used Media.net’s Edit System Dailies to transfer pre-digitized Avid system files from the post production facility Rainmaker in Vancouver directly to the pic’s editing rooms in Los Angeles without having to wait for tapes to be delivered, allowing producers and executives to receive their viewing copies half a day sooner than through the traditional method.[7] Principal photography took place in 2002 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Reception
[edit]On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Agent Cody Banks holds a 38% approval rating and an average rating of 5.2/10 based on 104 reviews. The critics consensus states, "Should satisfy young teens, but offers nothing new for those who are familiar with the formula."[8] On Metacritic, it has a score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[10] Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars. He said that kids would probably enjoy it, but, unlike the Spy Kids series, adults would probably not.[11]
Agent Cody Banks opened at #2 with $14 million behind Bringing Down the House's second weekend.[12] By the time the film closed on July 31, 2003, it earned $48 million in the US and an additional $10.9 million internationally, adding up to a total $58.8 million.[13]
Frankie Muniz's character is asked twice if he is "in special ed". When the film was released on home video, MGM included an apologetic paragraph in response to criticism regarding these lines.
Regarding the references to special ed in the movie, we in no way meant to be insensitive to kids with special educational needs. Rather, it was meant to show how cruel kids can be to one another. As you have seen, Cody overcomes his own speech problems and saves the day. Thank you to those who brought this to our attention. We will be mindful of it in the sequel.[14]
Sequel
[edit]Muniz reprised his title role in the sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, which was released on March 12, 2004. Duff and Angie Harmon were replaced by different characters played by Anthony Anderson and Hannah Spearritt.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Agent Cody Banks". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ a b "Agent Cody Banks (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ Agent Cody Banks: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack liner notes, Daniel Schweiger - Intrada Records
- ^ "MGM 'Banks' on Harmon". 29 May 2002. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "'Banks 2' suffers helmer withdrawl [sic]". 24 April 2003. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Money in the 'Banks'". 11 March 2003. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Media.net spies Lion's 'Agent'". 25 June 2002. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Agent Cody Banks". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ "Agent Cody Banks Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (March 14, 2003). "Agent Cody Banks". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 11, 2024 – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for March 14-16, 2003". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ "Agent Cody Banks (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ "Inside Move: 'Cody' DVD a sensitive effort". 15 July 2003. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
External links
[edit]- 2003 films
- 2003 action comedy films
- 2003 romantic comedy films
- 2000s adventure comedy films
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s spy comedy films
- 2000s teen comedy films
- 2000s teen romance films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American action comedy films
- American adventure comedy films
- American romantic comedy films
- American spy comedy films
- American teen comedy films
- American teen romance films
- Films about the Central Intelligence Agency
- Films directed by Harald Zwart
- Films scored by John Powell
- Films set in Russia
- Films set in Seattle
- Films set in Washington (state)
- Films with screenplays by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz
- Films with screenplays by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Teen action films
- Teen adventure films
- 2000s American films