In the adaptation of his novel Stormbreaker, screenwriter Anthony Horowitz desperately tries to combine the plot aspects of a James Bond movie and the humor of Austin Powers. That said, Horowitz should keep his day job. Stormbreaker comes across as a silly parody of a bad action film, and it's a shame that the book's loyal fans will be put off by it.
After an unrealistic, overly dramatic chase scene leading up to his uncle's (Ewan McGregor) murder, 14-year-old Alex (Pettyfer, in his big-screen debut) is improbably recruited by Alan Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo) of the MI6 Special Ops to continue his uncle's former mission: he must invetsigate a technology company which has been donating Stormbreaker supercomputers to numerous schools. Upon infiltrating the villainous Darius Sayle's (Rourke) lair, Alex discovers a deadly human virus that Sayle has been injecting into each and every Stormbreaker computer with the intention of killing schoolchildren throughout the country. And then the chase begins.
Those too young to enjoy the humor of Austin Powers but too old to sit through Spy Kids will enjoy this adventure film; boys will enjoy the action scenes, while Alex's good looks will appeal to the female demographic. Unfortunately, there is nothing that parents forced to chaperone these "tweens" could enjoy.
In this clich‚d race against time to stop the villain, it is inevitable that not only does good trump evil, but Alex is the hero at the end of the day, and he gets the girl, too. Those interested should try to enjoy the hour and 33 minutes of Stormbreaker, because a sequel looks unlikely.
