>>REVIEW
ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER
STARRING Ewan McGregor, Alex Pettyfer, Mickey Rourke and Alicia Silverstone
DIRECTED BY Geoffrey Sax
Opens Friday, October 6
Check listings
Attention all shoppers!
A series of bestselling novels from author Anthony Horowitz about a teenaged secret agent working for the British government provides source material for the latest big-screen product vying for the (apparently) intoxicating buying power of Potter parents everywhere.
Packaged under the name Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, this witless commodity tells the tale of a 14-year-old aristocrat who, upon the death of his Uncle (Ewan McGregor in a cameo that spans the opening credits), discovers that he’s been secretly groomed his entire life to be an elite spy for M16. The dirt has barely hit the coffin when Alex finds himself flung headfirst into the middle of a national crisis where the fate of millions rests squarely on his slight shoulders.
While I initially believed criticism of this film should be relegated to its inability to walk a line between being an engrossing children’s fantasy and a cheeky, self-aware farce, I quickly realized that was to give those behind this investment far too much credit. The reality being that director Geoffrey Sax (White Noise) was asleep at the wheel – his producers too busy planning the film’s U.K. marketing blitz to wake him up – and any appearance of this film steering a course is mere coincidence.
So concerned are they about kick-starting a franchise to cross-promote, they’ve completely neglected the product itself. The film grabs us by the arm and hurries us, unwillingly, through one action sequence to the next,, not once pausing to appease us with character development or that wry British humour. I can only assume that Horowitz’s novels afforded his young readers the opportunity to connect with the protagonist and those closest to him before being whisked away on a wild adventure. Likewise, I’m sure Horowitz also took the time to capitalize on the potential for comedic fun so easily mined from a premise as novel as this.
But the film does neither and we have no vested interest in the images on the screen.
Aside from benefiting (inadvertently) from the sardonic wit of Bill Nighy and the hypnotic esthetics of Mickey Rourke’s face, a lacklustre script and Sax’s uninspired direction completely negate the talent in front of the camera while also ignoring every opportunity to involve the audience in the characters they play.
And while it may not warrant a recall, this is one product destined for the discount bin. |
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