HARALD ZWART

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB

USA/Canada, 2003.  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Splendid Pictures, Maverick Films, Dylan Sellers Productions, Madacy Entertainment.  Story by Jeffrey Jurgensen, Screenplay by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski.  Cinematography by Dennis Crossan.  Produced by David Glasser, Andreas Klein, David Nicksay, Guy Oseary, Dylan Sellers.  Music by John Powell. Production Design by Frank Dunlop, Rusty Smith.  Costume Design by Suzanne McCabe.  Film Editing by Jim Miller.  

Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) is a regular high school kid who is too shy to talk to girls. He’s also a Secret Service Agent recruited by the government as part of their youth training program; while mom and dad thought he was going to summer camp he was actually studying The Art Of War and learning how to topple foreign governments through espionage. In this enjoyably witty comedy that young people are sure to love, Banks is given his first big assignment: to get close to the daughter (Hilary Duff, who is adorable) of a famous scientist (Martin Donovan) and find out what he was working on for an international terrorist group before he went missing. Banks’s problem with girls definitely is an issue, but no worry, his “handler” (Angie Harmon) helps him get over it enough to befriend Duff. Lots of clever tricks are pulled before the grand finale in this caper (executive produced by Madonna), none of it particularly good enough to set it apart from any other spy movie, but definitely fun enough to be appreciated all on its own. Just don’t ruin it and watch the sequel.