Agent Cody Banks
Encyclopedia
Agent Cody Banks is an American action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart
. Its story follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz
, 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
, Ian McShane
, and Arnold Vosloo
co-star. The film was filmed in British Columbia
. It was released in the United States on March 14, 2003.
This film was the first major motion picture project for Duff apart from the film spinoff
of her Lizzie McGuire
TV series. The same can be said for Harmon, who had just come off a three-year stint as Assistant D.A. Abbie Carmichael
on NBC
's Law & Order
. A sequel
, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
, was released the following year.
A book was released in 2004 based on Cody Banks 2, written by Michael Anthony Steele. It was not discontinued after 9 months.
), a 15-year-old high school student, applies for a junior position for the Central Intelligence Agency
after completing his summer camp
which was a camp for CIA agents. Answering to his handler
Agent Ronica Miles (Angie Harmon
), Cody is called upon a mission to find information about a scientist named Dr. Albert Connors (Martin Donovan
). Connors is employed by a SPECTRE
type organization named ERIS
led by Dr. Brinkman (Ian McShane
), and his henchman, François Molay (Arnold Vosloo
). Cody is placed into the prep school
of Dr. Connors' daughter, Natalie Connors (Hilary Duff
), the William Donovan
Institute. As all CIA agents are known to Brinkman's organization, the CIA uses the unknown Banks.
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.
After Cody befriends Natalie, he is invited to her 16th birthday party, where he goes undercover to her father's lab. Cody finds that Dr. Brinkman is planning 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.
Cody falls in love with Natalie and nearly fails the mission, causing the CIA to suspend him. Dr. Brinkman sends François and some men to kidnap Natalie and bring her into his base in the mountains. Cody and Natalie are eating ice cream at a restaurant, when Dr. Brinkman's men come over to their table and fight with Cody knocking Cody unconscious. Cody is removed from the mission, and his parents punish him for staying out past his curfew. But Cody is set on rescuing Natalie.
Cody gets his brother Alex (Connor Widdows
) to make sure his parents do not find out that he is gone by giving him the $5,000 the CIA gave him. Cody sneaks into the CIA weapons hold and steals a rocket powered snowboard and other devices. Cody gets a ride to the top of the mountain and snowboards to the factory where Natalie is held. On the way, he gets caught in a grove of trees as Ronica finds him using a SoloTrek XFV
. He convinces her that he needs to save Natalie and they go in. Cody manages to rescue Natalie but Ronica and Natalie are caught going out. Natalie is held hostage by Dr. Brinkman, who puts an ice cube with a nanobot inside, on her forehead to make her father program the system. Cody plants an explosive device and Natalie places the partly melted cube in Dr. Brinkman's mouth, killing him. Cody defeats François and sends him to the CIA using the SoloTrek XFV. Cody, Mr. Connors, Natalie, and Ronica flee the facility as it explodes. The film ends with Cody and Natalie sharing their first kiss.
Agent Cody Banks opened at #2 with $14,064,317 behind Bringing Down the House
s second weekend. By the time the film closed on July 31, 2003, the film had earned $47,938,330 domestically and an additional $10,857,484 internationally, adding up to a total $58,795,814.
Harald Zwart
Harald Zwart is a Norwegian film director.Although born in the Netherlands, Zwart was raised in Fredrikstad in Norway. As early as age eight, he started making short films. He attended the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam where he received great acclaim for his student film Gabriel's Surprise...
. Its story follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz
Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
, who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and save the world by going undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
for the CIA as a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
type superspy. Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
, Angie Harmon
Angie Harmon
Angela Michelle "Angie" Harmon is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order....
, Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
, Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
, and Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo is a South African American actor, best-known for playing Imhotep in The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as the role of the superhero Darkman in the sequel Darkman II: The Return of Durant and its 1996 sequel, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die...
co-star. The film was filmed in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. It was released in the United States on March 14, 2003.
This film was the first major motion picture project for Duff apart from the film spinoff
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 Walt Disney Pictures comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire which was released on May 2, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the first Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Jim Fall with...
of her Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...
TV series. The same can be said for Harmon, who had just come off a three-year stint as Assistant D.A. Abbie Carmichael
Abbie Carmichael
Abigail "Abbie" Carmichael is a fictional character on the TV drama Law & Order created by Rene Balcer and portrayed by model/actress Angie Harmon...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
. A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London is an English-American action comedy film and the sequel to the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks, and was released in the United States on March 12, 2004. Frankie Muniz was the only major returning star, with Hannah Spearritt now playing the love interest and...
, was released the following year.
A book was released in 2004 based on Cody Banks 2, written by Michael Anthony Steele. It was not discontinued after 9 months.
Plot
Cody Banks (Frankie MunizFrankie Muniz
Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
), a 15-year-old high school student, applies for a junior position for the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
after completing his summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
which was a camp for CIA agents. Answering to his handler
Agent handling
In intelligence organizations, agent handling is the management of agents, principal agents, and agent networks by intelligence officers typically known as case officers.-Human intelligence:...
Agent Ronica Miles (Angie Harmon
Angie Harmon
Angela Michelle "Angie" Harmon is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order....
), Cody is called upon a mission to find information about a scientist named Dr. Albert Connors (Martin Donovan
Martin Donovan
Martin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...
). Connors is employed by a SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
type organization named ERIS
Eris (mythology)
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...
led by Dr. Brinkman (Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
), and his henchman, François Molay (Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo is a South African American actor, best-known for playing Imhotep in The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as the role of the superhero Darkman in the sequel Darkman II: The Return of Durant and its 1996 sequel, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die...
). Cody is placed into the prep school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
of Dr. Connors' daughter, Natalie Connors (Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
), the William Donovan
William Joseph Donovan
William Joseph Donovan was a United States soldier, lawyer and intelligence officer, best remembered as the wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services...
Institute. As all CIA agents are known to Brinkman's organization, the CIA uses the unknown Banks.
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.
After Cody befriends Natalie, he is invited to her 16th birthday party, where he goes undercover to her father's lab. Cody finds that Dr. Brinkman is planning 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.
Cody falls in love with Natalie and nearly fails the mission, causing the CIA to suspend him. Dr. Brinkman sends François and some men to kidnap Natalie and bring her into his base in the mountains. Cody and Natalie are eating ice cream at a restaurant, when Dr. Brinkman's men come over to their table and fight with Cody knocking Cody unconscious. Cody is removed from the mission, and his parents punish him for staying out past his curfew. But Cody is set on rescuing Natalie.
Cody gets his brother Alex (Connor Widdows
Connor Widdows
Connor Widdows is a Canadian actor. He appeared in the second and third film adaptation of the X-Men franchise, X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, as Jones, a student at Professor Xavier's school who does not need sleep and can control television equipment by blinking...
) to make sure his parents do not find out that he is gone by giving him the $5,000 the CIA gave him. Cody sneaks into the CIA weapons hold and steals a rocket powered snowboard and other devices. Cody gets a ride to the top of the mountain and snowboards to the factory where Natalie is held. On the way, he gets caught in a grove of trees as Ronica finds him using a SoloTrek XFV
SoloTrek XFV
The SoloTrek XFV was a single-person VTOL aircraft. It was first flown in December 2001 by Millennium Jet Inc, a private company run by Michael Moshier. Millennium Jet subsequently changed its name to Trek Aerospace Inc...
. He convinces her that he needs to save Natalie and they go in. Cody manages to rescue Natalie but Ronica and Natalie are caught going out. Natalie is held hostage by Dr. Brinkman, who puts an ice cube with a nanobot inside, on her forehead to make her father program the system. Cody plants an explosive device and Natalie places the partly melted cube in Dr. Brinkman's mouth, killing him. Cody defeats François and sends him to the CIA using the SoloTrek XFV. Cody, Mr. Connors, Natalie, and Ronica flee the facility as it explodes. The film ends with Cody and Natalie sharing their first kiss.
Cast
- Frankie MunizFrankie MunizFrancisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
as Agent Cody Banks - Hilary DuffHilary DuffHilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
as Natalie Connors - Angie HarmonAngie HarmonAngela Michelle "Angie" Harmon is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order....
as Ronica Miles - Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
as CIA Director - Ian McShaneIan McShaneIan David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
as Dr. Brinkman - Arnold VoslooArnold VoslooArnold Vosloo is a South African American actor, best-known for playing Imhotep in The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as the role of the superhero Darkman in the sequel Darkman II: The Return of Durant and its 1996 sequel, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die...
as François Molay - Martin DonovanMartin DonovanMartin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...
as Dr. Albert Connors - Cynthia StevensonCynthia StevensonCynthia Stevenson is an American actress.Stevenson was born in Oakland, California, the daughter of Gayle, an editor, and Al Stevenson, an upholstery warehouse owner. She grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia....
as Mrs. Banks - Daniel RoebuckDaniel RoebuckDaniel James Roebuck is an American television film actor, writer and producer, primarily in films, soap operas and television.-Life and career:...
as Mr. Banks - Connor WiddowsConnor WiddowsConnor Widdows is a Canadian actor. He appeared in the second and third film adaptation of the X-Men franchise, X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, as Jones, a student at Professor Xavier's school who does not need sleep and can control television equipment by blinking...
as Alex Banks - Darrell HammondDarrell HammondDarrell Hammond is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history...
as Earl - Peter NewPeter NewPeter New is a Canadian actor, voice actor and screenwriter.He received a 2002 Leo Award for Best Screenwriter , for episode #112 of the TV series Point Blank....
as Rosychuk - Noel Fisher as Fenster
Release
The film received generally negative reviews.Agent Cody Banks opened at #2 with $14,064,317 behind Bringing Down the House
Bringing Down the House (film)
Bringing Down the House is a 2003 American romantic comedy film, written by Jason Filardi and directed by Adam Shankman. The film stars Steve Martin and Queen Latifah.-Plot:...
s second weekend. By the time the film closed on July 31, 2003, the film had earned $47,938,330 domestically and an additional $10,857,484 internationally, adding up to a total $58,795,814.
See also
- Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination LondonAgent Cody Banks 2: Destination LondonAgent Cody Banks 2: Destination London is an English-American action comedy film and the sequel to the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks, and was released in the United States on March 12, 2004. Frankie Muniz was the only major returning star, with Hannah Spearritt now playing the love interest and...
- Alex RiderAlex RiderAlex Rider is a series of spy novels by British author Anthony Horowitz about a 14-15 year old spy named Alex Rider. The series is aimed primarily at young adults. Nine novels have been published to date, as well as three graphic novels, three short stories and a supplementary book...
- Jimmy CoatesJimmy CoatesJimmy Coates is a series of children's books written by the English author Joe Craig.. The books have been published in many countries around the world but were never widely available in the United States....
- James Bond Jr.James Bond Jr.James Bond Jr. is a fictional character described as the nephew of Ian Fleming's masterspy James Bond. The name "James Bond Junior" was first used in 1967 for an unsuccessful spinoff novel entitled 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior written under the pseudonym R. D. Mascott...
- CHERUBCHERUBCHERUB is a series of young adult spy novels, written by the English author Robert Muchamore, focusing around a division of the British Security Service named CHERUB, which employs minors, predominantly orphans, as intelligence officers...
- Henderson's BoysHenderson's BoysHenderson's Boys is a series of young adult spy novels written by English author Robert Muchamore. The series follows Charles Henderson, the creator of the fictitious CHERUB organisation...
- Young BondYoung BondYoung Bond is a series of five young adult spy novels by Charlie Higson featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond as a young teenage boy attending school at Eton College in the 1930s...