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Stormbreaker (film)
Encyclopedia
Stormbreaker is a 2006 British spy film based on Anthony Horowitz
's novel of the same name
, the first novel in the Alex Rider series
. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer
as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke
and Bill Nighy
. In the United States, the film was promotionally named Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker. The movie was intended to be the first of a series of Alex Rider movies, but due to poor box office returns no further Alex Rider movies have been made since.
(Alex Pettyfer
) is a fourteen year-old orphan, who lives with his uncle Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor
) and their housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone
). Ian is supposedly a bank manager and is, much to Alex's regret, often away from home. One day Alex is told that his uncle has died in a car crash. Alex subsequently discovers that Ian Rider was in fact a spy working for MI6
and that he was killed by famed assassin, Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis
).
He is then recruited by his uncle's former employers, Alan Blunt (Bill Nighy
) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo
) of the Special Operations Division of MI6, who explain to Alex that his uncle has been training him as a spy; Alex initially refuses to co-operate but agrees when they threaten to prosecute then deport Jack (now his guardian) for being an illegal immigrant. Alex is then sent to a gruelling SAS training camp where his fellow trainees first look down on him because of his age, but he soon gains respect for his capabilities.
He sets off on his first mission, aided by gadgets from Smithers (Stephen Fry
). Billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke
) is donating a free high-powered computer system codenamed Stormbreaker to every school in the United Kingdom
. MI6 are suspicious of his seemingly generous plans and send Alex undercover as a competition winner to investigate. There, he meets the man himself, Sayle and his two accomplices, Mr Grin (Andy Serkis
) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle
) and is shown the Stormbreaker computer in action. Later, while Alex is having dinner with Sayle, the suspicious Vole steals Alex's phone and tracks the SIM card
to his house in Chelsea, London
. She goes there and finds Alex's true identity. While she is there, she is disturbed by and consequently fights Jack. Despite being out-classed Jack wins with the help of a blowfish
, leaving Nadia to flee the scene. Still troubled by the events, Alex sneaks out of his bedroom window to observe a midnight delivery of mysterious containers to Sayle's lair.
The next day, Alex finds himself in trouble when his cover is blown. After trying to escape from the facility he is captured and during a villianesque monologue Sayle explains his true reasons behind Stormbreaker - each system contains a deadly virus which when activated will kill all of Britain
's schoolchildren. Sayle leaves Alex tied up and departs for the London Science Museum
. Nadia drops Alex into a water-tank to be killed by a giant Portuguese Man o' War
. He escapes by using the metal-disintegrating spot cream supplied by Smithers, rupturing the tank and killing Nadia when the jellyfish hits her. Alex then hitches a ride on a helicopter piloted by Mr. Grin, using a sodium pentothal
arrow to gain Mr. Grin's obedience. Alex parachutes out of the helicopter and lands just as the Prime Minister
(Robbie Coltrane
) is about to press the button which will activate the computers. Alex uses a rifle
to shoot the podium, which destroys the button, and ruins Sayle's plan.
Sayle is furious and leaves, but Alex then realises that Sayle has a back-up plan, and with the help of school friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger
) he pursues Sayle through the streets of London. Fifty floors up on one of Sayle's skyscrapers, Alex reaches him and unplugs his backup plan. An angered Sayle chases him out onto the roof and pushes him off but Alex manages to hold on. Sayle is distracted by the arrival of Sabina, but pushes her and leaves her hanging off the building. Alex then manages to swing Sabina onto a balcony. Just as Sayle is about to shoot Alex, Sayle is killed when Yassen arrives in a helicopter and shoots him before rescuing Alex. Yassen tells Alex to forget about him, but Alex refuses, saying that the killing of Ian means they are enemies.
Alex goes back to school. He and Sabina are talking about what happened and he says that it will never happen again. The film ends, showing someone observing Alex from a distance. He notices it and realises that it wasn't the end.
Author Anthony Horowitz
, already an established and prolific screenwriter
in British television
, wrote the screenplay and worked very closely throughout the film's production with director Geoffrey Sax
and producers Marc
and Peter Samuelson
. The Weinstein Company acquired the North American rights to the film, which was filmed in Summer 2005 with six weeks on the Isle of Man
and a further six weeks in London
. Some of the scenes of the school were filmed in Grey Coat
and Ballakermeen High school
, Douglas, Isle of Man. The film had a budget of £25 million ($40 million).
In 2005, actor Alex Pettyfer
was cast as Alex Rider. He was picked out of five hundred hopefuls who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer was originally offered a role in the then-upcoming film Eragon
but turned it down, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed nearer home while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic
.
In June 2006, the producers of the movie signed a deal with Nintendo
that made the Nintendo DS
a prominent feature in the film, much like the Power Glove
in The Wizard
. This is an upgrade from the Game Boy Color
that Alex used in the novel version. In addition to the Nintendo marketing in the film, Alex's mobile phone is a Nokia 7710
and he uses a sodium pentothal
(otherwise known as truth serum) pen to get to London, not a gun.
In August, 2006, the film was renamed to Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker for the United States
release. A new poster (shown right) and trailer were released along with the announcement. It was also revealed that the US premiere
would take place on the Intrepid aircraft carrier
at the Hudson River
, New York
.
The name of the principal villain also changed from Herod Sayle to Darrius Sayle, with his nationality switched from Lebanese (Egyptian in the US version of the novel) to American. This was because Mickey Rourke was already in talks to take on the role, so Horowitz adapted the character to suit him. Throughout the film Mickey Rourke's dog can be seen. It can also be seen on the US film poster.
Stormbreaker was supposed to kick-start an Alex Rider movie franchise, adapting all the books in the series to the big screen, in much the same vein as the Harry Potter film series. Anthony Horowitz and producer Marc Samuelson
hoped to make Alex Rider the next multi-million dollar movie series. The film had a very high-profile marketing campaign, with camera crews from the BBC
and ITV
among others visiting the set and the production team, Stormbreaker was one of the most hyped films released that year. A large amount of merchandise was produced to coincide with the premiere, including tie-in books featuring interviews with the cast and detailing the production and making of the film.
, 33% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 66 reviews, with the consensus that the film was "strictly children's fare, as it lacks originality, excitement, and believability".
BBC
movie critic Neil Smith gave the film three out of five stars but criticized the "unsubtle turns" from both Bill Nighy
and Stephen Fry
.
The Hollywood Reporter branded the film as a "a lame and disappointing affair". Although likening it to both the Harry Potter
and James Bond
series, reviewer Ray Bennett said the film "lacks any kind of suspense" due to the script. He ended saying that Stormbreaker was unlikely to have a "license to kill at the box-office".
Cinema Blend
editor-in-chief Josh Tyler gave the movie two and a half stars out of five, and said that, "Most of the problems with Stormbreaker all boil down to believability."
Boston.com' s reporter Wesley Morris also gave Stormbreaker two stars out of five, and said that "Geoffrey Sax's filmmaking holds few surprises... but it's swift and competent, despite too many shots of cars on roads that bloat the running time."
In the UK the film grossed £6,783,568 ($9,700,319) and in the US it grossed a total of $652,526, failing to remake the £25 million ($40 million) spent in production.
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
's novel of the same name
Stormbreaker (novel)
Stormbreaker is the first novel in the Alex Rider series by British author Anthony Horowitz. It was released in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2000 and in the United States on 21 May 2001...
, the first novel in the Alex Rider series
Alex Rider
Alex 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...
. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer
Alex Pettyfer
Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been...
as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
and Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
. In the United States, the film was promotionally named Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker. The movie was intended to be the first of a series of Alex Rider movies, but due to poor box office returns no further Alex Rider movies have been made since.
Plot
Alex RiderAlex Rider
Alex 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...
(Alex Pettyfer
Alex Pettyfer
Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been...
) is a fourteen year-old orphan, who lives with his uncle Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
) and their housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...
). Ian is supposedly a bank manager and is, much to Alex's regret, often away from home. One day Alex is told that his uncle has died in a car crash. Alex subsequently discovers that Ian Rider was in fact a spy working for MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
and that he was killed by famed assassin, Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
).
He is then recruited by his uncle's former employers, Alan Blunt (Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
) of the Special Operations Division of MI6, who explain to Alex that his uncle has been training him as a spy; Alex initially refuses to co-operate but agrees when they threaten to prosecute then deport Jack (now his guardian) for being an illegal immigrant. Alex is then sent to a gruelling SAS training camp where his fellow trainees first look down on him because of his age, but he soon gains respect for his capabilities.
He sets off on his first mission, aided by gadgets from Smithers (Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
). Billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
) is donating a free high-powered computer system codenamed Stormbreaker to every school in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. MI6 are suspicious of his seemingly generous plans and send Alex undercover as a competition winner to investigate. There, he meets the man himself, Sayle and his two accomplices, Mr Grin (Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle
Andrea Kay "Missi" Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in several films, including Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay...
) and is shown the Stormbreaker computer in action. Later, while Alex is having dinner with Sayle, the suspicious Vole steals Alex's phone and tracks the SIM card
Subscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
to his house in Chelsea, London
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
. She goes there and finds Alex's true identity. While she is there, she is disturbed by and consequently fights Jack. Despite being out-classed Jack wins with the help of a blowfish
Blowfish
The blowfish, or Tetraodontidae, is a fish in the Tetraodontidae family.Blowfish may also refer to:* The Blowfish, a satirical newspaper at Brandeis University* Blowfish , encryption algorithm...
, leaving Nadia to flee the scene. Still troubled by the events, Alex sneaks out of his bedroom window to observe a midnight delivery of mysterious containers to Sayle's lair.
The next day, Alex finds himself in trouble when his cover is blown. After trying to escape from the facility he is captured and during a villianesque monologue Sayle explains his true reasons behind Stormbreaker - each system contains a deadly virus which when activated will kill all of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
's schoolchildren. Sayle leaves Alex tied up and departs for the London Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
. Nadia drops Alex into a water-tank to be killed by a giant Portuguese Man o' War
Portuguese Man o' War
The Portuguese Man o' War , also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war, or bluebottle, is a jelly-like marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae...
. He escapes by using the metal-disintegrating spot cream supplied by Smithers, rupturing the tank and killing Nadia when the jellyfish hits her. Alex then hitches a ride on a helicopter piloted by Mr. Grin, using a sodium pentothal
Sodium thiopental
Sodium thiopental, better known as Sodium Pentothal , thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or Trapanal , is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic...
arrow to gain Mr. Grin's obedience. Alex parachutes out of the helicopter and lands just as the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
(Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
) is about to press the button which will activate the computers. Alex uses a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
to shoot the podium, which destroys the button, and ruins Sayle's plan.
Sayle is furious and leaves, but Alex then realises that Sayle has a back-up plan, and with the help of school friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger
Sarah Bolger
Sarah Lee Bolger is an Irish actress. She is known for her role as Princess / Lady Mary Tudor on The Tudors and for her role as Mallory Grace in The Spiderwick Chronicles.-Early life:...
) he pursues Sayle through the streets of London. Fifty floors up on one of Sayle's skyscrapers, Alex reaches him and unplugs his backup plan. An angered Sayle chases him out onto the roof and pushes him off but Alex manages to hold on. Sayle is distracted by the arrival of Sabina, but pushes her and leaves her hanging off the building. Alex then manages to swing Sabina onto a balcony. Just as Sayle is about to shoot Alex, Sayle is killed when Yassen arrives in a helicopter and shoots him before rescuing Alex. Yassen tells Alex to forget about him, but Alex refuses, saying that the killing of Ian means they are enemies.
Alex goes back to school. He and Sabina are talking about what happened and he says that it will never happen again. The film ends, showing someone observing Alex from a distance. He notices it and realises that it wasn't the end.
Cast
- Alex PettyferAlex PettyferAlexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been...
as Alex RiderAlex Rider (character)Alex Rider is a fictional character, and the protagonist and title character of the popular Alex Rider novel series by British author Anthony Horowitz... - Alicia SilverstoneAlicia SilverstoneAlicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...
as Jack Starbright - Mickey RourkeMickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
as Darrius Sayle - Sophie OkonedoSophie OkonedoSophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
as Mrs. Jones - Bill NighyBill NighyWilliam Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Alan Blunt - Damian LewisDamian LewisLewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
as Yassen Gregorovich - Sarah BolgerSarah BolgerSarah Lee Bolger is an Irish actress. She is known for her role as Princess / Lady Mary Tudor on The Tudors and for her role as Mallory Grace in The Spiderwick Chronicles.-Early life:...
as Sabina Pleasure - Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as Smithers - Andy SerkisAndy SerkisAndrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
as Mr. Grin - Missi PyleMissi PyleAndrea Kay "Missi" Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in several films, including Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay...
as Nadia Vole - Ashley Walters as Wolf
- Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
as Ian Rider - Jimmy CarrJimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
as John Crawley - Robbie ColtraneRobbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
as the Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Production
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
, already an established and prolific screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
in British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
, wrote the screenplay and worked very closely throughout the film's production with director Geoffrey Sax
Geoffrey Sax
Geoffrey Sax is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of critically acclaimed and popular drama productions in both the UK and the United States....
and producers Marc
Marc Samuelson
Marc Samuelson is a British TV and film producer and executive producer.-Life and career:He was born in 1961, and is a Business School graduate. Son of Sydney Samuelson. He has two brothers...
and Peter Samuelson
Peter Samuelson
Peter Samuelson is an American and British TV and film producer and executive producer.- Career :Peter Samuelson is President of Film Associates, Inc. http://www.samuelson.la a media consultancy and production company...
. The Weinstein Company acquired the North American rights to the film, which was filmed in Summer 2005 with six weeks on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and a further six weeks in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Some of the scenes of the school were filmed in Grey Coat
Grey Coat Hospital
The Grey Coat Hospital is a Church of England comprehensive secondary school for girls in Westminster, London, England.-History:The school was founded on St. Andrew's Day in 1698. Eight members of the congregation of St. Margaret's, Westminster donated towards the founding of the school, initially...
and Ballakermeen High school
Ballakermeen High School
Ballakermeen High School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school based on a single site in Douglas, on the Isle of Man.The school curremtly has 1500+ students aged 11-18, making it the larger of the two secondary schools in Douglas in terms of student numbers and the largest on the...
, Douglas, Isle of Man. The film had a budget of £25 million ($40 million).
In 2005, actor Alex Pettyfer
Alex Pettyfer
Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been...
was cast as Alex Rider. He was picked out of five hundred hopefuls who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer was originally offered a role in the then-upcoming film Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
but turned it down, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed nearer home while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
In June 2006, the producers of the movie signed a deal with Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
that made the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
a prominent feature in the film, much like the Power Glove
Power Glove
The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...
in The Wizard
The Wizard (film)
The Wizard is a 1989 adventure dramedy film starring Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, and Jenny Lewis...
. This is an upgrade from the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
that Alex used in the novel version. In addition to the Nintendo marketing in the film, Alex's mobile phone is a Nokia 7710
Nokia 7710
The Nokia 7710 is a discontinued mobile phone model produced by Nokia.The 7710 is based on the Nokia 7700 which was never released. It is Nokia's first, and so far only smartphone to run the Series 90 GUI atop the Symbian OS...
and he uses a sodium pentothal
Sodium thiopental
Sodium thiopental, better known as Sodium Pentothal , thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or Trapanal , is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic...
(otherwise known as truth serum) pen to get to London, not a gun.
In August, 2006, the film was renamed to Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
release. A new poster (shown right) and trailer were released along with the announcement. It was also revealed that the US premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
would take place on the Intrepid aircraft carrier
USS Intrepid (CV-11)
USS Intrepid , also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle...
at the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The name of the principal villain also changed from Herod Sayle to Darrius Sayle, with his nationality switched from Lebanese (Egyptian in the US version of the novel) to American. This was because Mickey Rourke was already in talks to take on the role, so Horowitz adapted the character to suit him. Throughout the film Mickey Rourke's dog can be seen. It can also be seen on the US film poster.
Stormbreaker was supposed to kick-start an Alex Rider movie franchise, adapting all the books in the series to the big screen, in much the same vein as the Harry Potter film series. Anthony Horowitz and producer Marc Samuelson
Marc Samuelson
Marc Samuelson is a British TV and film producer and executive producer.-Life and career:He was born in 1961, and is a Business School graduate. Son of Sydney Samuelson. He has two brothers...
hoped to make Alex Rider the next multi-million dollar movie series. The film had a very high-profile marketing campaign, with camera crews from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
among others visiting the set and the production team, Stormbreaker was one of the most hyped films released that year. A large amount of merchandise was produced to coincide with the premiere, including tie-in books featuring interviews with the cast and detailing the production and making of the film.
Reception and box office
Critical reaction to Stormbreaker was mostly mixed or average. On the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 33% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 66 reviews, with the consensus that the film was "strictly children's fare, as it lacks originality, excitement, and believability".
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
movie critic Neil Smith gave the film three out of five stars but criticized the "unsubtle turns" from both Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
and Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
.
The Hollywood Reporter branded the film as a "a lame and disappointing affair". Although likening it to both the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
and 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,...
series, reviewer Ray Bennett said the film "lacks any kind of suspense" due to the script. He ended saying that Stormbreaker was unlikely to have a "license to kill at the box-office".
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
editor-in-chief Josh Tyler gave the movie two and a half stars out of five, and said that, "Most of the problems with Stormbreaker all boil down to believability."
Boston.com
In the UK the film grossed £6,783,568 ($9,700,319) and in the US it grossed a total of $652,526, failing to remake the £25 million ($40 million) spent in production.