I never saw the original "Agent Cody Banks," and don't want to after seeing this, one of the worst mainstream films of the decade. It stars Frankie Muniz as the returning titular character, who is conveniently sent off to London in order to achieve a "mind control" device. The movie is aimed at children, but as we have learned from films such as "The Princess Bride," most family films are better off when they target at both children _and_ adults. "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" is at times so juvenile, stupid and downright ridiculous, that I almost started to laugh.
Cody gets a new love interest, a pretty British girl, who happens to be some sort of British Intelligent Agent who works in downtown London. Mm-hmm. Then, Cody is debriefed on his new mission while riding the London Eye with his new partner. Too bad that when riding the London Eye, there are security cameras that record everything, and many people are stuffed into each cubicle. Not exactly the best place to be debriefed on a top-secret mission, huh?
Most of the movie uses scenes such as these to boast London, and get Cody into the city's famous landscapes, rather than on a mission. He goes undercover as a clarinet player, records a dog playing piano (yes, that's right) and eventually uncovers a scheme hatched by an ex-FBI agent to take control of the world leaders' minds! Uh-oh!
This is all topped off by a young punk taking center stage during a world leaders meeting and singing "War - What is it Good For?" and dancing as the scene is interspliced with sequences showing Cody - a teenager - kicking major butt, beating up grown henchmen, but NEVER killing them, of course. Then there's that magnificent scene where the Queen of England starts to dance to the song, doing the boogie, and an all-too-eager Chinese man jumps up on a table and begins to move to the music, rather embarrassingly.
I felt embarrassed through most of this movie. It is an utter waste of time - a full-blown commercial effort at enticing young kids and their helpless parents into theaters to watch a half-"arsed" effort at a sequel.
Oh, I feel for the people who will inevitably be subjected to "Agent Cody Banks 3 - Destination: Puberty," I really, really do.
Cody gets a new love interest, a pretty British girl, who happens to be some sort of British Intelligent Agent who works in downtown London. Mm-hmm. Then, Cody is debriefed on his new mission while riding the London Eye with his new partner. Too bad that when riding the London Eye, there are security cameras that record everything, and many people are stuffed into each cubicle. Not exactly the best place to be debriefed on a top-secret mission, huh?
Most of the movie uses scenes such as these to boast London, and get Cody into the city's famous landscapes, rather than on a mission. He goes undercover as a clarinet player, records a dog playing piano (yes, that's right) and eventually uncovers a scheme hatched by an ex-FBI agent to take control of the world leaders' minds! Uh-oh!
This is all topped off by a young punk taking center stage during a world leaders meeting and singing "War - What is it Good For?" and dancing as the scene is interspliced with sequences showing Cody - a teenager - kicking major butt, beating up grown henchmen, but NEVER killing them, of course. Then there's that magnificent scene where the Queen of England starts to dance to the song, doing the boogie, and an all-too-eager Chinese man jumps up on a table and begins to move to the music, rather embarrassingly.
I felt embarrassed through most of this movie. It is an utter waste of time - a full-blown commercial effort at enticing young kids and their helpless parents into theaters to watch a half-"arsed" effort at a sequel.
Oh, I feel for the people who will inevitably be subjected to "Agent Cody Banks 3 - Destination: Puberty," I really, really do.