Completely agree with you about the Agent Cody Banks point. The two films should have been nearly exactly the opposite of each other - Cody Banks actually wanted to be a spy and found the whole experience entertaining and 'cool', whereas anyone who's read the books will find that Horowitz deliberately describes Rider as a "reluctant" spy about 23 times.
Despite all of its many flaws I somewhat enjoyed the film in a 'its not the worst way to kill 90 minutes' way but I probably couldn't bear it being one minute longer than it was. I hated the whole 'save the world, get the girl' ending that ACB could actually get away with, the acting was second rate and redeemed only, in my eyes, by Bill Nighy's (unintentionally?) humorous portrayal of Alan Blunt, and the constant deviations from the actual book.
You don't change a winning formula; the producers knew the book was popular or they wouldn't have have made the damn movie, so why did they change practically all the fundamental concepts behind the story?! I hope Horowitz didn't cave in to pressure but it must be said that before the film, the Alex Rider series hadn't really enjoyed a very mainstream exposure. But this is part of their appeal; movies will always struggle and inevitably fail to accommodate the sheer level of detail that comes naturally with a decent book. As fans we are done an injustice with the quality of the film being so much poorer than we were expecting, but we can take solace in the fact that the producers behind the film cannot meddle in any of the future novels. And as for those who are satisfied with the film enough so that they are not tempted to read the books... their loss, right?
I doubt there will be a reboot. The franchise is nearly dead (as it stands, the series is 2 books away from its conclusion) and in the wake of the movie's box office flop, it's too weak for any studio to consider taking another bite at the apple. Pains me to admit it, but it's a far cry from Star Trek which has had a loyal fan base for decades.
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rowan_a_2000
14 years ago
Hmm see I saw the film and really liked it back in 06, and its what made me read the books. Now im older I can see its flaws, but I just found out it was a huge flop at the box office, which sucks as I think if they took on board criticism they could have improved the next films. Ah well, but I hope somewhere down the line a reboot is done.
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osmanmenu
12 years ago
just curious i havent read the books or anything so could some1 explain why at the beginning those repo men took ian riders exppensive car and turned it into a cube right after he died, also why would they take a shotgun to a 16 yr old in broad daaylight. also wouldnt the mi9 or watever only recruit alex if they had aabsolutley no other choice. o and whaat was the evil woman implying wen she said she knew something was not right with alex as soon as he got in the car and recieved a text
a person is smart, people are stupid
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craigmoore-3
14 years ago
Finally, someone on this board who understands the message of the books.
One example of showing how low they went to change the book into a kids movie was the fight between Jack Starbright and Nadia Vole. That was just a laughable attempt at a fight.
Ugh, it just makes me so angry that they reduced my favourite childhood literary character into, as I said, a Cody Banks ripoff.
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