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Stormbreaker
The Weinstein Company

Stormbreaker reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 42 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
4.2 out of 10
based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for sequences of action violence and some peril

Starring Alex Pettyfer, Sarah Bolger, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Missi Pyle, Mickey Rourke, Andy Serkis, and Alicia Silverstone

Alex Rider (Pettyfer) is a normal teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager. Or so it seems until his uncle, Ian Rider (McGregor), disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alex soon learns that his uncle was a spy for Britain's secret intelligence service, M16 and he is recruited to take on a dangerous mission for them. Within days he's gone from schoolboy to super spy -- but will Alex's first assignment be his last? (The Weinstein Company)


GENRE(S): Action  |  Adventure  |  Family/Kids  
WRITTEN BY: Anthony Horowitz (also novel and story)  
DIRECTED BY: Geoffrey Sax  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 19, 2006 
Theatrical: October 13, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Germany / USA / UK 

Also known as "Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker"

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
Chicago Tribune Michael Esposito
It's better than some James Bond movies--no matter what your age.
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63
USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
Though the film is not terribly original (and features a jarringly miscast Alicia Silverstone as Alex's nanny), the action scenes are diverting, the veteran cast is amusing and the engaging Pettyfer makes a solid debut.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Despite a relatively paltry $40 million budget, Stormbreaker has the sheen and special effects of a Bond movie, and the ambition as well.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
For kids strung out on Anthony Horowitz's 007-lite adventure series, this maiden adaptation is a pleasant enough diversion from having to flip the pages.
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63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Taken for what it is - 'tweenage escapism - Stormbreaker is moderately fun.
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60
Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
The nonstop action in this British romp should ensure that its target audience, sugar-buzzed prepubescent boys, stay strapped in their seats.
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58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
A bland Bond.
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50
The New York Times Nathan Lee
Mr. Pettyfer is no Sean Connery, no Roger Moore, no Pierce Brosnan, no Timothy Dalton and no George Lazenby even, but the director, Geoffrey Sax, compensates for his zero of a hero by indulging the exceedingly amused and amusing supporting cast.
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50
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Sax keeps things moving, but the best thing about the film is the British cast.
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50
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Rourke's hammy, eyeliner-enhanced acting alone almost makes Alex Rider worth a look.
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50
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirshling
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker is "Agent Cody Banks" played British and kinda straight -- that is, as straight as you can when your villain, who dispatches foes with a giant jellyfish, is played by a toothpick-chomping Mickey Rourke in purple eye shadow.
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40
The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett
A lame and disappointing affair.
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40
Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
The film is forever trying to balance between being for younger teenagers and keeping their parents occupied as well, and never quite gets it right.
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38
New York Post Lou Lumenick
This lame teenage James Bond will leave audiences neither shaken nor stirred.
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38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
A British flick based on the first novel in a popular teenage spy-thriller series by Anthony Horowitz, looks promising but, unfortunately, doesn't measure up.
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30
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Perhaps as a publishing phenomenon the concept works, but on-screen it's pretty dull, with good actors in bad roles and bad special effects.
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30
Variety Derek Elley
A shake 'n' bake Brit teen-spy actioner, without a smidgeon of originality, humor or involving characterization, Stormbreaker is a high-profile bust.
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30
LA Weekly Luke Y. Thompson
It's ostensibly an action movie, and the action is so poorly shot as to be embarrassing.
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25
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
While it's filled with quality actors, this James Bond tale for tweens feels like something you should be getting for free on television.
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25
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
About as clunky as a movie gets. It lurches from scene to scene with no sense of narrative grace, gives its roster of prominent actors nothing to work with and screeches to a halt with all the grace of a sprinter whose shoelaces have been tied together.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 4.2 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Okay I so loved this movie and do not know y it got bad reviews. i mean how were they watching the movie anyway with alex pettyfer in it. so i liked it a lot. BUT I SUGGEST U READ THE BOOKS FIRST THEY R SO MUCH BETTER! i promise.

Thomas S. gave it a6:
Seen the movie yesterday on DVD. While it had entertaining moments it didn't feel very cohesive. The movie is clearly aimed at teenagers (which I'm not) and I greatly regret Ewan McGregor's early exit.

Andrew M. gave it a2:
This film is a typically by numbers affair in many respects. The worst aspect is the trite dialogue which is riddled with Alex's cringeworthy one liners. What makes this so unconvincing is the actor himself has the hard-man value of a kitten with three legs. If you can get past this, which I couldn't, there's a possibility you might enjoy it.

Sam gave it a3:
Clichéd, ridiculous, and rancid, Stormbreaker lacks anything that reminds you of the words "Fun" and "full of life"

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