Hilary Duff Movie:

Editorial Review:
Doing for awkward teens what the Spy Kids movies did for grade-schoolers, Agent Cody Banks is a wish-fulfillment adventure for James Bond wannabes who are still too young to shave. Just in time for puberty's curtain call, Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz stars in the title role as a 15-year-old recruit to the CIA's youth-agent program, who gets what millions of men desire: a face full of Angie Harmon's cleavage. (It's just for laughs; the sexy Law & Order alumnus plays Cody's CIA handler, but you've got to admit this Bond Girl with a boy thing is a bit perverse.) Otherwise, the movie's a low-rent Bond clone from the director of One Night at McCool's, with a pair of twisted villains (Ian McShane, Arnold Vosloo) threatening to unleash stolen "Nanobot" technology that can ruin everyone's day. It's barely fun enough to be worthwhile, but the best gag (at 007's expense) is buried in the soundtrack, when a CIA receptionist announces, "Will the owner of a silver Aston Martin please report to security... you are parked in a handicapped zone." So much for respecting your elders! --Jeff Shannon

Agent Cody Banks [Region 2] Reviews:
Surprisingly Nifty
2009-06-04 - Wow for a Lark and mindless stuff this one is pretty well up there. Hilary Duff and Frankie Munoz are terrific and the plot servicable . If you like this stuff this is a grab DVD.

Agent Cody Banks
2009-02-19 - This is my favorite Cody Banks movie, unfortunately the sexual content ruins it for smaller kids....a milder girl boy theme would have been better for everyone.

Agent Cody Banks DVD
2009-01-06 - I was dissapointed, I bought the movie for my son for Christmas and I didn't bother to save the receipt and when he went to watch it the DVD was cracked in half so we had to throw it away

Fun for the kiddies and adults alike!!!
2008-09-14 - This is a great spy film for both kids an adults alike!!! Probably not the most complex story line,buts it's aimed mostly at younger viewers!!And it's got Frankie Muniz & Hilary Duff for the kids/teens and Angie Harmon,Arnold Vosloo,and Ian McShane for us adults,I have two nephews and they loved it,and so did I,heck my my 60+ parents seemed to enjoy it as well!!! Recommended!!!Great picture and sound (in BOTH Standard Full Frame and Anamorphic Widescreen versions so all will be happy!!!),and some nice bonus features are included on this dual sided DVD!!! A+

Cody banks, teen spy
2008-09-12 - A great fast, fun, clean and enjoyable movie. Its a shame the book was not as good, but this film is great, yes the actor does a big part in the movie and carries the film. It may not be a classic, but is full of fun and well worth watching. Cody is like Jason Steed, Alex Rider a young 007, teen spy.
Agent Cody Banks deserves much more attention than it gets

Plot: Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) learns he is a secret agent and he is brought in for training by Ronica Miles (Angie Harmon) who ends up his sidekick. He meets the CIA Director (Keith David) and prepares on his first mission while his parents, Mrs. Banks (Cynthia Stevenson) and Mr. Banks (Daniel Roebuck) along with his younger brother Alex Banks (Connor Widdows) have no idea what is going on. His mission is to get close to Natalie Connors (Hilary Duff) in hopes that she will invite him to her birthday party so he can use the opportunity to spy on her dad, Dr. Connors (Martin Donovan) because he is under suspicion for working for ERIS an illegal corporation. Complications arise when Natalie is kidnapped and Cody must rescue her.

The Good News: Right away the film starts with a big action sequence and it's a very impressive one at that. There is so much to like here it's a wonder that this series has never gotten as much attention as the Spy Kids series even if the second film is lousy. Director Herald Zwart brings a lot of flair to this film as the film is shot beautifully and never looks cheap or boring. The script by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski is never boring and never loses your interest when nothing is happening. The acting is great, long time friends Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff star and Hilary Duff shows the talent that would carry her through the next few years and Frankie Muniz is no slacker in the role of Cody Banks and it's no surprise that he would go on to be a star even if he never got as much fame as Hilary. The best supporting roles go to Keith David as the CIA Director and it's not a wonder that he returned for the sequel and the other one goes to Angie Harmon as Ronica Miles. She is energetic on screen and you fell her presence throughout the film. The plot, while nothing new proves you don't have to always have a fresh plot to make the film enjoyable. The film's tag line is one of the best and it sets the tone for the film, the running time is 102 minutes, but it seems a lot shorter than that and has a high re watch-ability factor. The action scenes are outstanding and the two that come off as the best are the diner scene and the ending. There are more such as when Cody is at Natalie's birthday party and he's spying on Dr. Connors and the beginning, it's really hard to pick a favorite one, but the diner scene and the ending come off as the best. I also recorded a few good laughs here and there between the action breaks. One of the biggest laughs is Ronica's first appearance, I don't want to ruin it for you as it is the biggest laugh our of the entire film. I'm also not a big fan of the boyfriend and girlfriend situation, but here is works well and flows well with the plot.

The Bad News: I couldn't find anything wrong except a few logical errors which every film has

Conclusion: If you like action or adventure movies then this film is definitely for you and if you haven't seen it already grab yourself a DVD copy today! Recommeded