Barnes & Noble

Frankie Muniz, the eminently likable Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated star of Malcolm in the Middle, has a license to thrill as a 16-year-old CIA agent in this irresistible blend of Spy Kids and James Bond. Like the Bond films, this one begins with a stunt-filled prologue (involving extreme-skateboard action in pursuit of a runaway car with an infant inside). And in true Bond fashion, there are way-cool gadgets, sleek sports cars, and sinister villains plotting world domination. But unlike Bond, our man Cody is more shaken than stirred when it comes to talking to beautiful girls, and his mission is to reach a scientist who is in the employ of a sinister research enterprise by getting cozy with his daughter (Hilary Duff). In a turn that would make Emma Peel of The Avengers look demure, former Law & Order assistant D.A. Angie Harmon turns up as Cody's statuesque, leather-clad handler. While not as inventive as the Spy Kids films, Cody Banks is as sleek as an Aston-Martin, with a charismatic cast, a savvy sense of humor, and enough stunts and heroics to make Cody Banks a franchise-worthy name in its own right. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

A teen learns that all the gadgets in the world can't help him overcome his awkwardness around the opposite sex in this big-budget family entertainment. In Agent Cody Banks, Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz plays a young man plucked from suburban obscurity to be trained as a CIA super-agent. His mission? Get friendly with his classmate Natalie (played by another teen TV star, Lizzie McGuire's Hilary Duff) so that he can uncover her father's diabolical scheme to create indestructible robots. To compound his problems, Cody also has to deal with the same stresses as any adolescent: nagging parents, insufferable classwork, and a fragile sense of self-esteem. Agent Cody Banks was produced by MGM, not coincidentally the studio responsible for another popular spy franchise, the venerable James Bond series. Michael Hastings

Product Details

• UPC: 883904130628
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Time: 1:42:00

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Agent Cody Banks / Agent Cody Banks 2
• Agent Cody Banks/Catch That Kid