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Agent Cody Banks is an American action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. Its story follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz, who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and save the world by going undercover for the CIA as a James Bond type superspy. Hilary Duff, Angie Harmon, Keith David, Ian McShane, and Arnold Vosloo co-star. The film was filmed in British Columbia. It was released in the United States on March 14, 2003.

This film was the first major motion picture project for Duff apart from the film spinoff of her Lizzie McGuire TV series. The same can be said for Harmon, who had just come off a three-year stint as Assistant D.A. Abbie Carmichael on NBC's Law & Order. A sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, was released the following year.

A book was released in 2004 based on Cody Banks 2, written by Michael Anthony Steele. It was discontinued after 9 months.

Plot[link]

Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz), a 15-year-old high school student, applies for a junior position for the Central Intelligence Agency after completing his summer camp for CIA agents. Answering to his handler Agent Ronica Miles (Angie Harmon), Cody is called upon a mission to find information about a scientist named Dr. Albert Connors (Martin Donovan). Connors is employed by a SPECTRE type organization named ERIS led by Dr. Brinkman (Ian McShane), and his henchman, François Molay (Arnold Vosloo). Cody is placed into the prep school of Dr. Connors' daughter, Natalie (Hilary Duff), the William Donovan Institute. As all CIA agents are known to Brinkman's organization, the CIA uses the unknown Banks.

Cody soon finds he has no social skill with girls and has no time to do this while balancing his chores and homework. The CIA decides to help by doing his chores and homework, trying to build his status, and going into the school to set him up with Natalie. The CIA also assemble a varying team of "experts" to train Cody into how to talk to girls, and issue him with a variety of gadgets with various functions.

After Cody befriends Natalie, he is invited to her 16th birthday party, where he goes undercover to her father's lab. Cody finds that Dr. Brinkman is planning to use nanobots — which can destroy any carbon or silicon-based substance — to destroy the world's defense systems so he can threaten anyone who opposes him. Since the nanobots are inactive in the cold, he plans to use ice cubes to distribute them.

Cody falls in love with Natalie and nearly fails the mission, causing the CIA to suspend him. Dr. Brinkman sends François and some men to catch Natalie and bring her into his base in the mountains. Cody and Natalie eat ice cream at a restaurant, but Dr. Brinkman's men come over to their table and fight with Cody, knocking him unconscious. Cody is removed from the mission, and his parents punish him for staying out past his curfew.

Cody gets his brother Alex (Connor Widdows) to make sure his parents do not find out that he is gone by giving him the $5,000 the CIA gave him. Cody infiltrates into the CIA weapons hold and steals a rocket powered snowboard and other devices to rescue Natalie. Cody gets a ride to the top of the mountain and snowboards to the factory where Natalie is held. On the way, he gets caught in a grove of trees as Ronica finds him using a SoloTrek XFV. After convincing Ronica that they need to rescue Natalie, Cody infiltrates the laboratory and rescues Natalie. However, Natalie is held hostage by Dr. Brinkman, who puts an ice cube with a nanobot inside, on her forehead to make her father program the system. Cody plants an explosive charge and Natalie places the partly melted cube in Dr. Brinkman's mouth, killing him. Cody defeats François and sends him to the CIA using the SoloTrek XFV. Cody, Mr. Connors, Natalie, and Ronica flee the facility before it explodes. The film ends with Cody and Natalie sharing their first kiss.

Cast[link]

• Frankie Muniz as Agent Cody Banks
• Hilary Duff as Natalie Connors
• Angie Harmon as Ronica Miles
• Keith David as CIA Director
• Ian McShane as Dr. Brinkman
• Arnold Vosloo as François Molay
• Martin Donovan as Dr. Albert Connors
• Cynthia Stevenson as Mrs. Banks
• Daniel Roebuck as Mr. Banks
• Connor Widdows as Alex Banks
• Darrell Hammond as Earl
• Peter New as Rosychuk
• Noel Fisher as Fenster

Sequel[link]

A sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, was released 2004.

Release[link]

The film received generally negative reviews.

Agent Cody Banks opened at #2 with $14,064,317 behind Bringing Down the House's second weekend.^[1] By the time the film closed on July 31, 2003, the film had earned $47,938,330 domestically and an additional $10,857,484 internationally, adding up to a total $58,795,814.^[2]

See also[link]

• Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
• Alex Rider
• Jimmy Coates
• James Bond Jr.
• CHERUB
• Henderson's Boys
• Young Bond

References[link]

External links[link]

• Agent Cody Banks at the Internet Movie Database
• Agent Cody Banks at Box Office Mojo
• Agent Cody Banks at Rotten Tomatoes