Stormbreaker (film)

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Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker poster
Directed by	Geoffrey Sax
Produced by	Marc Samuelson Peter Samuelson Steve Christian Andreas Grosch
Written by	Anthony Horowitz (novel and screenplay)
Starring	Alex Pettyfer Ewan McGregor Mickey Rourke Bill Nighy Andy Serkis Alicia Silverstone
Music by	Alan Parker
Distributed by	Entertainment Film Distributors (UK) MGM/The Weinstein Company (USA)
Release date(s)	July 21, 2006 August 10, 2006 August 31, 2006 September 21, 2006 October 13, 2006 October 25, 2006
Running time	93 min.
Country	UK
Language	English
Budget	£25,000,000 ($40 million)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

This article is about the 2006 film. For the 2000 novel, see Stormbreaker (novel).

Stormbreaker is a 2006 spy film based on Stormbreaker, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as the teenage spy alongside noted actors, Mickey Rourke and Ewan McGregor. The film was renamed as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker for the United States release.

The film has currently been released in Australia^[1], China, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as the United Kingdom. There are already plans to adapt the rest of the Alex Rider novels in the future, starting with Point Blanc.

[edit] Plot

Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a fourteen year-old orphan, who lives with his uncle Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor) and their housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone). Ian is supposedly a bank manager and is, much to Alex' regret, often away from home. One day Alex is told that his uncle has died in a car crash. Alex discovers that Ian Rider was in fact a spy working for MI6 and that he was killed by famed assassin, Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis).

He is then recruited by his uncle's former employers, Alan Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Tulip Jones (Sophie Okonedo) of the Special Operations Division of MI6, who explain to Alex that his uncle has been training him as a spy; Alex first refuses to co-operate but agrees when they threaten to prosecute Jack (now his guardian) for being an illegal immigrant. Alex is then sent to a training camp where his fellow trainees first look down on him because of his young age, but he soon gains respect for his capabilities.

He sets off on his first mission, aided by gadgets from Smithers (Stephen Fry). Billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) is donating a free mega-computer codenamed Stormbreaker to every school in the United Kingdom. MI6 are curious of his seemingly generous plans and send Alex, undercover as a competition winner, to investigate. There, he meets the man himself, Sayle and his two accomplices, Mr Grin (Andy Serkis) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) and is shown the Stormbreaker computer in action. Later, while Alex is having dinner with Sayle, the suspicious Vole steals Alex's phone and tracks the SIM card to his house in Chelsea, London. She goes there and finds Alex's true identity. While she is there, she starts a fight with Jack. Jack wins with the help of a blowfish, leaving Nadia to flee from the scene. Still troubled by the events, Alex sneaks out of his bedroom window to observe a midnight delivery of mysterious containers to Sayle's lair.

Alex Rider atop the rooftops of London confronting Yassen Gregorovich, the murderer of his uncle.

The next day, Alex finds himself in trouble when his cover is blown. After trying to escape from the facility and being held prisoner, Alex is forced to reveal he is a spy. He then learns of Sayle's true plan with the computers - each system contains a deadly virus which wipe out the whole of Britain's schoolchildren. Sayle, before he departs for the Science Museum in London, leaves Alex to be killed by a Portuguese man o' war. Escaping the beast (which in turn kills Nadia), Alex manages to get on a helicopter piloted by Mr Grin. He shoots an arrow into his neck, containing a drug that makes him obedient, and Alex tells him to go to London. Just as Sayle and the Prime Minister (Robbie Coltrane) are about to activate Stormbreaker, Alex appears through the roof of the museum and halts the procession.

Alex then realises Sayle has a back-up plan and with the help of Jack and school friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger) he pursues Sayle through the streets of London. Fifty floors up on one of Sayle's skyscrapers, Alex reaches him and nearly falls to his death, but his uncle's killer, Yassen Gregorovich, kills Sayle and rescues Alex. Nevertheless Alex says that he will remember what Yassen did to his uncle.

The film ends with Alex and Sabina at their school. After the events, Sabina was forced to sign the Official Secrets Act but Alex maintains to her he is not a spy. High up on a nearby building, a cameraman focuses on Alex...

[edit] Production

The United States poster showing the change of title from Stormbreaker to Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker.

Author Anthony Horowitz, already an established and prolific scriptwriter in British television, wrote the screenplay and worked very closely throughout the film's production with director Geoffrey Sax and producers Marc and Peter Samuelson. The Weinstein Company acquired the North American rights to the film, which was filmed in Summer 2005 in London and on the Isle of Man with a budget of £25 million ($40 million).

In 2005, young actor Alex Pettyfer was cast as Rider. He was picked out of five hundred hopefuls who auditioned for the role.^[2] Pettyfer was originally offered a role in the upcoming film Eragon but turned it down, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed in England and the Isle of Man while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic, and Pettyfer is afraid of flying.^[3]

In June 2006, the producers of the movie signed a deal with Nintendo that made the Nintendo DS a prominent feature in the film, much like the Power Glove in The Wizard. ^[4] This is an upgrade from the Game Boy Color that Alex used in the novel version. In addition to the Nintendo marketing in the film, Alex's mobile phone is a Nokia 7710.

A scene for the film was shot on the fourth floor of Hamleys on Regent Street in London, where Smithers approaches Alex. However, when Smithers takes Alex to the backroom, this was actually shot in a set. This was inconsistent as Smithers looks and points up as if to take him upstairs but in the following scene he explains that no one is allowed "down here", meaning where they had just been.

In August, 2006, the film was renamed as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker for the United States release. A new poster (shown left) and trailer were released along with the announcement. Although the American trailer appears to have dubbed several characters, including the news presenter and Sabina, the producers have announced that not one syllable of the final release has been changed.^[5] It was also announced that the US premiere would take place on the Intrepid aircraft carrier at the Hudson River, New York

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception and box office

As part of the advertising campaign for Stormbreaker's release, posters were put up on the London Eye, a large observation wheel which features in the skyline at the end of the film.

Critical reaction to Stormbreaker was mixed. BBC movie critic Neil Smith gave the film three out of five stars but criticised the "unsubtle turns" from Bill Nighy and Stephen Fry.^[6] ViewLondon movie reviews also gave the film three of out five stars and praised the cast for having a lot of fun with their "cartoonish roles". They criticised the production's team use of the majority of the budget on action scenes, leaving, in their opinion, the other scenes "the distinct look of a low budget British production".^[7] Urban Cinefile praised the fim's "well structured and told" story. Reviewer Andrew L. Urban also commented on Stormbreaker's "delightful cast".^[8] The Hollywood reported the film as a "a lame and disappointing affair". Although likening it to both the Harry Potter and James Bond series, reviewer Ray Bennett said the film "lacks any kind of suspense" due to the script. He ended saying that Stormbreaker was unlikely to have a "license to kill" (a pun on the 1989 Bond film) at the box-office.^[9]

As of September 2006 in the United Kingdom, Stormbreaker has made a total gross of £6,621,452 ($12,450,735). The film currently has a 34% rating (rotten) on the Rotten Tomatoes review site.

The total U.S box office was $652,526.^[10]

Worldwide this movie has grossed approximately $19,041,351 US Dollars

[edit] Differences between book and film

• In Stormbreaker, the character Sabina Pleasure is introduced. In the novels, Alex doesn´t meet her until the third book Skeleton Key, when he poses as a ballboy at Wimbledon.
• In the film, Alex Rider is shown to be fluent in English, French, German and Japanese. In the book, he does not speak Japanese but Spanish.
• The name of the principal villain also changed from Herod Sayle to Darrius Sayle, with his nationality switched from Lebanese to American. This was because Mickey Rourke was already in talks to take on the role, so Horowitz adapted the character to suit him. ^[11]
• In the book, Sayle reveals to Alex that he grew up in a large, poor family. He was then taken to his current country when he saved the lives of a wealthy couple, who subsequently adopted him. In the film he states that his mother won the lottery and that's why the family moved to Britain.
• In the book Nadia Vole pretends to be on Alex's side in order to lure him into a trap (and falling into the Portuguese man o' war tank), she does not do so in the movie. Nadia Vole's use of a camera to capture Alex's struggle is absent as well.
• Alex does not attempt to pull up rocks from the base of the tank, unlike in the book.
• Nadia does not turn on a turbo fan of any type to push Alex nearer to the jellyfish, unlike in the book.
• Instead of looking up the auto parts junkyard in the yellow pages as in the book, Alex follows a van on a bicycle from his house.
• The name of the auto parts junk yard in the book is Jeff Stryker not Jeff Slater as in the film.
• Alex escapes from the crushed car using its built-in ejector seat, instead of crawling out the back window in the book
• In the book Nadia's lipstick is yellow.
• While in the books Smithers is represented as being quite overweight, Stephen Fry's portrayal of the character seems to be healthy, except for a limp introduced by the actor, and has no visible obesity problems.
• Smithers' secret headquarters is not under a Hamley's toy store in the book.
• The fountain pen and parachute backpack gadgets were not in the book.
• The yo-yo originality could hold 100 kilograms not 90 pounds.
• The training is very different from the book's version, omitting the parachute jump, night house and mountain hike altogether.
• The submarine and cargo plane were not in the movie.
• In the book Ian Rider's death is not detailed.
• The cornfield chase is omitted, as well as Alex's investigative visit to a library and his subsequent discovery of an alternate tin mine entrance.
• However, Alex does ride a quad bike (as was the case in the book's cornfield chase) to jump onto Grin's helicopter.
• Mr Grin, as portrayed by Andy Serkis, is not extremely tall as per the book (he is in fact shorter than Alex) and his scar is not as grotesque as is described in the book. The fact that he lost his tongue is also not explicitly mentioned, but is implied.
• The Stormbreaker computer is not a regular personal computer as in the book, but rather a virtual reality simulation device.
• It is also not mentioned where the viral vials are inserted into the Stormbreaker, though this is the case in the novel.
• The sequence where Vole steals Alex's SIM card, finds his address and subsequently 'visits' Jack was made for the movie and is not found in the book.
• In the book it is said that Jack Starbright had red hair and a round face, the Jack in the movie (Alicia Silverstone) has in fact, blond hair and a not very round face.
• In the book it says nothing about Yassen Gregorovich killing his victims while hanging upside down from a helicopter nor does he save Alex, while he (Alex) is dangling from the roof of a building by a cord.
• There is no back-up plan in the book where Sayle tries once more to set off the viruses. Herod (or Darrius) Sayle was intent on having the Prime Minister, and only the Prime Minister, set the virus off.
• In the book we see very little of Jack Starbright, and she is clueless as to where Alex is going, or of anything to do with MI6, and her knowledge builds up through the series, while in the movie she sees to be as 'in the know' as Alex is.
• In the book the entrance to MI6 is on Liverpool Street, but has nothing to do with Liverpool Street station, as in the film, and Alex is invited there instead of finding out about it entirely by accident.
• Galloping through Piccadilly on a horse has no mention whatsoever in the book, neither do the following events.
• In the book the original winner of the trip to Sayle enterprises was named Felix Lester but in the film he is called Kevin Blake. As such, the confusion of Alex's real name as appears in the book is also avoided.
• In the book one of Alex's gadgets is a Game Boy Color; in the movie it was updated to a Nintendo DS.
• In the book, Alex wins the respect of the trainee soldier Wolf by pushing him out of a plane during a skydiving exercise when he loses his nerve. This was replaced in the film by Alex helping his teammates escaping from a bunker. Also in the book, Wolf didn't appear when Alex parachutes through the ceiling like in the film.
• In the book, Mr. Grin is killed when he crashes into a building site in the plane while trying to hit Alex, in the film it is not seen what happens to Mr. Grin after Alex jumps out of the plane.

[edit] References and similarities to other films or the books

• When Alex is first introduced to the MI6 building, he says "What is this place? Hogwarts?", a reference to Harry Potter.
• When Alex meets Darrius' security guard at his tower, the security guard throws his hat in the same way that the henchman Oddjob, from the James Bond film Goldfinger did.
• When Alex is in the underground tunnel, he points his torch to the camera in exactly the same position as the official image of Alex Rider on the front of the books.

[edit] Errors and inconsistencies

• The 'Portuguese man o' war' featured in the film actually looks nothing like a Portuguese man o' war. Also, while its stings are very painful, they are rarely fatal and certainly are not electric. Even if they were, the stings would be unable to dematerialise full skeletons as in the film.
• The "Zit" spot cream given to Alex allegedly burns through any metal, but is harmless to a person's skin. When trapped in the aquarium with the giant Portuguese man o' war jellyfish, he uses the cream against the metal supports of the aquarium. This is impossible, as salt water aquariums can have no metal in them, since metal can drastically change the pH balance of the aquarium and kill any creature in it.
• In the scene where Alex is among dinosaurs as he tries out the Stormbreaker, the computer says that "Tyrannosaurus rex was the largest carnivorous dinosaur". This is a factual error, as Giganotosaurus was a larger carnivore than the T. rex. Spinosaurus and Charcharodontosaurus may also have been larger.
• In the Helipad scene near the end, the helicopter registration is clearly seen to change when the helicopter lands and then again when it takes off. In the commentary for the DVD release of the film, the production team claims this to be deliberate.
• The British Army soldiers are shown holding M4 carbines. However, the M4 is used by the US Armed Forces' Special Forces. The British use either the SA80 or the G36 and variants of either.
• At the start of the film, when Yassen Gregorovich kills Ian Rider, he is shown firing two bullets through the car window, but later at the auto wrecker's the car is seen riddled with bullet holes. An explanation is that Yassen fired the other bullets off film.
• At the start of the film and in the start of wrecker's yard scene, Ian Rider's BMW Z4 number plate is quite clearly visible as "RID3R", however by the end of the wrecker's yard scene it has changed to "RF05KZM".
• The character of Smithers never appears to be named but is credited as 'Smithers'.
• The helicopter in the scene on the roof displays registration number "G-ICSG" yet the pictures of the same chopper taking off and in the air shows "G-ORMA".

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Stormbreaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Stormbreaker at Rotten Tomatoes
• Stormbreaker at Box Office Mojo