t first glance, Cody Banks (Muniz) is no different from your average teenage boy. He has household chores, an abundance of homework, overprotective parents and an annoying little brother. It's only in harrowing life-or-death situations that his true talents emerge. What Cody's friends and family don't know is that he has been recruited by the CIA as a junior secret agent, and that his annual summer camp is actually a training ground for undercover teenage spies.
When Cody is called into active duty by a branch of the CIA near his home in Seattle, he is more than up to the challenge. That is, until he learns that he has to get close to Natalie Connors (Duff), the cute teenage daughter of a scientist who may be in business with a criminal organization known as E.R.I.S. The problem is, Cody is completely inept when it come to girls.
With the help of his smoldering-hot CIA handler, Agent Ronica Miles (Harmon), Cody tries to get Natalie's attention. His first attempts are miserable, but he eventually starts to win her over and receives an invitation to her birthday party. Cody's mission at the casino-themed event is to infiltrate the secret lab where Natalie's father has been doing his research.
Cody discovers that Dr. Connors has been developing nanobot technology, which E.R.I.S. wants to use against his wishes for destructive purposes. When he refuses to sell them the technology, the organization targets Natalie and uses her to force his cooperation. Though Cody's mission is complete, he goes against his orders and sets off to rescue the girl, and possibly even save the world in the process.
This Agent doesn't have a license to thrill
Despite the fact that Agent Cody Banks was already in development when the similarly themed Spy Kids was released, it's evident that the latter film's commercial and critical success has had its influence. Unfortunately, director Harald Zwart is unable to recreate the fun and warmth that Robert Rodriguez infuses into his films, or match his ability to tell a compelling story.
The point at which it breaks down is well illustrated by the inordinately long list of credited writers (not to mention the likely possibility of additional uncredited contributors). The predictable, formulaic plot feels as if it were cobbled together at the last minute. Too much time is spent on pointless scenes, such as an overly long sequence in which the entire CIA office takes turns teaching Cody about girls. The time would have been better utilized showing more of Cody in his natural environment rather than the hyper-reality of his secret identity. At least the gadgets, including a super-modified iPod, a BMW rocket skateboard and a personal hovercraft, are cool.
As Cody, Frankie Muniz makes a decent snack-sized action hero, a martial-arts-trained version of the prodigy he plays on Malcom in the Middle. Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff is sufficiently plucky as his love interest. But the real surprise is Law & Order's Angie Harmon, who gets a welcome opportunity to kick some butt in a parade of skintight Emma Peel-inspired getups.
Essentially, the film is a wish-fulfillment fantasy for every kid who has ever dreamed of living a double life. It's an eminently relatable concept, to be sure. The notion that this junior James Bond is awkward, rather than suave, when it comes to the opposite sex, is a nice twist. But beyond that, the execution lacks plausibility, originality and a sense of cohesiveness, all of which ultimately keep it from working.
