Stormbreaker

Director: Geoffrey Sax

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Ewan McGregor, Mickey Rourke, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo

Based on the first of the best-selling series of Alex Rider novels by Anthony Horowitz, Stormbreaker is the story of a 14 year old orphan who has been unknowingly trained his whole life to one day be a secret agent. For lead Alex Pettyfer, this included mountain climbing, scuba diving, martial arts and many other extreme sports, making this role one of the most physically demanding ever undertaken by a child actor. When Alex’s uncle (Ewan McGregor), an MI6 agent is killed, he learns the truth of his upbringing and is himself forced into becoming a member of the Special Operations Division. In the vein of 007 Alex has to undertake a mission to save millions of British lives, to infiltrate the lair of billionaire and potential evil mastermind Darrius Sayle (Rourke) and stop him from releasing a biological weapon, all with the help of the technologically advanced Stormbreaker computers.

The Alex Rider books have sold eight million copies across the world and been translated into twenty-eight languages. They therefore, as with Harry Potter, guarantee an instant audience for this film, and there are plans to turn the other five Alex Rider books into films. Fans of the books will be pleased with the faithful translation and it will cement their love for the story. For those new to the series, the film is a thoroughly entertaining introduction and can be enjoyed when the inner child is engaged.

The all-star backup cast to Pettyfer’s lead are on romping good form, especially the reliably superb Mickey Rourke and Bill Nighy.

Richard Flitchard