''Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London'' is a 2004 American

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

buddy film The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people are put together and are on an adventure, a quest, or a road trip. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a dynamic onscreen different from a pairing ...

and the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the 2003 film ''

Agent Cody Banks ''Agent Cody Banks'' is a 2003 American spy action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. The film follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz, who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and sa ...

''. Directed by Kevin Allen and written by

Don Rhymer Don Rhymer (February 23, 1961 – November 28, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He graduated from James Madison University in 1982. He wrote movies such as ''Big Momma's House'', ''The Santa Clause 2'', '' Agent Cody Banks 2: ...

, the film stars

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...

Hannah Spearritt Hannah Louise Spearritt (born 1 April 1981)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 478 is an English actress and singer. She is an original member of the pop group S Club 7. Spearritt is also known fo ...

and

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

. The film takes place in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with Cody and his buffoonish adult partner, Derek, trying to recover a stolen software and stop the activation of the government's mind control project. The film was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on March 12, 2004, and grossed $28 million worldwide, against its $26 million budget.

Plot

Agent Cody Banks attends summer camp, actually a secret facility for training CIA teenage agents. When a group of CIA soldiers attempt to abduct head counselor Victor Diaz, Cody helps him escape, mistaking the CIA operation for a training exercise. The director informs Cody that Diaz stole disks containing plans for a secret mind-control device, and sends Cody to recapture him. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, Cody poses as a summer orchestra student at the Kenworth estate to spy on owner Lord Duncan Kenworth, suspected of working with Diaz, supported by his handler, Derek and Kumar (Rod Silvers), Derek's right-hand man, who are disguised as a chef hired by Lady Josephine Kenworth and a taxi driver respectively. Whilst keeping his mission a secret from his fellow students, Cody sneaks around the estate and confirms that Diaz and Duncan are working together and that they have a working prototype of the mind control device, evidenced when Duncan makes a dog serve drinks and play the piano. The next day, Cody breaks into a lab owned by Duncan, where he sees the finished device: a microchip inserted as a filling into a tooth cavity by dentist Santiago. Shortly afterward Cody and Derek chase Diaz, armed with a rocket gun, through London streets, but Cody is captured by the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

and taken to

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. He is later freed by Emily (

), a fellow student who, similar to Cody, is actually a British

undercover operative. While Emily buys coffee and soda, henchmen sneak up on Cody, knocking him unconscious by drugging him with spray. They capture him and implant him with the microchip. Under Duncan, Santiago, and Diaz's influence, Cody meets the CIA director on a London bus who is then also converted. Unknown to them and Cody this is witnessed by Emily from a bus in front. Emily then explains things to Derek that the director alongside Cody is both converted and that they need to get the microchip out of Cody. After knocking out Cody by elbowing him in the face Derek carefully cuts up one of Cody's gadgets, exploding Mentos mints, into a precisely minuscule amount to safely remove it. The group later realizes Diaz's plan: to implant all of the world leaders, who are all in London for a G7 summit at Buckingham Palace, effectively giving him control of the world. He tries to do something to stop him from controlling the world including London but, constantly fails. Deducing that with the CIA director under Diaz's control, they may be put on a most wanted list, Cody, Derek, and Emily infiltrate the party before the summit. There, they realize that most of the dignitaries have already been implanted due to bizarre behavior and Duncan being appointed director of the Royal Mint by the British Prime Minister (upon accepting this, Duncan cruelly states to Josephine that he is leaving her). They explain the truth to the other students, who perform for the guests and urge them to keep the world leaders from attending the G7 summit. They later proceeded to do so with an impromptu but rousing performance of

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, accompanied by dancing and clapping from the assembled dignitaries and Queen Elizabeth herself, whilst Cody, Emily, and Derek search for the villains. Derek is implanted with the microchip and is set on Cody by Santiago. Before Santiago can kill him through Derek, Emily finds and subdues him, disabling the mind control software and rescuing the U.S. President, who was to be implanted. Shortly after Cody kicks out Derek's microchip, the two of them remove the CIA director's microchip. Diaz, realizing that his plan has failed attempts to flee, ends up fighting, and being defeated by Cody in the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's gift room, destroying numerous priceless artifacts in the process. Duncan also attempts to escape but is tripped by Trivial Jenkins, his apparently senile and blind butler, who turns out to be Emily's handler. Duncan is arrested with Diaz and Santiago. After the villains are arrested, Cody and Emily kiss each other on the cheek before Cody sets off to return to America. Both promised to keep in contact. Alongside Cody returning to America as a reward, Derek also returned to the camp and replaced Diaz as head counselor. Cody's parents pick him up, none the wiser about his dangerous exploits. Alex, Cody's younger brother tries to eat a few of his explosive Mentos, but Cody tosses them into the pond where they explode harmlessly.

Cast

as Cody Banks, a 16-year-old teenager working for the CIA as an undercover junior agent *

as Derek Bowman, Cody's new agent partner *

as Emily Sommers, Cody's fellow orchestra student who is actually a British undercover operative * Keith Allen as Victor Diaz, a rogue CIA agent who is in charge of a mind control program *

Cynthia Stevenson Cynthia Stevenson (born August 2, 1962) is an American actress. She first played a leading role in the syndicated parody comedy series ''My Talk Show'' (1990–91), before starring in a number of sitcoms, including '' Bob'' (CBS, 1992–93), '' ...

as Mrs. Banks, Cody's mother * Daniel Roebuck as Mr. Banks, Cody's father *

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

as Lady Josephine Kensworth, a governess of the International Youth Orchestra * James Faulkner as Lord Duncan Kensworth, a corrupt English businessman who is working for Diaz * David Kelly as Trival Jenkins, a senile and blind butler who turns out to be Emily's handler *

Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...

as Dr. Santiago, a dimwitted scientist who works with Diaz and Kenworth to try to take over the world * Connor Widdows as Alex Banks, Cody's 11-year-old brother *

as the CIA Director *

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is known for his portrayals of shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on '' The Sunday Show'', New York lawyer Mike Strutter on MTV's '' Strutter'', Thoros of Myr in HBO's ''Game ...

as Neville, Derek's hysterical and quirky assistant who helps Cody with a variety of gadgets * Mark Williams as Inspector Crescent * Rod Silvers as Kumar, Derek's right hand man * Jack Stanley as Ryan * Olivia Adams as Gabrielle * Don Jones as George * Joshua Brody as Bender * Sarah McNicholas as Marisa * Leilah Isaac as Sabeen – Bassoon Player *

Alfie Allen Alfie Evan Allen (born 12 September 1986) is an English actor. He portrayed Theon Greyjoy on all eight seasons of the HBO fantasy series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Out ...

as Johan Berchamp * Keiron Nelson as Habu – French Horn Player * Ray Donn as Soldier (uncredited)

Production

The director of the first Cody Banks film, Harald Zwart, was initially poised to return but left over financial disagreements. MGM executives disputed Zwart’s figures, saying that twice they had bumped up the film’s budget during negotiations to meet his expectations. The proposed budget had moved north of $30 million, with the price rising moderately, as often happens with sequels. Director Kevin Allen was offered the directing job after MGM brass were impressed with his indie comedies. An executive mandate for the film was for less reliance on CGI setpieces and placing more emphasis on comedy with Allen said of the mandate, “If you ain’t got the money, make ’em laugh.” ''Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London'' filmed in

and Cobham Hall in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

where the Gilt Room doubled as the Queen's gift room at Buckingham Palace as Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) fights Victor Diaz (Keith Allen) in a room full of treasures.

Reception

Review aggregate

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives the film a 14% "Rotten" rating based on 95 reviews, with an average score of 3.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "Young kids may find this London adventure fun, but older kids may find it too simplistic." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 32 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "generally negative reviews." Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Coming exactly one year after the first ''Cody Banks'' film, ''Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London'' opened with only $8 million, compared to $14.1 million for its predecessor.

Possible sequel and spin-off

While speaking with

Steve-O Stephen Gilchrist Glover (born June 13, 1974), known professionally as Steve-O, is an American entertainer, television personality, stunt performer and YouTuber. His career is mostly centered on his performance stunts in the reality comedy tel ...

, Frankie Muniz revealed that MGM had pitched to him two ideas for a family-friendly sequel and an adult oriented animated series. The sequel would feature Cody Banks training a group of new teenage spies while the series, described as being similar to ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animated black comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

'', would feature Banks as a wash-up trying to regain his spy credibility from his youth.

References

External links

* * * {{Kevin Allen 2004 films 2004 action comedy films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s spy comedy films 2000s teen comedy films 20th Century Fox films American action comedy films American adventure comedy films American sequel films American spy comedy films American teen comedy films Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films about summer camps Films directed by Kevin Allen Films set in London Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Teen action films Teen adventure films 2000s American films