Stormbreaker (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stormbreaker |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Geoffrey Sax |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Anthony Horowitz |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Alan Parker |
| Cinematography | Chris Seager |
| Editing by | Andrew MacRitchie |
| Studio |
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| Distributed by | United Kingdom Entertainment Film Distributors United States The Weinstein Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Germany Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Overseas: Capitol Films |
| Release date(s) | 21 July 2006 (United Kingdom) 6 October 2006 (United States) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Money made | $20.7–23.9 million |
Stormbreaker is an exciting action spy film from 2006. It is also known as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker or Alex Rider: Stormbreaker. The movie was directed by Geoffrey Sax. It is based on the popular 2000 novel Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. This book was the first in the thrilling Alex Rider series.
The film stars Alex Pettyfer as the main character, Alex Rider. Other famous actors in the movie include Mickey Rourke, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Silverstone, Sarah Bolger, Stephen Fry, and Ewan McGregor. Stormbreaker was a big project, made by companies from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany working together.
The story is about a teenage boy who gets recruited by MI6, a British spy agency. This happens after his uncle, who was a secret agent, died during a mission. Alex is sent to Cornwall for his first mission. He needs to find out more about "Stormbreaker," a super advanced computer system. This system was being given to schools all over Britain by a rich billionaire named Darrius Sayle.
The filmmakers hoped Stormbreaker would be the start of a whole series of movies. However, the film did not make back its $40 million budget, earning between $20.7 and $23.9 million worldwide. Many people thought the movie was not very original. Because of this, plans for more Alex Rider films were stopped. But don't worry, a new TV series called Alex Rider started in 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.
Contents
The Story of Alex Rider
Alex Rider was a 14-year-old boy who lived with his uncle, Ian, and their housekeeper, Jack Starbright. Ian often traveled for his job, which Alex thought was being a bank manager. One day, Alex was told that Ian had died in a car crash. But Alex soon found out that his uncle was actually a spy for MI6 and had been murdered.
Ian's former bosses, Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones from MI6, then recruited Alex. They explained that Ian had been secretly training Alex to be a spy. Alex did not want to join at first. However, he agreed when they threatened to send Jack, his housekeeper, out of the country. Alex was then sent to a military training camp in the Brecon Beacons. This camp was home to the British Special Air Service, a special forces unit. At first, the other trainees did not take him seriously because of his age. But Alex quickly earned their respect with the skills he had learned from his uncle's training.
Alex began his first mission with help from Smithers, who gave him cool spy gadgets. A rich man named Darrius Sayle was giving away free, powerful computer systems called Stormbreaker to every school in England. MI6 was suspicious of his generous offer. They sent Alex undercover as a competition winner to investigate. There, Alex met Sayle and his two helpers, Mr. Grin and Nadia Vole. He saw the Stormbreaker computer in action.
Later, while Alex was having dinner with Sayle, Nadia Vole secretly took Alex's phone. She used it to find out where he lived in Chelsea. Nadia went to Alex's home and discovered his true identity. While there, she fought with Jack. Jack managed to win the fight with the help of a blowfish, and Nadia had to run away. That night, Alex snuck out of his window. He watched a mysterious delivery of containers arrive at Sayle's secret base.
The next day, Alex's cover was blown, meaning his secret identity was discovered. After trying to escape, he was captured. Sayle then explained his real plan for Stormbreaker. Each computer system contained a special smallpox virus. When activated, this virus would kill all the schoolchildren in the country. Sayle left Alex tied up and went to the London Science Museum. Nadia dropped Alex into a water tank to be killed by a giant Portuguese man o' war. But Alex escaped using a special metal-disintegrating spot cream from Smithers. Nadia was knocked out when the jellyfish hit her, breaking the tank.
Alex then hitched a ride on a helicopter flown by Mr. Grin. He used a special arrow to make Mr. Grin obey him. Alex parachuted out of the helicopter. He landed just as the Prime Minister was about to press the button to activate the computers. Alex used a rifle to shoot the podium, destroying the button and stopping Sayle's plan.
Sayle was furious and left to start his backup plan. Alex, with help from his school friend Sabina Pleasure, chased Sayle through the streets of London on horseback. Fifty floors up on one of Sayle's skyscrapers, Alex reached him and unplugged his backup transmitter. Sayle chased Alex onto the roof and pushed both Alex and Sabina off. They were left hanging by a broken cable. Suddenly, Yassen arrived in a helicopter and shot Sayle. Yassen then rescued Alex. Yassen told Alex that Sayle had become a problem for his own bosses. He advised Alex to forget about him. But Alex refused, saying that because Yassen killed his uncle, they were still enemies.
Alex returned to school. He and Sabina talked about what happened, and he said it would never happen again. The movie ends with someone watching Alex from a distance. Alex noticed this and realized his adventures were not over.
Meet the Cast
Here are some of the main actors and the characters they played:
- Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider, the brave teenage spy.
- Mickey Rourke as Darrius Sayle, the rich American villain with a dangerous plan.
- Alicia Silverstone as Jack Starbright, Alex's kind American housekeeper.
- Bill Nighy as Alan Blunt, the serious head of MI6.
- Sophie Okonedo as Mrs. Jones, the head of MI6 Special Operations.
- Damian Lewis as Yassen Gregorovich, a mysterious Russian assassin.
- Missi Pyle as Nadia Vole, Sayle's public relations officer.
- Stephen Fry as Smithers, the MI6 expert who creates all the cool gadgets.
- Sarah Bolger as Sabina Pleasure, Alex's school friend.
- Andy Serkis as Mr. Grin, Sayle's butler.
- Ashley Walters as Wolf, a tough SAS trainee.
- Ewan McGregor as Ian Rider, Alex's uncle and guardian, who was secretly a spy.
- Robbie Coltrane as the Prime Minister, the leader of the United Kingdom.
- Jimmy Carr as John Crawford, an important MI6 agent.
Making the Movie
The author of the Alex Rider books, Anthony Horowitz, hoped Stormbreaker would be the first of many movies. Horowitz, who was already a skilled writer for British TV, wrote the screenplay himself. He worked closely with the director, Geoffrey Sax, and the producers.
Filming took place in the summer of 2005. Six weeks were spent on the Isle of Man, and another six weeks in London. Some school scenes were filmed at The Grey Coat Hospital and Ballakermeen High School.
In 2005, Alex Pettyfer was chosen to play Alex Rider. He was picked from 500 young actors who tried out for the role. Pettyfer had also been offered a part in another film, Eragon. But he chose Stormbreaker because it was filmed closer to his home.
In June 2006, the filmmakers made a deal with Nintendo. This meant the Nintendo DS became an important gadget in the movie. This was an update from the Game Boy Color that Alex used in the book. A video game based on the movie, Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, was also released for the DS and Game Boy Advance. Alex's phone in the movie was a Nokia 7710. He also used a special pen with sodium pentothal to get to London.
In August 2006, the movie's name was changed to Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker for its release in North America. A new poster and trailer were released with this announcement. The American movie premiere happened on the Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York City.
The villain's name was also changed from Herod Sayle to Darrius Sayle. His nationality was changed to American. This was because Mickey Rourke was going to play the role, and Horowitz changed the character to fit him better.
The Future of Alex Rider on Screen
After Stormbreaker was released, Anthony Horowitz wrote a screenplay for a sequel based on the second book, Point Blanc. However, he said that more Alex Rider movies were "fairly slim" because the first film did not make much money. The Weinstein Company eventually canceled their plans for a sequel. Horowitz later shared that the books "do not translate well to the big screen."
A New TV Series
Even though the movies stopped, the Alex Rider story continued! A new television series was made, starting with the second novel, Point Blanc. This series was produced by Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television. It premiered in June 2020 on Amazon Prime Video and TVNZ OnDemand.
See also
In Spanish: Stormbreaker para niños
