Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) User Reviews

a few safe for the family laffs

[bluzman · 5/10 · 20 March 2004]

This is a fairly weak follow-up to the original. It lacks the newness and novelty found in first movies, which is to say it offered nothing really new or exciting.

In his movie we already know who he is and what he does. The gadgetry is nothing stunning or new. The special effects are fairly standard.

The biggest chance to go anywhere, and it was completely missed, was for him to at least get a little distracted by the cute flute player, or even the bassoon, woodwind buddy, girl. Granted we cannot let him go into full James Bond mode, but it was an opportunity to make a little something extra in the movie, and it was squandered.

All in all, I am not so wrapped up in or concerned with the stuff critics get off on. I don't need to say something special or controversial to get published. I don't need to rag on a film to feel superior to the great unwashed who pay to see it at the local cinema. I am concerned in being entertained and seeing my family equally entertained.

That said, we were mildly entertained. It will be a safe choice for family movie night from the video store. No one is going to be annoyed by it, but few will be thrilled either.

Save your theater movie, and wait to rent it.

So so

[jpintar · 5/10 · 17 July 2004]

Agent Cody Banks 2 is a decent sequel to the original. It is watchable with a few scattered laughs. However, the film way overstays its welcome. Some scenes go on without any point to them whatsoever. The climax at Buckingham Palace seems to go on and on forever. I think Frankie Muinz is a very bland actor. I never understood his appeal or of his show Malcolm in the Middle. He seems lost in a role that requires more charisma and screen presence. In the first movie, he had help from Angie Harmon and Hillary Duff. In this movie, he has a miscast Anthony Anderson and an English girl who is not given enough screen time to develop a character we care about. This is not to say the movie is not fun to watch. However, it pales in comparison to the original and the far superior Spy Kids trilogy which was far more imaginative and more fun. 5/10 and I think I am being generous

So-so sequel with lots of adventures , noisy action , amusement and entertainment

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 18 January 2019]

Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) is a friendly teen but he's really a CIA undercover agent . Nowadays , he goes back as the junior CIA Agent Cody Banks. Diaz (Keith Allen), Cody's CIA trainer at summer camp, robs a mind-control device from the CIA, and getaways to London. Cody is assigned by his chief (Keith David) for one dangerous mission . As Cody flies to London and goes undercover as a clarinet-playing prodigy at an elite music school. Cody must fool the other kids at the school while he pursues Diaz. Cody joins forces with another botcher CIA agent (Anthony Anderson) . Cody finds Diaz and must fight him for the mind-control device. Cody has to use everything he's learned to prove himself as a competent agent and stop Diaz from completing their mission . Save the world. Get the girl. Pass math. Adventure is an attitude.

The plot is a little bit ridiculous , but we're in a spoof comedy and it is narrated in fast-movement ; besides , abound the surprises , being very funny and bemusing . In the film there is suspense , comedy , emotion , action-packed , tongue-in-cheek and chases galore with impressive velocity pursuits . The screenplay is nicely developed as well as characters and the frenetic action united to excellent special effects that are varied of these too . From the beginning until the end the amusement and entertainment is continued . The humor moments are in charge of Frankie Muniz and Anthony Anderson with their abundant botches and goofs that happen when they must confront perils and risks against the villains . Including a thrilling and exciting final facing off between the protagonists and the baddies . It's a spoof of James Bond's films , there're even bizarre artifacts like in ¨007¨ movies , plus a role type ¨Q¨ , a weapon deliverer who teaches the various gadgets which Cody Banks will subsequently use . Sympathetic acting by Frankie Muniz as adolescent agent who is given the job of retrieving a twisted device, before it can be put to evil use. Support cast is pretty good , such as : Hannah Spearritt as a music student , who is really a British secret agent working on the same case , and Anthony Anderson as Cody's CIA handler in London who becomes a cook at the house of the musical benefactor . Furthermore , Cynthia Stevenson , Daniel Roebuck , Keith Allen, Anna Chancellor , James Faulkner , and the veteran David Kelly . And special mention to the habitual villain Santiago Segura , he is terrific as well as hilarious as a peculiar nasty person . Colorful cinematography by Denis Crossan ; filmed on location in London , Knebworth House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK Cobham Hall, Kent, England, UK , Buckingham Palace , Canary Wharf Underground Station, Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK . Atmospheric and lively musical score by Mark Thomas .

This is a sequel to ¨Agent Cody Banks¨(2003) that directed Harald Zwart (One Night at McCool's , Commando Hamilton , Pink Panther 2) starred by Hilary Duff , Angie Harmon , Cynthia Stevenson , Arnold Vosloo , Keith David , Daniel Roebuck , Ian McShane. This second part motion picture titled ¨Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London¨ (original title) was regular but professionally by Kevin Allen (known for : Flat Lake ,The Big Tease, Under Milk Wood (2015), Y Syrcas (2013) and Spiceworld) . Rating: 5/10 , average but acceptable and passable .

Destination ... nowhere!

[film-critic · 2/10 · 27 April 2005]

I will admit, I was a fan of the first film. While I didn't think it was one of the greatest films created, I did think that it had quite a bit of potential coupled with ample originality. It was fun, exciting, and it seemed like everyone involved seemed to be enjoying themselves. I only with that I could say the same for the sequel, Agent Cody Banks: Destination London. From the opening sequence of this film you could sense an aura of dislike, repetitiveness, and simple futility. Nobody, not even Frankie Muniz himself, seemed like they were bringing the same level of excitement to this project. Also, the level of originality was completely below par for this sequel. If you, like myself, brought any excitement from the first film to this one, it will be completely destroyed. Nothing worked in this movie, from the jokes, to the "spy" story, it just seemed flat and disrespectful.

My first issue is with the cast. If this was a true sequel, I think the producers could have budgeted a bit more to see about getting the original characters back. I understand that perhaps Hillary Duff's paycheck had risen since the original film, but she did bring something (as embarrassing as it is to say) to Agent Cody Banks that kept the spark alive. As did everyone else involved, sadly, Anthony Anderson (one of the most overused comic actors of this decade) brought nothing to the table. His jokes seemed generic and, honestly, repetitive. He had no character, all I could witness was Anthony Anderson being Anthony Anderson. They attempted to bring sympathy to his character by giving him this sub-story about being the "black" sheep of the CIA, but in my eyes it just wasn't enough. Anderson was just trying to showcase his "talent" so that he can continue to live the lifestyle that he has built. It was sad, and really hurt this film. Second, was Muniz himself. The bond between him and Hannah Spearritt was poor. I am not sure who the casting agent was on this project, but there was no chemistry between these two actors. They continued to prove that by reading your lines and walking the steps, you could inherit a $5 million dollar paycheck. Nobody cared, nobody stopped, they just continued to make this cheapened sequel.

Next issue, where was the story? The first film carried with it some decent events that built a strong story which ultimately lead to a better than average film, but it seemed like in this sequel they aimed towards children and empty minds. In most film sequels, they use a similar plot structure to give the audience a sensation of relaxation, while simultaneously building different elements to keep our attention. Well, none of that was used in this film. Instead, we find ourselves with a cheapened story that results in dogs playing piano and a very unspooky villain. In fact, I couldn't even tell you who the true bad guy was of this film, and that is a perfect sign that your film is struggling. This story just felt as if it was unfinished, as if the original screenplay was not dumbened down for children, but instead built another strong adventure, but the studio wanted to capture the child audience, so the butchered the product, leaving frayed edges and unfinished segments, so that they could make room for Anthony Anderson's cheap laughs. Yet again, proving the pathetic nature of the film. I went into this story expecting to be completely surprised, yet somehow walked away without any recollection of what I just experienced. It was the perfect example of a how a sequel should not be structured or released.

Finally, I would like to say that if you have a film that seems to do somewhat well at the box office, there should be no need to rush right into a sequel, especially if you see a growing decrease in the excitement behind Malcolm in the Middle. Frankie Muniz is a decent actor, but when handed poor material, he will not fray from making it exceptionally poor. He is one of those actors that brings good things to great material, but will falter if handed unseasonable stuff. I do not see a bright future for Muniz due to his ability to stray from decency. This could have been a powerful sequel, but instead Hollywood yet again strayed towards the side of childish behavior instead of truthful storytelling.

Overall, this film lacked the fun of the first film. With unfamiliar characters, comedy that seemed forced and incoherent instead of funny, and a story that had that cheapened Velcro feel to it, Agent Cody Banks 2 proved that jumping to quickly into a sequel will place a black cloud on your entire series. While once I had considered this to be an interesting and highly original concept, I now have second thoughts. I am not sure that Muniz was prepared for such a cheap sequel, and therefore he signed too quickly. I do not recommend this film to anyone that enjoyed the first film, or at least was under the impression that the first film was decent. This was a horrible sequel that should have never seen the light of day. YUK!

Grade: * out of *****

from a kid's prospective....pretty darn good

[The_Canuck_Critique · 20 March 2004]

Seeing this movie with three boys aged 4,6 and 7, left me in stitches, sure it's corny, it's rigged, and the acting is so-so, but it's a kids movie and a darned entertaining one at that.

My kids loved it, and the theatre was packed, the laughter was loud and in the end, the cheering was louder! So take the movie at it's face value, it's with kids, and for the kids, and it's entertaining for them, nothing more, nothing more intended by the producers either I would assume!

In my books, the sequel like almost all sequels is not as good as the original, but well crafted nonetheless.

Crappy sequel an embarrassment even to Frankie Muniz himself

[MovieCriticMarvelfan · 3/10 · 25 May 2004]

Frank Muniz comes back as Cody Banks in this lackluster sequel in which he comes out of kids spy school to track down a hispanic Dictator named Diaz who used to be in the Cia.

Lame jokes are abound in this sequel as the jokes will pass you by without making you laugh, although kids might get them (like the chocolate surprise joke and millions of James Bond references)

One aspect I didn't like in this sequel are the numerous racial insults and stereotypes in the film ranging from a middle eastern with a bad accent to a black Muslim who plays a trumpet!! Man I don't know how this on screen, it also explains why Roger Ebert gave this film a thumbs down.

Still if you like dumb entertainment check it out.

PS: Speaking of dumb racial stereotypes that girl who plays the blonde dumb bimbo who belives the lies of Cody is a near riot, at the expense of dumb blonde stereotypes.

A few laughs yes, but is the movie good? No.

A lame and weak sequel that's strictly for kids

[christian123 · 3/10 · 31 March 2005]

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London is a weak sequel and its strictly for kids. Cody Banks, the teen secret agent played by Frankie Muniz, returns with an undercover mission in London, posing as a boarding school student trying to stop a rogue agent who has stolen a mind-control device. With the help of his new handler (Anthony Anderson), Banks must stop the villain before he takes over the minds of the world leaders. The plot sounds like it can be an enjoyable family film but if your not a kid then you will probably hate it. The original was only average and this one is well below average. Frankie Muniz stars as Cody and he does a decent job but he is getting a little to old for this. His new sidekick is played by Anthony Anderson and he has some funny lines but most of the time his overacting becomes annoying. The last person worth mentioning is Hannah Spearritt of S Club 7. She's not really that good of an actress but she's a solid replacement for Hilary Duff. The absence of Hilary doesn't hurt the movie but its not like its benefiting from it either. Kevin Allen directs and for his first main movie he did an okay job. The material in this film is just so childish , which isn't a bad thing since it's a kid movie, but the writers don't even seem to attempt to entertain adults. The film is 100 minutes long so if your stuck watching this with your kids you might start to doze off. While the film is right for kids they are not bound to like it that much as my younger sister said it was kind of boring. If they had waited until 2005 to release this, then maybe they would have had time to write a better story instead of rushing through the entire production. Rating 3/10 an average film for kids and a bad one for adults.

This an ersatz version of "Spy Kids"

[tararau · 1/10 · 1 February 2005]

Fundamentally this a version of "Spy Kids". Except with out the charm and with all the fun removed. Frankie Muniz is not so much acting here as mugging for the camera - which is unfortunate because we need him to be interesting and entertaining and he fails to deliver. he's kind of posing and it definitely doesn't work - for me. Meanwhile the whole movie feels put together with out much care. It has no flow, it is strangely boring despite the action. Fundamentally this inertia comes down to Muniz and his one dimensional performance. Maybe I'm being harsh - maybe the director should be held accountable? I don't know. It's a humorless creation despite the odd fart and fluids gag. The best solution is to go rent Spy Kids, Robert Rodriguez has more soul, more energy, way more fun.

Could have been so much better!!!

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 5 January 2010]

Right, first things first, I enjoyed the first Agent Cody Banks movie, While silly and predictable, it was fun, entertaining and endearing. This sequel tries hard, but it could have been so much better. It does have redeeming qualities, such as the soundtrack, Hannah Spearitt in a chirpy performance as Cody's Scotland Yard counterpart and some cool stunts and action sequences. However, I really didn't care for the plot, not only was it predictable and lame but it took a while to get going. Then there was a weak script, that was filled to the brim with low-level humour and numerous clichés. To Paul Kaye's eccentric inventor and Mark William's police inspector, the film sometimes borders on being too stereotypical. The acting was okay at best, Frankie Muniz does his best reprising his cheeky and charming persona that he brought to the first movie, but let's face it, he was getting too old for the part. Anthony Anderson tries hard, but the humour here is so juvenile and generic that he can't do anything with it. The same goes with Anna Chancellor and Keith Allen, two very competent actors, but the weak material disallowed them to do anything worthwhile, so it was a waste of talent in the end. James Faulkner was merely okay, but he has been much better. The film also goes on for too long too, and further suffers from uneven pacing. All in all, a sequel that had potential, but falls surprisingly flat. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Really a 4.5? This is a great mindless action family flick?!

[UniqueParticle · 7/10 · 13 October 2019]

Frankie Munaz is so awesome in his younger years and so is Anthony Anderson, their energy is great fun! Sure it's got ridiculous parts but void that out in your mind and you'll enjoy enough for a mediocre rating. Decent story, soundtrack, stunts, and comedy; I say appreciate that. Also the mentos thing is greatness!!

Call Frankie's agent!

[Buddy-51 · 3/10 · 8 March 2005]

"Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" is the sequel to a film that I confess I've never actually seen. Based on what I HAVE seen here, I'm not sure I missed all that much the first time around.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, Banks is an under-aged spy who works for the CIA, sort of a teenaged James Bond for the Doogie Howser set. In this installment in the series, the organization sends Banks on an undercover mission to England to seek out and destroy a mind control machine that one of its rogue agents (who's feeling unappreciated and slighted by the agency) is now helping to develop and finance for his own nefarious purposes.

This is harmless enough wish-fulfillment fantasy for youngsters, I suppose, but adults forced to sit through it with them will quickly find themselves irritated and bored by all the lowbrow shenanigans. There's a very funny scene up front in which we see how the kids' spy training facility is converted into an innocuous summer camp to fool the parents on visiting day, but, I'm afraid, this cleverness soon gives way to an inordinately silly plot and a succession of tired chase sequences. Although the gadgets are cool, there aren't enough of them to distract us from the appalling overacting on the part of virtually the entire cast, including Frankie Muniz who, though a likable young performer on "Malcolm in the Middle," is here forced to wear a single expression of pained disbelief throughout. As an actor of undeniable talent and charm, hopefully he'll get the opportunity to tackle more varied and mature roles in the near future and won't go the way of so many other juvenile performers - that of being stuck in roles for which he is too old and thus failing to make that successful leap from child star to adult actor.

it was hard to believe this was the sequel to the oroginal...

[moviesfan11 · 10/10 · 14 March 2004]

In Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, Cody(Muniz) returns to Kamp Woody for more training. He then goes to London as an exchange student. His new mission involves a mind comtrol device. Anthong Anderson and Hannah Spearritt also star.

I have to say, I loved the first one! It was energyfilled, action packed, and funny. I found it hard to believe this was the sequel to Agent Cody Banks. They are totally different. Everything about each differs in some way. But I did like this. It is funnier. The plot in this is pretty good, the action is fun, and the new gadgets are cool. I think this would have been better if they kept the old director, Angie Harmon, and Hilary Duff, though. Overall- Good.. enjoyable for ages 7-14.

AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON- ***/****

PG- action sequences and brief crude humor,language.

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London

[studioAT · 6/10 · 22 August 2022]

This was a sequel made in a hurry, trying to desperately catch Frankie Muniz while he was still a teen.

It's not as good as the original, but there are enough fun moments here to pass the time. I liked Anthony Anderson as Cody's new handler, and as an S Club 7 fan it was nice to see Hannah pop up. Though her trying to pass as a teen might have been a bit of a stretch.

It looks cheaper than the original, there's a noticeable dip in quality, but I remember liking this as a kid.

Waheed Murad is a Pakistani actor, not Indian!!

[sara_is1 · 4/10 · 28 December 2005]

Just want to clarify something, it may seem petty to most, but it's not.

Actress Leilah Isaac's character Sabeen remembers Waheed Murad. In the movie, Sabeen says: "And I'm Waheed Murad." This entices all to ask "what?" to which she replies, "Famous Indian actor." Waheed Murad never worked in an Indian film, but appeared in over a 100 Lollywood (Pakistani film industry) films from the 1960s to the '80s.

Waheed Murad was one of Pakistan's most famous and loved actor's, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear him being referred to as Indian.

Thank You.

Boy does this suck!!!

[TheEdge-4 · 21 March 2004]

I was lucky to get a free preview ticket for this ahead of its official U.K. release. Lucky in that I didn't have to pay to see this film. Because it sucks big time. We are talking hungry anteaters here, people. This film should have been called "Cody Banks Franchise: Destination Oblivion". And this is someone who thoroughly enjoyed the original film. But everything that that film got right, this one manages to get wrong. The great joke in the original film where a teenage secret agent has to get close to a professor's daughter but proves to be completely clueless around women has been junked here and all we are left with is the standard teenage secret agent story. That wouldn't matter so much if we had a great story and great characters but we don't.

Setting it in London would have been a great idea if they had bothered to look beyond the standard cliché English eccentric characters but they don't. This is lazy writing of the highest order (yes, Don Rhymer, I mean you) and throws away every opportunity the setting gives for the story. Why not some cultural misunderstanding between Cody and the English, for instance? Or their disbelief that he is a secret agent. I know this isn't supposed to be taken seriously but this could have been a lot funnier than it is. Instead we get the typical English eccentrics so beloved of Hollywood.

Still, I must confess that the revelation during the concert at Buckingham Palace at the film's finale that Tony Blair is under mind control from an evil mastermind did make me laugh, even though it takes the film dangerously close to realism, something that doesn't occur again throughout the rest of the film (the Blair look-a-like (and sound-a-like) is great though - give that man a medal. For a minute, I was thinking it was the real thing. After his appearance in "The Simpsons", I was beginning to think that maybe Blair was starting to line up a new career for himself for when he gets kicked out of Downing Street).

And if I say that the only person not to disgrace themselves in this film is Hannah Spearritt, then you may some clue about how bad the performances are. Paul Kaye (a.k.a. Dennis Pennis) gives a career-truncating performance as an eccentric Q-type character while Anna Chancellor gets stuck with another posh English woman role after her turn in "What a Girl Wants" (What has this poor woman done to upset her agent? That's what I want to know), Anthony Anderson manages to make his previous performance in "Kangaroo Jack" look a masterpiece of subtlety by comparison and David Kelly is embarrassing as an eccentric butler (a shame as he's usually quite good, as anyone who's seen "Waking Ned" will testify). As for Hannah Spearritt, she makes an appealing easy on-the-eye replacement for Hilary Duff and isn't half bad as the flautist/covert agent, especially given the paucity of the material she was to work with. Given a decent script, she might find herself a career outside of S-Club 7 but after this and the S-Club 7 movie "Seeing Double", like Anna Chancellor, she needs to get herself a new agent first (perhaps she shares the same one as Anna Chancellor). To think this travesty was directed by an Englishman (Kevin Allen) defies belief (what was he thinking of? The pay cheque?). Avoid (like the plague), I beg you!!!

Muniz has lost his touch.

[Bsbgirl7 · 2/10 · 18 July 2004]

Ever since Muniz started to do these Agent Cody Banks movies I truly believe he has offically lost the acting bug. The movie was dull, not funny and boy did it make me tired. In my opinion I personally think the only good move he ever made as an actor when it comes to choosing jobs it would be "Malcom in the Middle". Yet I shouldn't be talking because he is the one with the millions of dollars and I do not have nearly that much money. The thing about Muniz now is that he isn't as cute as he was so he isn't getting the cute aww-look-at-that-adorable-little-boy parts anymore.I hope he wises up and starts choosing better parts for himself before he never gets asked to act again unless if its in twenty years and its about his childhood stardom.

This movie is strictly for the kids

[ryan_kuhn · 2/10 · 13 February 2005]

While watching young children, one of the things one has to do is watch dumb movies that the kids love. Agent Cody Banks 2 fits in that category. There are fast cars, fast motorcycles, and annoying kids running around London trying to prevent some guy from doing something. I'm not really sure what the plot was, then again it does not really matter. From what I got from this movie is that kids like the fact that "one of them" is doing cool stuff, cool James Bond-type stuff. In this case, the kiddie-spy is Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz, playing the title character Cody Banks. I guess he had some adventure in the past, as this is the sequel to some movie I didn't see, of course called Agent Cody Banks. The movie opens at what appears to oblivious parents as a typical summer camp, but really is a super secret spy camp where tens of kids are learning the way of the CIA. No wonder we could not find Bin Laden, kids not even old enough to drive are our spies. There are stereotypical characters all over the movie, including alleged comedian Anthony Anderson as the token black guy. As a rational adult, I could not stand this movie, but the kids in the class I was watching seemed to enjoy the movie, they like the non-stop music and the shiny cars going fast, so take that for what it's worth. Then again, these kids think Hilary Duff has real talent.

Cody Loses His Mind

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 11 April 2009]

The year before our teenage CIA agent was dealing with nanobots that eat carbon and silicon. In Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, Frankie Muniz is on assignment in the British capital to chase down a defecting agent and the mind control device he's been developing. The defector by the way is Keith Allen who ran the summer camp where the CIA trained its young agents and that the parents of same know nothing about its real purpose.

One thing unchanged from the first film, parents Daniel Roebuck and Cynthia Stevenson are as clueless as ever and apparently as clueless as the rest of the adult parent population who send their kids there. That business makes the film hard to swallow if you're over the age of 18.

Instead of shapely Angie Harmon as Frankie's handler, he gets Anthony Anderson instead. They get to stay in an English castle where they believe a scientist collaborator, James Faulkner is working on the device. Muniz is part of a visiting teen orchestra, an international grouping of kids bringing something new to the classics as you see. As for Anderson, he goes in as a cook and he introduces the British aristocracy to soul food and they actually like it.

As Frankie Muniz was growing up and he did considerably between the first Cody Banks film and this one I'm guessing either he and his producers or both arrived at a decision that to keep this series going would be ludicrous. He was 19 then and still playing a high school kid. After this he couldn't have carried it off.

As I said about the first film, all right for adolescents, adults would have a hard time swallowing all of this.

Pointless potboiler

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 1/10 · 3 July 2004]

Agent Cody Banks 2 is, with no doubt, the most useless, redundant and unasked-for sequel since WWII. No one wanted a sequel and the only reason it exists is to cash in on the modest, modest, incredibly modest 'success' of the original. The plan didn't work as this quite deservedly bombed horribly.

Even in the 2-second gap between this and the first Frankie Munitz hasn't aged well. And he's quite aggravating. Hilary Duff wisely bailed out and her character is replaced by some untalented non-celeb former pop-babe. Another sign of desperation is the casting of Anthony Anderson (who SERIOUSLY doesn't belong in this), a talented funnyman who is increasingly finding himself the ONLY funny thing and a series of bad movies.

Plus it's one of those typically xenophobic movies under the wild belief that everyone in Britain rides around on red buses, has tea with the queen every night and is either very posh or cockney. I'm sorry, but I have been on the London Eye and I KNOW the recorded female voice does not sound like that. They changed in the movie to sound 'posher'.

Unbelievable!

This is one 'franchise' that has died a quick, but painful death.

much better than the first, but still bad

[pkzeewiz · 3/10 · 16 May 2010]

This time around Cody Banks is at a summer camp training program for the C.I.A. and one night helicopters come in and attack. Banks thinks its a practice mission only to find it was real and that his camp trainer was a bad guy and the helicopters had came for him. He then is sent to London to join a musical group and find out information on a bad guy who is married to the conductor. He soon learns that his C.I.A. trainer is over there and he and the bad guy are working on devices to have brain control over humans. This time he has a partner who sticks by his side posing as a cook and soon finds out one of his band mates is a secret agent as well.

Much better than the first one, but still was a let down. This time around Banks seemed a little more grown up and his partner played by Anderson did a great job with one liners, in fact the whole cast was better than the original. There was lots more comedy. Much better music and the director seemed to aim more at the story than the action, which is good in a kids film. The director shot it as if it were a drama dealing more with character as opposed to the director in part 1 which tried hard to shoot it as a hard action film. All and all it was a better film, but it still was just for kids and lacked anything appealing to anyone over the age of 15.

As I said direction was better from a guy trying to prove him self and did a good job, but haven't seen much else from him after this. Much of the same cast was back Keith David, Daniel Roebuck, etc. New comers included Anthony Anderson and I thought he made this movie great, always been a fan of his and his one liners. I really liked the music better too, not only was the score better but they added some decent rock songs including Rancids "Fall Back Down".

I must say this James Bond wanna be was about the same as the first one and was short on action and heavier on gadgets. It would be a good film to watch for a younger audience and it's very kid friendly, but adults wouldn't enjoy it too much. 3/10 stars

Awesome cinematography saves awful script

[ray-280 · 7/10 · 24 January 2006]

When watching "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" for the zillionth time on cable (okay, keeping it on in the background when there's nothing else to watch), I have to say that this film is one of the best examples of great cinematography I have ever seen. There aren't blinding special effects like we saw in the first movie (a pack of exploding Mentos provides the best effects and drama throughout the film), but the director deserves an A+ with extra credit for presentation.

As for the script, you can almost hear Hilary Duff in the background yelling "Don't do it, Cody!," but Cody went ahead and did it, bringing along a B-list cast to replace quasi-A-listers Duff and Angie Harmon. The supporting cast this time around consists primarily of Anthony Anderson as Derek, who is looking to prove himself and get "back in the game," and relative newcomer Hannah Spearritt, she of wounded heart thanks to the director, who nixed the idea of a hookup between Cody and her character, Emily, a Scottish special agent of the hottie variety. If I were Muniz, I would have gone on strike over this glaring omission, and the male-teen audience that this film was targeted to missed out on some great fantasy fodder similar to what my generation was offered in films like Flashdance (she's that hot and they could have done tons with her if they wanted). Spearritt was totally unused here.

The plot? Banks has to go to London while posing as a Clarinet player (thanks to a Clarinet that plays itself) in a youth group that is to give a concert just prior to the G7 meeting, where an evil dictator (a very crappy Keith Allen as Diaz) plans to use a mind-control device to take over the world. The unoriginal plot can be forgiven, however, since this is a Muniz/Banks vehicle, and to that extent the film stays true to the original.

Without giving away the ending, the film's climax juxtaposes a beautiful orchestral, "extended remix" rendition of a rock classic with Banks doing battle with the bad guys in a scene that few will likely ever forget seeing, even if it doesn't immediately stand out in their minds. This one scene excuses the rest of and literally saves the film. Older viewers should appreciate the complexity and beautiful cinematography of the finish, while the kids will focus more on the action, but all should be left without any serious dislike for a film whose script could have been better, but whose execution would have been extremely difficult to improve upon.

I actually wrote this review while watching "The Dentist 2," and if that story managed a sequel, this one surely has a right to exist. Watch it on cable if you're an adult, but grab the DVD if there are any children under 16 in the house, or if you are a fan of '60s psychedelic rock redone by a youth orchestra.

Agent Cody is back again in his last installment

[lisafordeay · 4/10 · 18 March 2024]

Agent Cody Banks 2 Destination London is a 2004 sequel to the 2003 flick Agent Cody Banks which starred Hilary Duff.

This time Agent Cody Banks(Frankie Muniz) is back again and this time his teaching amateur CIA agents at a boot camp owned by(Keith David). One of the amateurs he has to help out is Derek(Anthony Anderson). Accompanying them is a young British agent named Emily(Hannah Spearitt from S Club 7 fame). Together the trio must take down Victor Diaz(Keith Allen)who stole software at the CIA camp and they must stop him before it's too late.

Overall it wasn't as good as the 1st film. If you liked the original then you might like it or not.

Actually, It's Great!

[g-bodyl · 9/10 · 14 April 2008]

Before I saw this movie on DVD, I had low expectations about this film because of the negative reviews about it. I must say that I liked it, a lot. This film is just as good as the first Banks minus Hilary Duff. This time around, Banks attends a CIA camp during the summer. One night, troops came to take the leader of the camp away. But, Banks thought it was just a drill. How wrong he turned out to be. The guy who escaped is a mind-control geek and he wants to use the devices to take over the world. Banks must head to London, team up with two more agents(a hot chick and an agent who stays in London), and stop the world from turning into mind-control freaks. The acting is great especially with all three agents played by Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, and Hannah Spearitt. The plot was a simple one with a few comedic points added in. I recommend this movie to everybody. I rate this film a 9/10.

mini James Bond 2...

[Amityville15 · 5/10 · 12 July 2014]

Cody Banks is back in an all new high energy adventure with new gadgets, slick special effects and wicked chase sequences.

This film starred: Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson & Hannah Spearritt.

Agent Cody Banks 2 is better than the first but it is still not that good of a film, again like the first film it is good when you are younger, but again as you get older this is a boring film. These films are like James Bond but for kids, and I don't like that, it is such a bad idea when you look at it now. Not really recommended unless you have kids because they will probably enjoy this film.

**/***** Poor.

Brilliant Followup

[TheArgentWolf · 10 June 2004]

There have been several negative comments on this movie, namely on the choice of casting, and on the quality of acting.

Firstly, I think choosing London as the setting was a brilliant idea (Though I am slightly biased). Not only could British people relate to the film, other countries would also find it interesting.

I also think that it was brilliant casting Hannah Spearritt to play Emily. She is an excellent actress, and suited the character well, and it only furthered her acting ability. I also think Frankie Muniz has matured so much since the first film, and seemed a lot more comfortable.

All in all, I thought it was an excellent film!