Stormbreaker ( film ) - wikipedia Stormbreaker ( film ) Stormbreaker United States film poster Directed by Geoffrey Sax Produced by Marc Samuelson Peter Samuelson Steve Christian Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz Based on Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz Starring Sarah Bolger Robbie Coltrane Stephen Fry Damian Lewis Ewan McGregor Bill Nighy Sophie Okonedo Alex Pettyfer Missi Pyle Andy Serkis Alicia Silverstone Ashley Walters Mickey Rourke Music by Alan Parker Cinematography Chris Seager Edited by Andrew MacRitchie Production company The Weinstein Company Moving Picture Company ( MPC ) Isle of Man Film Samuelson Productions Distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors ( UK ) The Weinstein Company ( US ) Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer ( US ) Release date 21 July 2006 ( 2006 - 07 - 21 ) Running time 93 minutes Country United Kingdom United States Germany Language English Budget $40 million Box office $20.7 -- 23.9 million Stormbreaker ( titled Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker in the United States ) is a 2006 action spy film directed by Geoffrey Sax. The screenplay by Anthony Horowitz is based on his novel of the same name, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. The film stars Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider, and also stars Mickey Rourke, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okenedo, Alicia Silverstone, Sarah Bolger, Stephen Fry and Ewan McGregor. Stormbreaker was an international co-production between companies and financiers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. The film 's plot follows a teenage boy who is recruited by MI6 after his uncle, a secret agent, is killed in action. He is sent on a mission in Cornwall to gather intelligence behind Stormbreaker, an advanced computer system being provided to schools across Britain, and its creator, billionaire Darrius Sayle. Intended to be the first entry in a film franchise, Stormbreaker grossed between $20.7 and $23.9 million worldwide upon its theatrical release, thus failing to recoup its $40 million budget. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film was largely criticised for its lack of originality and believability. As a result of these factors, plans to produce further Alex Rider films were dropped. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 5 Cancelled sequels 6 References 7 External links Plot Alex Rider is a 14 - year - old schoolboy who lives with his uncle Ian and their housekeeper Jack Starbright. Ian is supposedly a bank manager and is, much to Alex 's regret, often away from home. One day, Alex is told that his uncle has died in a car crash, but quickly discovers that his uncle was in fact a spy working for MI6 and was murdered. He is then recruited by his uncle 's former employers, Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones of the Special Operations Division of MI6, who explain to Alex that his uncle has been training him as a spy. Alex initially refuses to cooperate but agrees when they threaten to not renew the visa and deport Jack as a result of her visa running out seven years before. Alex is then sent to a military training camp in the Brecon Beacons, the home of the Special Air Service. At first, his fellow trainees look down on him because of his age, but he soon gains their respect for his capabilities. He sets off on his first mission, aided by gadgets from Smithers. Billionaire Darrius Sayle is donating free high - powered computer systems codenamed Stormbreaker to every school in the United Kingdom. MI6 are suspicious of his seemingly generous plans and send Alex undercover as a competition winner to investigate. There, he meets Sayle himself and his two accomplices, Mr. Grin and Nadia Vole, and is shown the Stormbreaker computer in action. Later, while Alex is having dinner with Sayle, the suspicious Vole steals Alex 's phone and tracks the SIM card to his house in Chelsea. She goes there and finds Alex 's true identity ; while there, she is disturbed by and consequently fights Jack. Despite being outclassed, Jack wins with the help of a blowfish, leaving Nadia to flee the scene. That night, Alex sneaks out of his bedroom window to observe a midnight delivery of mysterious containers to Sayle 's lair. The next day, Alex finds himself in trouble when his cover is blown. After attempting to escape from the facility, he is captured, and Sayle explains his true reasons behind Stormbreaker -- each system contains a modified strain of the smallpox virus which, upon activation in the Stormbreaker release, will kill all of the country 's schoolchildren. Sayle leaves Alex tied up and departs for the London Science Museum. Nadia drops Alex into a water - tank to be killed by a giant Portuguese Man o ' War, but he escapes using the metal - disintegrating spot cream supplied by Smithers, Nadia is subdued when she is hit by the jellyfish, rupturing the tank in the process. Alex then hitches a ride on a Mil Mi - 8 helicopter piloted by Mr. Grin, using a sodium pentothal arrow to gain Mr. Grin 's obedience. Alex parachutes out of the helicopter and lands just as the Prime Minister is about to press the button which will activate the computers. Alex uses a rifle to shoot the podium, which destroys the button, and ruins Sayle 's plan. Furious, Sayle leaves to carry out his back - up plan, and Alex, with the help of school friend Sabina Pleasure pursues Sayle through the streets of London. Fifty floors up on one of Sayle 's skyscrapers, Alex reaches him and unplugs his backup transmitter. Sayle chases him out onto the roof and pushes both Alex & Sabina off the roof, leaving them hanging by a dislodged cable. Unexpectedly, Yassen arrives in a helicopter and kills Sayle ( in the same manner he did Ian ) before rescuing Alex. Yassen then tells Alex that Sayle had become an embarrassment to his employers, and that Alex should forget about him, but Alex refuses saying that the killing of his uncle Ian means they are still enemies. Alex returns to school ; he and Sabina are talking about what happened and he says that it will never happen again. The film ends with someone observing Alex from a distance. He notices it and realizes that it 's not the end. Cast Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider Mickey Rourke as Darrius Sayle Alicia Silverstone as Jack Starbright Bill Nighy as Alan Blunt Sophie Okonedo as Mrs. Jones Damian Lewis as Yassen Gregorovich Missi Pyle as Nadia Vole Stephen Fry as Smithers Sarah Bolger as Sabina Pleasure Andy Serkis as Mr. Grin Ashley Walters as Wolf Ewan McGregor as Ian Rider Robbie Coltrane as the Prime Minister Jimmy Carr as John Crawford Production The United States poster showing the change of title from Stormbreaker to Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker was intended by the novel 's author, Anthony Horowitz, to be the first entry in a film franchise based on his Alex Rider series. Horowitz, already an established and prolific screenwriter in British television, wrote the screenplay and worked very closely throughout the film 's production with director Geoffrey Sax and producers Marc and Peter Samuelson. The Weinstein Company acquired the North American rights to the film, which was filmed in Summer 2005 with six weeks on the Isle of Man and a further six weeks in London. Some of the scenes of the school were filmed in The Grey Coat Hospital and Ballakermeen High School, Douglas, Isle of Man. In 2005, Alex Pettyfer was cast as Alex Rider. He was picked out of 500 hopefuls who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer was originally offered a role in the then - upcoming film Eragon but turned it down, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed nearer home while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic. In June 2006, the producers signed a deal with Nintendo that made the Nintendo DS a prominent feature in the film, much like the Power Glove in The Wizard. This is an upgrade from the Game Boy Color that Alex used in the novel version. In addition to the Nintendo marketing in the film, Alex 's mobile phone is a Nokia 7710 and he uses a sodium pentothal pen to get to London, not a gun. In August 2006, the film was retitled Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker for North American release. A new poster and trailer were released along with the announcement. It was also revealed that the US premiere would take place on the Intrepid aircraft carrier at the Hudson River, New York City. The name of the villain also changed from Herod Sayle to Darrius Sayle, with his nationality switched from Lebanese ( Egyptian in the US version of the novel ) to American. This was because Mickey Rourke was already in talks to take on the role, so Horowitz adapted the character to suit him. Reception Box office Stormbreaker was distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors in the United Kingdom, where the film made $2,313,496 on its opening weekend, well below its expected target of blockbuster status. The film 's grosses gradually declined each week for the remainder of its run, totalling of $12,872,046, making up more than half of what would become the film 's final worldwide gross. In the United States, the film was distributed by The Weinstein Company in 221 theatres and grossed $215,177, with an average of $973 per screen and ranking No. 27 during its opening weekend. The film earned $677,646 in the United States and $23,260,224 internationally for a total of $23,937,870 on an estimated budget of $40 million. The Numbers reported a worldwide gross of $20.7 million. In Germany, the film was given a direct - to - video release. In a 2007 interview for Reuters, Horowitz blamed Stormbreaker 's financial failings on The Weinstein Company 's handling of the film 's distribution on the American market, particularly their decision to not give it a wide release. According to the writer, `` Harvey Weinstein decided not to distribute it. It is one of the most bizarre and annoying things that the film did n't get given its shot in America. To this day I do n't know why. '' Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has a score of 34 % based on 67 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 out of 10. The critical consensus states `` Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker is strictly children 's fare, as it lacks originality, excitement, and believabiltity. '' The film also has a score of 42 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 20 reviews, indicating `` mixed or average reviews. '' BBC critic Neil Smith gave the film three out of five stars but criticised the `` unsubtle turns '' from both Bill Nighy and Stephen Fry. The Hollywood Reporter branded the film as `` a lame and disappointing affair ''. Although likening it to both the Harry Potter and James Bond series, reviewer Ray Bennett said the film `` lacks any kind of suspense '' due to the script. He ended saying that Stormbreaker was unlikely to have a `` license to kill at the box - office ''. Cinema Blend editor - in - chief Josh Tyler gave the film two and a half stars out of five, and said that, `` Most of the problems with Stormbreaker all boil down to believability. '' Boston.com 's reporter Wesley Morris also gave Stormbreaker two stars out of five, and said that `` Geoffrey Sax 's filmmaking holds few surprises... but it 's swift and competent, despite too many shots of cars on roads that bloat the running time. '' Cancelled sequels Prior to or after Stormbreaker 's theatrical release, Horowitz had written a screenplay based on Point Blanc, but stated that the chances of further films based on the Alex Rider novels were `` fairly slim '' due to the film 's underperformance at the box office. The Weinstein Company eventually cancelled their plans for a sequel, and Horowitz later expressed that the novels `` do not translate well to the big screen ''. References ^ Jump up to : `` Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 04. Jump up ^ `` STORMBREAKER ( PG ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. 23 June 2006. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 30. ^ Jump up to : `` Stormbreaker ( 2006 ) ''. British Film Institute. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 15. ^ Jump up to : `` Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker ''. The Numbers. Retrieved 4 March 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker ( 2006 ) ''. Box Office Flops. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 18. ^ Jump up to : `` Alex Rider author sees 3 more books ''. Reuters. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 18. ^ Jump up to : `` Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 09. ^ Jump up to : `` 9 franchise - starting young adult films that struggled ''. Den of Geek. 23 June 2006. Jump up ^ `` Stormbreaker filming finishes ''. BBC News Online. 14 August 2005. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ Maddocks, Fiona ( 20 July 2006 ). `` Calm amid the storm ''. The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ Lyall, Sarah ( 18 July 2006 ). `` He Was a Teenage Spy, Surrounded by Treacherous Adults ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ `` The Nintendo DS -- Heading to a theater near you ! ''. Go Nintendo. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ Carr, Kevin. `` An Interview with Anthony Horowitz ''. 7 ( M ) Pictures. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/alex-rider-operation-stormbreaker Jump up ^ Smith, Neil ( 21 July 2006 ). `` Stormbreaker ( 2006 ) ''. BBC Films. Retrieved 22 May 2007. Jump up ^ Bennett, Ray ( 26 July 2006 ). `` Stormbreaker ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2007 - 05 - 22. Jump up ^ Tyler, Josh ( 27 September 2006 ). `` Stormbreaker ''. Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 01. Jump up ^ Morris, Wesley ( 13 October 2006 ). `` ' Stormbreaker ' is kid lit without the pages ''. Boston.com. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 01. External links Archived 17 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker on IMDb Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker at AllMovie Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker at Box Office Mojo Stormbreaker ( Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker ) at Rotten Tomatoes Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker at Metacritic Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz Novels Stormbreaker film video game Point Blanc Skeleton Key Eagle Strike Scorpia Ark Angel Snakehead Crocodile Tears Scorpia Rising Russian Roulette Never Say Die Characters Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz Alex Rider Stormbreaker ( 2000 ) Point Blanc ( 2001 ) Skeleton Key ( 2002 ) Eagle Strike ( 2003 ) Scorpia ( 2004 ) Ark Angel ( 2005 ) Snakehead ( 2007 ) Crocodile Tears ( 2009 ) Scorpia Rising ( 2011 ) Russian Roulette ( 2013 ) Never Say Die ( 2017 ) The Diamond Brothers The Falcon 's Malteser ( 1986 ) Public Enemy Number Two ( 1987 ) South By South East ( 1991 ) The Greek Who Stole Christmas ( 2007 ) The Power of Five Raven 's Gate ( 2005 ) Evil Star ( 2006 ) Nightrise ( 2007 ) Necropolis ( 2008 ) Oblivion ( 2012 ) Sherlock Holmes The House of Silk ( 2011 ) Moriarty ( 2014 ) Other novels The Devil and His Boy ( 1998 ) Mindgame ( 2001 ) The Killing Joke ( 2004 ) Trigger Mortis ( 2015 ) Short story collections Horowitz Horror ( 1999 ) Films written Just Ask for Diamond ( 1988 ) The Gathering ( 2003 ) Stormbreaker ( 2006 ) Television series created Crime Traveller ( 1997 ) Murder in Mind ( 2001 -- 03 ) Foyle 's War ( 2002 -- 15 ) Collision ( 2009 ) Injustice ( 2011 ) New Blood ( 2016 ) Films directed by Geoffrey Sax Circles of Deceit : The Wolves are Coming ( 1993 ) Doctor Who ( 1996 ) Othello ( 2001 ) Tipping the Velvet ( 2002 ) Margery and Gladys ( 2003 ) White Noise ( 2005 ) Stormbreaker ( 2006 ) Frankie & Alice ( 2010 ) Christopher and His Kind ( 2011 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stormbreaker_(film)&oldid=845087703 '' Categories : 2006 films English - language films 2000s action thriller films 2000s adventure films British films British adventure films British spy films British thriller films American films American action thriller films American adventure films American spy films German films German adventure films German thriller films Alex Rider Films about orphans Films based on British novels Films set in Cornwall Films set in London Films set in Wales Films shot in London Museums in popular culture Films shot at Pinewood Studios The Weinstein Company films Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer films Films directed by Geoffrey Sax Screenplays by Anthony Horowitz Films based on young adult literature Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from July 2017 Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska 中文 12 more Edit links This page was last edited on 9 June 2018, at 08 : 27. 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Question: who plays alex rider in the movie stormbreaker
Answer: Alex Pettyfer