It recently occurred to me that no one simply makes spy movies anymore. Rather, they make spy franchises. Whether it's Mission: Impossible or Spy Kids, if there's one, there's bound to be more. And why not? If James Bond deserves 20 sequels, doesn't Cody Banks merit one? I'll admit that Cody sets himself up for further adventures just as well as the ultra-cool Brit who inspired him. The original film established the formula: teen super-spy saves world from maniacal madmen without parents suspecting, and manages to finish his homework. Now for the sequel, simply change location and repeat. Right?
Wrong. This time around, the filmmakers left out the crucial ingredient which made the original watchable—wit. The first movie's plot had Agent Banks trying to get the bad guys by getting close to their scientist's daughter. Suave spy clichés clashed entertainingly with nervous teen clichés, resulting in a few inspired scenes. But Agent Cody Banks 2 has none of that.
The film takes place in London. I can only guess this is because someone decided the first film didn't have enough red double-decker buses. I had thought they might work in some Bond jokes since they were on his home turf, but that would have been witty, and was thus avoided. The plot has Cody posing as a member of an international youth orchestra to catch his traitorous former mentor, who plans on using a mind-control device to (you guessed it!) take over the world. Much of the first film's cleverness came from Cody concealing his CIA identity while going through everyday adolescent situations. But this film leaves out the teen stuff.
Many cast members of the first movie are missing in action. Hilary Duff was probably too expensive. Angie Harmon, who played Cody's handler, has been replaced by Anthony Anderson, playing the same bumbling character as in Barbershop and Kangaroo Jack and is completely out of place. Frankie Muniz is watchable as Cody Banks, but he's also watchable on Malcolm in the Middle, and that's free.
Kids aren't usually too picky, and they'll probably enjoy the goofball humor. But there are plenty of different spy kid movies now, so those who want to discriminate can certainly afford to. Cody Banks definitely isn't the Sean Connery of teen spies, but he's not as bad as George Lazenby, either. He's more of a Timothy Dalton.