The best way to describe Stormbreaker is comparing it to James Bond, only this Bond is just 14 years old, and he goes by the name of Alex Rider. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Horowitz, and is the first in a series of Alex Rider novels, more of which are planned for the big screen.

So what's it all about? Well, we meet Alex Rider in school. A normal kid, who does normal kid-ish things. That is until his uncle is killed in a car accident and Alex's world is changed forever. It seems that all his life Alex's uncle Ian (probably a nod to Ian Fleming - creator of Bond), has been training Alex to become a spy - unbeknownst to Alex, his Uncle has been a spy for much of his adult life. So, Alex is in fact a black belt in karate, knows absailing inside out as well as sky-diving, and a hell of a lot more. So, Alex is eventually recruited by a special branch of Mi6 to go undercover to see what sinister entrepreneur Darius Sayle is up to with his Stormbreaker computer - only days before they will be distributed into 70,000 schools across the country.

Sounds pretty good doesn't it? It had a good bit of promise, to be sure but on almost every level Stormbreaker falls way short of the mark. It has a great cast, there's no denying that. Let's reel them off; Ewan McGregor, Mickey Rourke, Damian Lewis, Bill Nighy, Stephen Fry, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Silverstone, Robbie Coltrane and even comedian Jimmy Carr. Great cast, but what a ropey script. There was more cheese and holes than you'll find in any block of Edam. Sure, there's action aplenty, but the only scene that really impressed me was a brief scrap in a scrap yard early on in the flick. Even Ewan McGregor jumps ship and disappears before the opening credits, Mickey Rourke does his best with what he's got, but it's hardly a push for him. Jimmy Carr? What's all that about, and Sophie Okonedo looks so out of place. I could go on an on and I will. Stephen Fry has a fleeting cameo as the 'Q' character, while Andy Serkis, who plays an ex-Circus knife thrower doesn't even utter a word of dialogue, plus he's only in a couple of scenes.

The film also seemed to move too quickly, and I don't think there was enough time for any sort of character development at all. The film runs at just over 90 minutes, and admittedly, there's a lot to pack in the movie from the best selling book. I never thought I'd say it, but I think that this film could have benefited from an extra 15 minutes or so at the beginning of the film. Granted, the filmmakers were going for the shorter cut for a more child-friendly running time, but more development with McGregor's Ian and Pettyfer's Rider was needed, and the two don't even share a second of screen time.

I will say that newcomer Alex Pettyfer did seem to pull off the role of Alex Rider, and carried the movie relatively well, but I'm sorry to say that I don't think that there will be many more of these flicks on the way any time soon, as this just isn't good enough. The younger audience member may enjoy it, so that's why I'm not going straight for the 'E' rating, but this is the worst time I've had at the movies in ages.