Stormbreaker

By all accounts, 'Stormbreaker' could be the beginning of another hysteria-inducing, ubiquitous franchise to rival the 'Harry Potter' films. Based on the first book in Anthony Horowitz's popular teen spy series, it features Alex Rider (played by adolescent prettyboy Alex Pettyfer), a 14 year-old orphan thrust into the murky world of espionage following the murder of his guardian uncle. Alex soon realises that he's been unwittingly trained by his late uncle in the skills necessary for the international super-spy, and sets out on his first mission for MI6. The obligatory gadgets of the spy thriller are hence imaginatively transformed for a teen audience: metal-dissolving 'zit cream' and a super-strength mechanised yo-yo being two such examples.

Like the Potter films, 'Stormbreaker' has attracted a weighty collection of acting talent, including (take a breath) Ewan McGregor, Mickey Rourke, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Silverstone, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Andy Serkis, Damian Lewis and Jimmy Carr. Filmed entirely in the UK, and boasting an interestingly transatlantic cast, 'Stormbreaker' should easily trounce Hollywood's previous, for-kids-only attempts at the 'young Bond' flick such as 'Spy Kids' or 'Agent Cody Banks'. And with plans to adapt the other five books in the sequence, Mr Horowitz must be a very happy man indeed.