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By Tom Meek
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In this follow-up to the 2003 spy-kid comedy, Agent Banks is now 16, and the format shifts from family, school, and CIA training to more of a straight-up baby-Bond adventure. It’s a miscue at spy camp that whisks Banks (Frankie Muniz of TV’s Malcolm in the Middle) off to London, where he has to stop a rogue operative from imbedding a mind-control device in the US president and the British prime minister (the latter is clearly Tony Blair, whereas the former is just a generic oaf). To do so, he poses as a member of an international youth orchestra, playing clarinet — badly. The stateside preamble may be listless, but when Banks touches down in London and falls in with the baddies, director Kevin Allen builds momentum to a winning conclusion. Hannah Spearritt adds zip as the spy gal from Scotland Yard and possible puppy-love interest. Also on tap is hip-hop comedian Anthony Anderson as Cody’s motor-mouthed handler. But the question remains: where does the Cody Banks franchise go next? The agent will be 18 and heading to college, surely too old to maintain the interest of the tweeners this guileless comedy adventure is aimed at. (101 minutes) At the Apple Valley, Entertainment, Flagship, Holiday, Providence Place 16, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas.
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