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| From the book: the scene where Alex Rider |
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| is captured at the former tin mine. |
Rather than discuss politics, I think I'll go over to a very important subject to me: a teenage James Bond of a movie,
which I enjoyed very much. Unlike the joke of Agent Cody Banks, this movie was much closer to what I contemplate my
characters are in my mysteries. It also helps that the lead actor is a cute, clefted and freckled blond named Alex Pettyfer.
I first watched it in French with Spanish subtitiles. This teenaged James Bond has the gadgets, like Cody Banks,
with a more serious side. However I do have some questions that the book has yet to answer. How did this critical
character of Yassen Gregorvich stop the car after shooting the driver (Ian Rider, Alex's uncle, who as Ewan McGregor, should
have used the force, Obi Wan Kenobi)? Later we see the BMW with the plates of RID3R with only bullet holes. The
Portuguese man-o-war was also unbelievable in its ability to electrocute fish. They usually sting, which could
kill a human, but certainly not electrocute even a fish. Finally, sodium pentathol does NOT force anyone to do whatever
Alex wants Mister Grin to do. It is a "truth" serum. It was a stretch there, and in the book Alex points
a gun at Mr Grin, gets to London, then Grin tries to kill him while Alex parachutes. I suppose the author decided to
downplay the violence even more. The Hardy Boys back in the late 1970's were far milder than the characters in the books.
As an aside, I wonder what it would be like to get inside such a character: to think and feel what he thinks and
feels as the story proceeds. This film does become fun to be a teenager again. The word that struck me in the
bonus track is "particularly brave". Why would a fourteen-year-old be so brave? He's reluctant to get into military
intelligence, just as George Król is reluctant to get into detection. I also noted that such stories give only significant
clues, supposedly to keep it moving along, which may have not been the case of Anthony Horowitz's book. The book does
have an entire scene where the bad guys try to kill Alex in a field with all terrain vehicles, and Alex's stay is several
days, not a day and a half.
Alex Rider remined me of Frank Franklin, and I tried to rewrite it two years ago without finishing it. I have down
only about 2500 words, aiming for a novelette of thirty thousand. Barnes and Noble has the adopted story of Stormbreaker,
and I counted about sixty thousand words.
Matt Pizzuti, who also wants to be a journalist, just happened to mention the length of certain novels. Noentheless,
now that I hae written about four fifths of my current Frank Franklin, I think I'll ignore the quest for numbers of words.
It looks as though I'll have about twenty thousand.
I bought the book as it was originally written with juxtaposition of the movie. I read it to get a feel of the
difference of the book and the movie. Should my sleuth George Król ever gets reified in the movies, I have an idea on
what I'd have to change.
This picture of Alex Rider is where he is tied to a chair, similarly to how Matthew Wayne Shepard was tied to a fencepot,
near the climax of the film. Alex Pettyfer still looks good in this picture!
Okay, so I'm very interested in this gendre. I bought the second, sixth, and fifth book, and I read them in that
order. Now I know why Gregorovich saved Alex in the opening story, Stormbreaker. Given that all eight of the adventures
occur in one year, how can Alex Pettyfer act in them all, without looking too old?
If you are into high adventure, I'd recommend the books I've already read. I'd like to know how Anthony Horowitz
learned to write that way!
I finally delved into Harry Potter as well. How did J.K. Rowling come up with such delightful characters?
I'd like to do the same, for I am also a struggling author!
This film is rated R for language and violence overal. I found the violence the worse. However, it is an
ugly look at organized crime. Like a Shakespearean tragedy, most of the charcaters do not survive. With four superbe
actors in the lead, along with two others in support, the movie has its merits, provided that the violence doesn't upset.
Unlike "Saving Private Ryan", there seems to be no logic to such violence, unless one views war on crime. It did confirm
that Leonardo Di Caprio has grown considerably, for he almost towers over Matt Damon, who's average height. The best
part of the disc is that it is also dubbed and subtitled in both French and Spanish.
There are some pleasant moments in the film. The kid actor who plays an earlier Colin Sullivan is too cute to behold.
Mark Wahlberg's character provides a sense of justice in a state lacking the death penalty. It does give a sense of
Boston, one of many places I've never been. Still, it is nothing to feel good about; it is brute reality.
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