Stormbreaker

We arrived early so we could get James's books signed, as well as books for his friend Michael, who is a major Alex Rider fan, but couldn't come with us to the movie. Anthony was as generous and charming as ever, and I am embarrassed to say that I did that awful adult thing and spoke for James instead of letting him answer Anthony's friendly questions. I could make the excuse that James had said he was a bit nervous about meeting his first celebrity, but it really was unforgivable of me. (Although James wasn't bothered, but I did feel terrible about it.) Even so, we got books signed, and a photo taken of James with Anthony (who insisted on standing up for the photo, as James, although only 13, is about 6 feet tall). I'll add the photo to this post when it's emailed to me—I stupidly left my camera at home.

On to the movie! Well, James just loved it. He's a big movie fan, and he thought it was great. I've not read the book, but James said the film was largely faithful (as you'd expect, as Horowitz wrote the screenplay), with just some minor changes, such as the villain's first name and the stated source of his untold wealth. It has a sensational cast (although Mickey Rourke is looking more and more like a living cartoon villain—what happened to that beautiful young man from Rumble Fish?) and is certainly action-packed. An early sequence, with Alex Rider on his pushbike chasing a van that has mysteriously taken away his recently murdered uncle's possessions, is genuinely exciting. It's a classic Bond-style spy thriller, with an unlikely plot and even more unlikely villains (Missi Pyle's Russian accent does Boris and Natasha proud!), and despite Horowitz's extensive experience as a screenwriter, I do wish more attention had been paid to the dialogue and plot. Outside of the impressive action sequences, there were some infelicitous editing decisions, and quite a few "huh?" moments in the plot, but the wonderful performances of the largely British cast (Ewan McGregor! Damian Lewis! Sophie Okonedo! Stephen Fry! Bill Nighy! Robbie Coltrane!) rise above the sometimes silly plot. And it has to be said, it is quite a violent film, although with a primarily youthful audience, the worst of it is off-screen. And yes, Alex Pettyfer is very good.

I didn't watch most of the final showdown between Alex Rider and Darrius Sayle, as it takes place on the top of a skyscraper, and I suffer serious vertigo from such scenes! (As I did in Friday night's episode of Wire in the Blood.) But for all of that, and all of the above, it was a rollicking hour and a half, James can't wait for the DVD, and we had a fun day out. Can't ask for more than that!