In terms of age-suitability, there appears to be a budget of one expletive per episode, which adds to the naturalism of a teen show. Denying the inherent lark of the premise avoids cheesiness, but playing it straight down the middle also leaves the series feeling po-faced in places. It’s a world free of frivolity, one attempting to deny that there’s anything preposterous about the idea of British Intelligence recruiting a schoolboy to save the world. Grown-ups exchange tense words – and sometimes bullets – in dramatically lit rooms. The colours are muted and desaturated, the London skyline isn’t shiny and upbeat, but chilly and austere. The result is a show that aims to be more Spooksthan Spy Kids. It’s a moody, realist take on the character that’s a world away from the zany, colourful and cartoonish 2006 film (likely because the film wasn’t a hit and and failed to spark the hoped-for franchise). Sony though, has a plan to deal with that – it’s fast-forwarded Alex a couple of years and banished the gadget silliness, pitching the new show as suitable for all ages, children and adults alike. Is 20 years too long a gap to capitalise on the Alex Rider book buzz with a TV adaptation? Haven’t the original fans now grown up and swapped the teen spy for Jack Reacher in the escapist action genre? Perhaps. The occasion coincides with this eight-part TV adaptation made by Sony and streaming on Amazon Prime Video from Thursday the 4 th of June. Thirteen books later (along with graphic novels, short story collections, world-building tie-ins, Nintendo video games and a 2006 film starring Ewan McGregor), they’re celebrating their 20 th anniversary this year. The action thriller series started in 2000 with the publication of ‘Stormbreaker’. Armed with comically age-appropriate gadgets including metal-dissolving acne cream, a grappling hook disguised as a yo-yo, and a Sony Discman that turns into a circular saw, Alex repeatedly saves the world from Bond-worthy villainous schemes. When Harry Potter has done all he can, reach for Alex.įor everybody else, the Rider books tell the phenomenally popular story of a 14-year-old London schoolboy recruited by MI6 as a spy. Booksellers asked by customers how to entice a young, reluctant, usually male reader into fiction don’t even wait for the question to end before plucking an Alex Rider off their shelves. School libraries keep multiple spine-cracked, Sellotape-repaired copies. ‘Stormbreaker’ posters decorate classroom walls, and in schools around the country, tie-in ‘Scorpia’ key stage worksheets are photocopied by the hundredweight. This spoiler-free Alex Rider review is based on episodes 1-4.įor UK kids born after 1990, and parents and teachers of the same, Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling Alex Rider books need no introduction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |