Parents' Guide to Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London

Movie PG 2004 95 minutes
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Nell Minow , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 9+

Action comedy has some cartoonish violence, profanity.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 9+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 8+

Based on 8 kid reviews

What's the Story?

Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) is the superstar of the secret CIA training camp for spy kids. He helps the camp director escape in what he thinks is a simulation exercise. But it turns out that it was not a simulation. Diaz has escaped with the CIA's secret mind-control software. Cody has to go undercover as a member of an international classical music group for teens to track him down before he can gain control of the world's leaders at a meeting in London. Cody is assigned to work with Derek (Anthony Anderson). Cody gets an assortment of cool new gadgets, including a retainer wired to permit him to eavesdrop on the bad guys and a package of exploding Mentos mints. And he gets some unexpected help from Derek, who turns out to have some talent as a spy (and a chef), and from a pretty British undercover operative (Hannah Spearritt) as well. In addition to using the gadgets and tracking the bad guys, Cody has to pretend to play the clarinet. When he gets spotted by Diaz, he is used as the guinea pig for the mind-control device implanted in his tooth.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 3 ):
Kids say ( 8 ):

This movie doesn't have anywhere near the imagination and wit of the Spy Kids movies, but it is a pleasantly diverting adventure for a too-often-neglected segment of the audience. Muniz has an appealing screen presence, and Anthony Anderson is up to his usual shtick. The action sequences are only fair, but there is one scene with exploding water containers that is a lot of fun.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what Diaz says to Cody: "Trust equals death. Trust nobody -- including me." Why did he say that? How do we know who deserves our trust?

  • Howo do you think Agent Cody Banks 2 compares with the original film?

  • What do Cody and Derek learn from each other?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Poster Image

What to Watch Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate