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So why don't the Cody Banks movies work? All the Disney Channel bases are covered: well-dressed kid fools his parents into thinking he's "just another 15-year-old" while moonlighting as a special agent for the United States government; cute girls saunter onscreen with adorable peppiness; a teeny-bop radio- friendly soundtrack bubbles up all over the damn place... yet nothing matters.

In this second unbearable round, the filmmakers don't make much of an attempt to improve upon the first, aside from broadening the racial palette. Anthony Anderson (two-time Oscar winner for My Baby's Daddy and Kangaroo Jack) has been brought in to offer some family friendly "white boys are so [fill in the blank]" urban witticism to keep the franchise from collapsing under its own mundane weight. But not even the addition of Euro-cool location shooting gives Agent Cody Banks 2 any kind of visual legitimacy.

Is it Frankie Muniz's fault? Maybe. His cheekiness on Malcolm in the Middle is cute and precious, but in the Cody Banks movies, he tries to alleviate the histrionics for a more "real kid" ethic, and it all but leaves the guy falling flat on his face. He's handsome and likable enough, but there's no biting charisma behind the mask. And Hannah Spearritt as Banks' prepubescent love interest has nothing shy of a YM smile and a designer wardrobe to offer her character.

It's a shame, because the spy genre needs a kick in the pants, and it sucks that Agent Cody Banks doesn't offer more. With Pierce Brosnan stagnating as 007 and the Spy Kids movies turning more into bubblegum adventure fare than spy chic, there is ample room for somebody - regardless of age, shape or size - to take the reigns. Where is Robbie Williams as a newfangled sex-a-holic British spy gigolo? Where's Rupert Everett's alleged gay spy picture? One would like to hold out hope that Lucy Liu as a gender-revamped Charlie Chan (according to the papers, it's really happening) would give the genre a much-needed shot of adrenaline, but don't hold your breath.

So for now, it is either Austin Powers or Cody banks. The kids seem to like these light, brain dead excursions, but for all others, watch your step.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Just like the first Agent Cody Banks DVD, this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is lovely. Blacks are strong, as is contrast, and there are actually fewer examples of color smearing and noise this time aro9und. Detail is strong, edge enhancement is minimal and shadow delineation quite supple. There are also only a few instances of compression artifacting despite all the extras. Pretty darn good. (A full-frame version of the picture on the flipside of the DVD.)

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix here is well-oiled and impressive. Music cues are horribly over-loud, but dialogue has been nicely recorded and atmospherics a are impressively directed across all channels. Also getting a great workout is the .1 LFE channel, which gives this soundtrack some real kick. Better than Mr. Banks deserves, actually.

Also included are French and Spanish Dolby 2.0 surround dubs, plus English, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Even though the majority of the special features here are dreadful, we do get a couple of extras that are worth checking out. The "Agent Mode" Interactive Quiz is a surprisingly elaborate trivia track of sorts that allows kids and grownups to see just how closely they're following the antics of young Mr. Banks. We even have a video introduction from Anthony Anderson and Frankie Muniz, which makes this the standout of the entire set.

Also quite good is the Spy on the Set visual cast commentary with Muniz, Anderson and prepubescent hottie Hannah Spearritt. Instead of speaking over the film (even they consider that boring), this time the screen simply freezes every once in a while and everybody comes into frame and talks about their experience on the picture. No, there is not a lot of fascinating stuff here, but at least it's a cute shtick.

Then comes the boring stuff. Agent Cody Banks: Back in Action is a 9-minute featurette that is nothing more than an EPK bore-fest. Next we are treated to 7 minutes' worth of deleted and extended scenes (none of which add up to much); a still gallery that features Muniz and his clarinet - oooh!); the film's theatrical trailer plus trailers for Stellaluna, The Legend of Johnny Lingo, Hamilton Mattress, The Crocodile Hunter, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Muppet Christmas Movie. (Note that when you start up your DVD, you will also be treated immediately to the Agent Cody Banks 2 preview, then previews for the original Agent Cody Banks, the Good Boy! DVD release, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids, and the terrifying Hi-5, which looks like a modern- day "Kids, Inc." on acid. Yikes!)

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

There are no ROM extras on the disc.

Parting Thoughts