Movie Review: Johnny English Reborn

Johnny English Reborn Movie

Movie Review: Johnny English Reborn

            Rowan Atkinson reprises his role as the clueless English spy in Johnny English Reborn. The original Johnny English was released in 2003 and earned an impressive sum of $28 million coming from the US. Will the sequel rack up some dough in the states the second time around?

            Chances are those fans of Mr. Bean and families will show up to support this child-friendly film and probably enjoy doing so. Johnny English Reborn travels the globe, jumping from London to Hong Kong to Switzerland, and tells us the story of English’s return to MI7. There’s an impressive cast involved that could have easily been cast in an actual James Bond flick. So, with that in mind, let’s see if was necessary to reborn this Johnny English.

The English:

-          Director   : Olive Parker

-          Writer      : William Davies, Hamish Mc Coll, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade

-          Starring    : Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West

-          Original Music by    : Ilan Esheri

-          Cinematography by  : Danny Cohen

-          Distributor: Universal Pictures

The Plot:

            Johnny English comes back to MI7 after learning martial arts in Tibet as punishment for an earlier disastours mission in Mozambique. MI7 (Codenamed Toshiba British Intelligence) identifies him as the best agent for a new mission which requires stopping a group of international assassin before they kill the Chinese premier and cause global chaos.

The Good:

·         Clever Moments

The first 20 minutes of the film build up English’s characters as a super clever spy. He chases after an Asian gentleman but instead of exhausted himself by jumping of buildings or climbing down ladders, he takes a more subdued approach. He takes an elevator, for example. It wasn’t very funny seeing English avoid the action but it does leave one in awe that one character (the Asian) is running for his life while the other (English is just barely running and still catching up.

·         Playing It Straight

One of the ways comedy seems to work is when the characters play it straight, as if they really believe that they are stuck in this situation. The latest example I can think of is 30 minutes or less when Jesse Einsenberg’s character really thought has was going to die. That’s what they movie does. It plays it like a drama adding characters that would make sense in the world of espionage, but then adds this dim witted Johnny English to bring in more laughs.

The Bad:

·         Very Specific Humor

Even if you’re a fan of spoof comedy -Austin Powers, Ace Ventura, or Mr. Bean- this humor is childish at best. There is a market for it out there. Perhaps those kids who like seeing grannies get punched or men forcibly put on lipstick.

Overall:

            Rowan Atkinson is a funny guy, on screen. Undoubtedly he’s a guy who can make you laugh with a simple change of facial expression, but Johnny English Reborn isn’t his best work. There’s an impressive cast involved that acts as if this were an actual James Bond film, and while that works occasionally, it doesn’t save the film.