Director: Oliver Parker
Cast Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Daniel Kaluuya
Certification: PG
Synopsis: Spy spoof character Johnny English is back – this time to apply his ‘unique’ brand of spying to solve a plot to murder the Chinese Premier and apprehend the culprit.
It’s been 7 years since Johnny English’s mediocre debut – in which said title character bumbles his way through international espionage after a King Ralph-esk accident leaves him as MI7’s only agent. Although its no Spies like Us (1985) or Spy Hard (1996), Johnny English’s first outing back in 2003 had something about it – a quaint British silliness and a simple ’Mr Bean Goes Spying’ premise that made just enough funnies to mean it wasn’t a complete waste of time. With this in mind and stirred by our confidence in leading man Rowan Atkinson’s comedic prowess, as well as feeling certain that neither actor nor studio would needlessly make such a belated sequel, THN was ready to be tickled silly. But JOHNNY ENGLISH:REBORN was not like being tickled, no Sirs! It was a more like having an annoying itch that you just can’t scratch. JE: REBORN is a drab and passionless affair that makes one wonder why any of the cast or crew got out of bed in the morning. Dwellers of urban metropolises may have seen video advertisements on the underground of Atkinson as English yawning and checking his watch…how apt we say as this is pretty much how we felt throughout the 101minute run-time. The film’s few clever lines and giggles are so few and far between that the laughs feel awkward and empty, even more so as you know you’ve got another 10-15 minutes of flimsy plot and tepid gags before you get anything close to another genuine chuckle.
A few more funny faces please Rowan!
The films premise is that Agent English has fallen from grace after a ‘faux pas’ whilst guarding the president of Mozambique but is called back to action when his country needs him most. Clips we’ve seen of Johnny English training with Shoalin monks turn out to be little more than an introductory montage and rarely features throughout the film save for a few cheap smirks and a plot/gag device for the end of the movie; just remember ‘making hard what is soft’ . The problem with JE: REBORN isn’t that it’s barely funny – the first film was only just a bit funny and we liked that one – it is that it has no plot! English is trying to track down bits of a key, to stop people getting something and using it on someone important with a motive we can’t or don’t even care to remember. Ironically due to English’s buffoonery, had he never got involved then the baddies probably would never have got what they’re after, however the film never shows any awareness of this fact.
REBORN’s main stumbling block is the character of Johnny English and the inconsistency of his competence as a spy. One minute he’s an awesome Kung-Fu fighting detective up there with your Bournes and Bonds and the next he’s clowning around with his trousers on back to front (yep this actually happens). Sometimes his bumbling causes major foul-ups and others he lands smack bang in front of his goal! Obviously there’s not a lot of depth to the character and I doubt Atkinson would claim otherwise and you could say this was true in the first film also (although in the first film it’s a little more consistent and the character develops….a bit). But in JOHNNY ENGLISH: REBORN – the lack of a coherent and engaging narrative means the wishy-washy nature of the character itself watches like a series of sketches with the audience never certain of which shtick to expect and disappointed by which ever version of English the writers have seemingly randomly selected for the scenario which wasn’t even very funny to begin with.
THN hates to be a negative Nancy and always tries to give the audience the pros and cons in an equal and objective manner – however when we consider this films best bits it’s pretty slim pickings. It’s got a few good one liners (the Rolls Royce gag), a couple neat scenes (the confrontation in the men’s room) and all too briefly do we get to see Atkinson’s brilliant facial gymnastics (in his reactions to ‘Mozambique’). Acting-wise the young Daniel Kaluuya (A staple of British TV) makes a noble effort as English’s side-kick Agent Tucker but is woefully let down by the script whilst Dominic West (The Wire) actually does a bit acting and looks good for it. Aside from this the supporting cast are all dead behind the eyes, including the lovely (if a little weather worn) Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).
The problem with JOHNNY ENGLISH: REBORN is a common one of most spoof sequels – the movie has forgot that it is supposed to be lampooning and makes it’s shallow character (who in is supposed to be the semblance of a better know screen icon) the comedic focus . In the first Johnny English film there are some great parodies of Bond; English throwing his coat out of a window in an attempt to smoothly get it on the coat stand or when he accidently cripples a secretary with a covert dart shooting ball-point pen. In this new movie the only thing being spoofed is Atkinson’s usual talents – it’s as if he’s doing a second rate job of impersonating his own shtick. Recently the actor had a rather serious car accident and THN bets that when he came to the first thing he thought was ‘Thank god I didn’t die with JE:REBORN as my last piece of work!’ Hopefully his near death experience will scare a bit of talent back into him and he’ll do another series of Black Adder!!!
JOHNNY ENGLISH:REBORN is boring and disappointingly un-funny. What is more THN aren’t really sure who the audience is?! It’s certainly not overt enough for the kids – nor is it subtle and witty enough for the parents. We were excited to see it as we felt it’d been a while since we’d seen the great Rowan Atkinson shine…it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer
JOHNNY ENGLISH: REBORN is out in cinemas around the country Friday 7th October.
