Johnny English Reborn | Film review

For better or worse, the comedy of Rowan Atkinson (better, Blackadder; worse, Mr. Bean) has always been derived from character, which is what makes Johnny English Reborn a puzzling muddle. Atkinson’s English is meant to be a parody of the supersuave Bondian spy, somehow cracking the case through his bumbling incompetence, but the character lacks the sharp focus necessary for extended humor. Sometimes, he’s the buffoon whose visit to MI7’s weapons lab is a series of gags that involve him nearly killing the staff. Other times, he is more of a weary old sage, teaching a newbie spy (Daniel Kaluuya) that slow and steady wins the chase sequence.

English trots from set piece to set piece in this shiny, brightly lit, flatly directed film, as he tries to stop a group of assassins from taking out the Chinese premier. There’s a va-va-voom woman (Rosamund Pike) to be wooed, fiendish assassins to be tangled with and a double agent to be unmasked. Atkinson certainly manages a few funny bits, but for the most part he seems to get dragged through the standard spy plot like a child walking a Great Dane. The movie is being marketed as family entertainment; if the audience we saw it with is any indication, you might want to bring along a few comic books for when the tykes get bored. And they will.