Review: Johnny English Strikes Again

“Better than the trailer suggested, but the word tired comes to mind often.”

I must start this review with a disclaimer: I haven’t seen the previous two Johnny English movies. That very well may taint my review and opinion, as there were apparently many references to the previous films. However, a film like this should be able to stand on its own.

I wasn’t impressed by the trailers I saw. The film looked like a series of tired old slapstick jokes and Rowan Atkinson playing Mr Bean pretending to be a spy. But it was certainly better than I expected, but high quality it was not.

The names Bean... Mr Bean.

The film is carried by Atkinson, who eases his way through with little effort and for the most part, manages to keep the film together. The film suffers from a few too many misses, but there are some hits with the humour as well.

The story is very typical, although it feels like it may have been written by someone very limited in their knowledge of technology, and the villain is very poorly written. Whilst it’s supposed to be a parody, the fairly large budget and a little too much polish make this feel more like a funny spy movie, rather than a real parody of the James Bond franchise.

In terms of the cast, Emma Thompson is waisted in a bland role that doesn’t give her anything to do other than yell at authoritatively at people.

Olga Kurylenko (who was a Bond girl), look ridiculously like Catherine Zeta Jones, but again, isn’t playing an interesting character.

And finally, Jake Lacey is written to be annoying and obliges throughout.

If prat falls, funny faces, awkward moments and bodily fluids make you laugh, this is probably a film you’ll enjoy. Don’t go in looking for clever wit.

The five bearded questions:

1. Was it worth a cinema trip? Yes, mainly because it was the premiere.

2. Would I See It Again at the Cinema? No.

3. Would I buy it on Blu-ray: (only films I really love get bought these days) No 4. Do I Recommend people see it? If you like prat falls or Rowan Atkinson.

5. Any cheese/ Disney style bullshit?: (such as jokes wedged in at serious moments, because fun!). Well, the humour was the point.