ABC Film Challenge – Action – J – Johnny English Reborn (2011) Movie Review
Director: Oliver Parker
Writer: Hamish McColl (Screenplay) William Davies (Story)
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson, Tim McInnerny, Daniel Kaluuya (the Kitchen)
Plot: Johnny English goes up against international assassins hunting down Chinese Premier Xiang Ping.
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Johnny English Reborn starts as Johnny English (Atkinson) is forced to return to MI7 after being disgraced after a failed mission. Years before. Johnny is working under Pamela (Anderson) who sets him out to figure out who is targeting Chinese Premier. This will see Johnny getting himself a new string of mishaps, as he looks for answers which could also clear his name from the previous incident.
Thoughts on Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn will continue to give us a poking fun at the spy genre. The over the top idea where one agent will need to overcome being placed in the prime suspect role to save the day. Even if we get a string of mishaps along the way. This does feel like it has a much more interesting story going on, even if most of the comedy does take away from it for most of the film.
The film looks to give us an idea that borrows from some of the more iconic scenes in previous spy movies, adding an attempted laugh along the way. Rowan Atkinson is the one trying for all the comedy. While everyone else seems to play their roles straight. Which doesn’t help the comedy come off as strong as it wants to, even if a young Daniel Kaluuya is the scene stealer in this film. Johnny English Reborn does improve on the last outing, but still doesn’t hit enough of the smart attempts at comedy. Which could work so much more.
Final Thoughts – Johnny English Reborn is an improvement, but not by much.
