Review: Johnny English Reborn

The interesting thing about Johnny English Reborn is that Rowan Atkinson’s performance is superb.

The slapstick and physical humour are reminiscent of Mr Bean, and the wordplay and moments of inflamed arrogance have the tiniest hint of Edumnd Blackadder about them. So, even after three decades in the public eye, Atkinson has clearly not lost his comedic talent. This is  a shame, because the film that he finds himself in is rather lacking in quality in almost every other department.

The story is simple enough, and even has the potential to be intriguing – Johnny English, disgraced secret agent, is brought out of retirement to foil an attempt to assassinate the Chinese Premier, but stumbles upon evidence of treachery within MI7 itself.

Unfortunately, it all feels rushed and disjointed; there are some interesting and rib-tickling scenes, including the world’s slowest chase through the streets of Macau, but it feels like the rest of the film is just an excuse to get to the next gag.

Similarly, there are some names in the cast (including Gillian Anderson, Tim McInnerny and The Wire’s Dominic West) which make one expect a rather competent performance. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be playing the same card – looking on in abject horror while Atkinson makes a tit of himself. In particular, new sidekick Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) comes off as little more than an irritating Mummy’s boy – especially annoying as there is no mention of Bough, the sidekick played admirably in the original film by Ben Miller.

Another problem at the core of Johnny English Reborn is that it tries to do too much at once. There are several ideas presented in the film that could be quite amusing – the British Secret Service being taken over by Toshiba, for example – and there’s even a budding romance in the form of psychoanalyst Kate Summer (Rosamund Pike, who was ironically a Bond Girl in the days of Pierce Brosnan), but none of these things are ever given enough room to breathe as the story zooms along.

Similarly, the whole concept of Tim McInnerny as Patch Quartermain – the most obvious parody of Desmond Llewelyn’s ‘Q’ there has ever been – could have been omitted entirely. The glut of gadgets brings the film dangerously close to the campy side of James Bond, precisely the thing that the film set out to mock.

Still, these points about plot and character are really moot. Nobody will see Johnny English Reborn because of its well-written plot and well-developed characters; that would be like buying Nuts magazine because you want to read the well-written and well-informed articles.

No, people will see this film because Rowan Atkinson has an incredible talent for making people laugh, and he can do it by doing nothing more than falling off a chair, or saying the word “bottom”. The man is, deservedly, a national comic treasure, and Johnny English is an excellent way to remember why.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a good spy film this year, then stick to Tinker Tailor.