Review of Johnny English Reborn. Sinks despite the comic spark of Rowan Atkinson.
There are plenty of spy spoofs revolving around the indestructible James Bond franchise but only the Johnny English comedies claim the slapstick magic of Rowan Atkinson. It's been eight years since the first Johnny English movie and Atkinson returns to the titular role in director Oliver Parker's family friendly and by-the-numbers sequel that fails to match his incredible comic skills.
Atkinson, best known for his outrageous gags as the bumbling comic character Mr. Bean, stays true to his slapstick reputation as the James Bond-inspired secret agent Johnny English.
Atkinson is always fun to watch but Johnny English leaves fans, myself included, wanting better slapstick, more outrageous situations and material equal to Atkinson's talents.
Brought out of retirement by his British bosses, Johnny English zips from Hong Kong to London and finally to a climactic battle high in the Alps in order to battle a secret organization of assassins plotting to kill the Chinese premier.
English seeks help from CIA agent Titus Fisher (Richard Schiff) and fellow British spy Simon Ambrose (Dominic West) in order to catch the assassins but he's soon set up for the plot.
The best comic sequence occurs at the start of the movie where English trains at a Tibetan monastery and the laughs steadily grow further and further apart throughout the movie.
Child-friendly gags include a voice-controlled Rolls Royce and a rocket-powered wheelchair but they fail to hold the movie aloft.
Gillian Anderson delivers an exaggerated English accent as spy chief Pamela Thornton but otherwise fades into the wallpaper.
Dominic West of The Wire and the recent BBC America drama The Hour wastes his opportunity for comic mischief as fellow spy Simon Ambrose.
Rosamund Pike shines brightest as MI7 psychologist Kate Sumner, both the love interest and comic foil to Johnny English.
Pike, who knows her way around spy adventures as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, appears to be having fun with Johnny English and she's fun to watch.
Atkinson provides a couple of bursts of comic fun despite the weak storytelling thanks to a performance that pays homage to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and Jacques Tati.
Atkinson and his popular character Mr. Bean is not as beloved in the U.S. as his native England where Johnny English Reborn is a box office success.
Perhaps that's a good thing as Johnny English Reborn is a by-the- numbers spy spoof with half the spark of the original Johnny English movie.
Instead of a high-profile disaster, American audiences will treat Johnny English Reborn as just another mediocre family comedy easily forgotten by next week.
At least in America, Rowan Atkinson can walk away from this train wreck with his reputation intact.
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Richard Schiff, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Daniel Kaluuya
Screenwriter: William Davies, Hamish McColl, from characters by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
Director: Oliver Parker
Cinematographer: Danny Cohen
Editor: Guy Bensley
Producers: Working Title Films
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rating: Rated PG
Release Date: Oct. 21, 2012