Johnny English Reborn: Movie Review

By tvnz.co.nz's Darren Bevan

Published: 12:45PM Wednesday October 05, 2011

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Johnny English Reborn

Rating: 4/10

Cast : Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, Gillian Anderson

Director: Oliver Parker

Rowan Atkinson returns as the special agent Johnny English in the sequel to the 2003 flick which saw disaster given a new face of bumbling ineptitude.

When we first see English, he's in a Tibetan monastery trying to recover some sense of self worth after a disastrous mission he headed up in Mozambique ended up with the death of a president.
But when a plot to assassinate the Chinese premier is revealed, MI7, realizing their contact will only talk to English, is forced to recall him into service.

And so it appears Johnny English is the only person who can save the day - if he can pull his act together.

So a strong contender for one of the worst, most predictable films of the year emerges.

Johnny English Reborn feels like a throwback in so many ways; the gags are predictable and at times cringeworthy; in the monastery, English stands the opposite way to all the other monks during a work out; in an MI7 office, he falls off an inflatable back support ball and in a hidden base, he leaps around in a body bag only to jump into a wall. If you like that kind of humour, then this is the film for you.

Granted, these kinds of jokes were the sort of thing British film used to do some 20 years ago - and while nostalgia's a good thing, the relative lack of any kind of sophistication  here feels like an insult to today's audiences.

In fairness, Atkinson, channeling his deadpan rubbery face, gives it his all and even manages a few laughs here and there - but even he can't save the averageness of the script from rising up and swamping everything on screen. However, I will concede there will be some who will enjoy this film - the awkwardness and deadpan is worked to maximum effect here but after a while, it starts to grate.

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