Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Peter Howitt, Universal Pictures, PG 88 Minutes.
After years of appearing as the bumbling ‘Mr. Bean’ on TV’s favourite sitcom English comedian Rohan Atkinson returns to the big screen as a clumsy British spy in ‘Sliding Doors’ director Peter Howitt’s entertaining parody on the Bond character.
Johnny English (Atkinson) is thrust into becoming Britain’s surviving spy after he accidentally causes the death of agents in a submarine and then at their funeral as he attempts to complete Agent One’s mission of restoring the Crown Jewels.
It is while English is attending the jewels’ unveiling at the Tower of London with assistant Angus Bough (Ben Miller – ‘The Actors’) that he meets the mysterious Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia – ‘Underdogs’) before a sudden blackout sees the jewels stolen.
This prompts the accident-prone English into action ultimately leading him and Bough to Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich – ‘RED’) a French entrepreneur who’s friends with MI7 head Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith-‘ Flyboys’), who is determined to force the Queen’s abdication and claim the crown himself.
As Sauvage prepares for his coronation it is left to English to thwart his plan through an amusing turn of events that leaves everyone flabbergasted; in the end resulting in Sauvage being taken away for high treason.
Despite the many obstacles and his own clumsiness (such as him dropping the crown at the coronation) English, like the irrepressible Inspector Clouseau, somehow still manages to save the day.
There is no doubt that this ‘Johnny English’ movie is an enjoyable experience due mainly to Atkinson’s attempt to portray himself partly as the action-oriented character James Bond and other times as the clumsy Inspector Clouseau.
Apart from Atkinson’s comedic antics there is naturally the entertaining performance provided by Aussie actress Natalie Imbruglia who contributes considerable glamour and spice to quite an amusing storyline.
It is fair to say that this first instalment of ‘Johnny English’ has later been bettered in the sequels that follow but still continues the fine tradition of sending up spies in a manner that produces the most amusement.
Johnny English is to be televised on 9GO on Saturday 20 March at 8.45pm.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 Stars
