Johnny English Strikes Again

I've always enjoyed the Johnny English movies, so I was absolutely delighted with the third entry in the series: Johnny English Strikes Again. With the brilliantly idotic hilarity of The Pink Panther, and the fun factor of all the old Bond movies, I was laughing and smiling right the way through here, and even though there's barely anything in terms of a story to follow, it proves a thoroughly entertaining watch from beginning to end.

I was really surprised by just how much I laughed in this movie, because while I've had good fun with the previous two films, I can't say that I've ever found one quite so funny as this, but that really is a positive for a film that's unashamedly silly and light-hearted throughout.

Taking all of the most generic tropes of spy movies, including all the clichés of old Bond and new Mission: Impossible movies, this film tells you that it's not trying to create any sort of dramatic or exciting story right from the outset, and while that may prove a negative for lesser movies, it really doesn't here.

There are so many jokes throughout the film, and although not every single one sticks the landing, the sheer quantity of gags coupled with the presence of a handful of properly funny ones makes the film a hugely entertaining watch, as Rowan Atkinson ups the funny factor another level with a delightfully silly performance.

Much like the old Pink Panther movies, Johnny English Strikes Again is pretty much a series of comedic setups strung loosely together by a very basic spy plot. If you're looking for deep espionage thrills, then this definitely isn't the film to watch, but there's so much humour to enjoy throughout that the quality of the story really isn't as important, as I found myself too busy laughing to really bother about anything else.

And what's more is that, like Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther movies, Rowan Atkinson's fantastically silly performance works perfectly once again, as we see him get into all sorts of ridiculous situations that, while entirely predictable and idiotic, are really brought to life by his onscreen brilliance, to the point that you never really get tired of watching him do the same thing over and over again.

I can tell that this film won't be for everyone, but I had a whole lot of fun with its unrelentingly silly and light-hearted atmosphere throughout. The first two acts in particular stand out with their rapid-fire jokes per minute ratio, and while the final act gets a little too interested in the story for its own good - taking away from the pure idiocy of the comedy - I was laughing a huge amount from beginning to end.

Will admit to having enjoyed the previous two films, while not considering either amazing. They were enjoyable films that succeeded at what they set out to do. So a large part of me was hoping for the same with this latest instalment, having found myself surprisingly entertained by the trailer. So 'Johnny English Strikes Again' was seen for those reasons, plus for such a great cast on paper and as someone trying to see as many 2018 films as possible.

Having seen 'Johnny English Strikes Again', it turned out for me to work generally as a silly inoffensive piece of entertainment. Which was right, because that was what was expected by me going into the film and what the first two were. It is not a great film and has faults, do think too it's the weakest of the three. However, having had my expectations dampened hearing negative things from word of mouth and from critical opinion from people with opinions mostly respected by me, it was better than expected. Best film of the year? Not even close. Worst of the year? Nowhere near that extreme either.

'Johnny English Strikes Again' does have a very flimsy story that didn't feel like it had enough to it to fill a feature-length film, it's also very low on surprises with a lot being easily predicted before even happening. It also came over as not much more than a series of gags and set-pieces that are easy to follow but don't always connect with each other, moments of disjoint here and there. The villain came over as too obvious too early and didn't seem that memorable or interesting to me, one can argue that the villains in the previous two were obvious too but they, especially Sauvage, did leave some impact at least.

Most of the gags and humour worked, but parts did have a slightly borrowed/recycled feel which took away from the surprise factor. Parts of the film go a little overboard with the broad silliness and momentum sometimes suffers with some dragged out stretches. The visual effects looked cheap and under-budgeted and there is some blatant product placement that distracts and adds nothing.

This sounds like 'Johnny English Strikes Again' is a bad film. Have already made it clear that from personal perspective it was not. Had no issues with the cast, Rowan Atkinson still has it and does bumbling and broad to often hilarious effect. Ben Miller is appealing and funny as returning Bough, while Emma Thompson brings sheer class to the film. Olga Kurylenko is both sexy and dangerous and the appearances from other well known faces like Michael Gambon and Charles Dance were fun. With the exception of some cheap visual effects the production values are fine, especially the gorgeous scenery and locations. The photography and editing are suitably slick. The music is pleasant with moments of infectiousness and the direction is a long way from a hack job.

Furthermore, there is some very amusing and smart dialogue, love the interplay between Johnny and Bough. There are moments that are laugh out loud funny, like with the virtual reality, and there is a good deal of excitement in the well choreographed set pieces. Did like more of a Mr Bean style with splashes of Inspector Clousseau, while not making it too different to the previous two films. 'Johnny English Strikes Again' doesn't try to be anything more than it strived and needed to be, try too hard (while still showing a good deal of effort) to cater to everyone's needs that it becomes a tonal mess (one of the biggest problems with 'Venom'), knew what it was trying to be and who to aim it at (a family audience).

In summary, didn't blow me away but not a regretted experience by any stretch. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Johnny English proves to be funny as always in the third movie of the trilogy. I wasn't certain if I'll enjoy the movie but surprisingly it was enjoyable. Rowan Atkinson is amazing as the iconic Mr. Bean and so as Johnny English. Atkinson may have disappeared for a while now but he does get the job done and hasn't lost his talent. There is nothing much to say about the rest of the cast nor the plot of the movie other than its funny, entertaining and amusing. Something about this parody over James Bond is special in which it makes the whole character feel great.

There were some very funny parts where I couldn't stop laughing out loud! Got even tears out of my eyes. The story itself is very cliché and has a lot of mistakes in it. And some parts are very predictable. But for me it did not spoil the fun!

I hadn't seen the prequels and this was a limited selection on the airplane but it perfectly filled a couple of hours on a dreary flight. This is mild entertainment but with some down right hilarious moments and sequences. The virtual reality scene is comedy brilliance. It somewhat reminded me of the older generation comedy movies. It will definitely provide a laugh. Ridiculous throughout which is exactly what it aims to be. Rowan Atkinson is still a brilliant comedian and some Mr Bean style facial will give you that nostalgic flair.