Johnny English

The talented Rowan Atkinson expands his character from a series of TV adverts shown in the UK in the late 1990's onto the big screen.So does the transfer from two-minute sketches adapt successfully into feature-length narrative? The answer surprisingly is quite well,although the film does have flat spots and gags that somewhat misfire.The plot and incidents that take place are an obvious mixture and borrowing from the NAKED GUN and AUSTIN POWERS series of parodies,but what is refreshing is that the character of Johnny English is mostly free of the occasional mugging that was witnessed in the above films,and also Atkinson's MR BEAN creation,which was of course wordless but did sometimes engage in some rather messy slapstick.There is some messy slapstick here,but Atkinson's interpretation is closer to his greatest comic character of Edmund BLACKADDER,with his sometimes cynical and sarcastic tone,though he has traits of bumbling incompetence like Mr.Bean,though not total idiocy which makes English more sympathetic.A lower budget than the AUSTIN POWERS series means there are fewer elaborate set pieces,but some scenes work very well and there are some witty exchanges of dialogue.There's decent support from Natalie Imbruglia,Ben Miller and Tim Pigott-Smith,but John Malkovich is the most amusing as the villain with his cod French accent.It is encouraging to see a comedy which underplays it's scenes these days,rather than performers shouting and screaming in a desperate bid to force laughter out of an audience.That said,some scenes in the film don't always come off,perhaps because they are understated too much,but the best bits are very funny(especially the final scenes)and further sequels with this character would be most welcome.

This film has a lot of physical comedy that works on a basic level, just like the famous Mr. Bean series. All of these skits made my grandmother chuckle even though she does not know English, which is a good sign. Rowan Atkinson makes the plot come to life.

A funny spy parody that gives decent laughs. If you love Mr Bean you should love Johnny English it's really enjoyable and engaging I would recommend. After watching this you'll want to continue with the rest of the trilogy too.

I'm sorry I just can't dislike movies with Rowan Atkinson, he always makes me laugh no matter how bad the script is. If you're not a Rowan Atkinson fan you will probably be bored.

Johnny English starts off a little bit like Bean: For some reason, wildly constructed, Rowan Atkinson ends up in a position that is far beyond his capabilities. Where Bean turns from Museum Guard to Museum curator impersonator, Johnny English turns from male Monneypenny-alike mission planner to James Bond replacement.

Sort of.

In a Bean kind of way, of course. Now that is where comparison with Bean should stop: Johnny English talks, for one thing, and doesn't just gesticulate around like a bit of a moron. And while he still causes a lot of trouble and shines in his incompetence, he manages to be far more charming and far less annoying than Mr Bean is in a 90 minute movie. Expect lots of visual humour, but also the odd moment of funny dialogue (the "making love" dialogue scene is quite hilarious)

The plot is standard Bond fare: A French tycoon is up to no good, stealing crown jewels and trying to become king of.... England, oddly enough. There is a Bond girl, played by Natalie Imbruglia and sharing more similarities with Sophie Yeoh's butt-kicking bond girl than with the more traditional damsel in distress. But unfortunately, there is no equivalent to Q, nor to M and the movie is a bit too much of a one-man show.

How does it fare then? On the laughter front it was quite satisfying, easily outmanoeuvering the once-too-often repeated Austin Powers, putting anything recent by Leslie Nielsen to shame and being an altogether fine Bond spoof. There is lots of slapstick (including the disgusting kind), but the movie manages to be less over the top and closer to Bond than to old National Lampoon / Mel Brooks movies.

Altogether the movie was pleasantly surprising - better than Bean (which isn't too hard, to be honest) and Austin Powers (although it is a different kind of spoof). Still not brilliant, but a good dose of old-fashioned entertainment. Pity the trailer gave away quite a lot of the best bits.

Plus, the bad guy was supposedly French, what more could you ask for?