More than a decade after ditching the cute teddy bear and donning the sleek suit as the secret agent Johnny English, Rowan Atkinson is back for the third outing of the spy-comedy franchise in “Johnny English Strikes Again” where he relives his role as the hapless and lucky-unlucky British intelligence agent.
After a terrible cyber attack exposed the identities of all M17 secret agents and rendered London paralyzed–trains ceased working, traffic jams caused by glitched stoplights–the Prime Minister (Emma Thompson) is left with no choice but to recall former spies to get to the bottom of things.
Johnny English (Atkinson), now a teacher at a posh school, if forced–much to his delight–out of retirement to help find the perpetrator. He seeks the help of his former colleague, Bough (Ben Miller), and embarks on a dangerous mission to save Britain.
Although fueled by the right motivation, English, as always, is prone to misadventures, which is where most of the laughs come from.
English as the occasional luckless secret agent always finds himself in situations where things don’t seem to go his way and yet, he gets what he wants in the end. The accident-turned-blessing-in-disguise antics are what save him from becoming the kind of secret agent most people think about him: worthless.
With ingenious gadgets, like magnetic boots, transmitter sherbet dips and exploding ear buds, and his spy instincts, M17’s James Bond, well almost, get deep into the mystery. Enthralled by a the beautiful Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko), who we can’t be sure is an ally or enemy, English pushes himself to rise above the obstacles to prove that tech giant Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), is the real culprit.
How he gets there is simply a question of how many hilarious mishaps English gets out of.
But this is where things get exciting. His signature antics, although they remind us of Mr. Bean, are enough to make you burst out in laughter. And this is where the magic is. This is where Atkinson shines.
He proves that he is a master at physical comedy and that regardless of the material, Atkinson has the amazing ability to bring out the laughs naturally. Yes, the story doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. The magnitude of danger presented in the movie isn’t fully fleshed out. And some characters are under utilized (i.e. Thompson) but you really won’t mind because you’ll be too busy laughing.
“Johnny English Strikes Again” opens October 10.
Pictures courtesy of United International Pictures
