Johnny English Strikes Again is an irreverent spy film that is as absurd as it is genuinely funny. The satirical comedy uses British humour and takes the trite exploits of a typical James Bond film, adopts them, and then ridicules them for their elitist, takes-themselves-too-seriously attitude. As it turns out, they are less cool when performed by a doofus. The very casting of Olga Kurylenko, a former Bond Girl, was signposting that this film is not afraid to jest at the revered. And with the surprising and impressive film-making techniques like the consistent and well-executed use of Chekhov’s gun, the family film was not just humour for humours sake, it had a narrative. All elements of the story contributed to the whole and there was deliberate and distinct set up and pay off.
In this film, sever years after the last in the series, Rowan Atkinson reprises his role as the much-loved “deadly tool” of a secret agent. When a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all active undercover agents in Britain, the country’s only hope is called out of retirement. English’s new mission is to dive head first into action to find the mastermind hacker. A man with few skills and analogue methods, English must overcome the challenges of modern technology, or his newest mission will become the Secret Service’s last.
I would question whether my long-time admiration of Rowan Atkinson, from Black Adder to Mr. Bean, was clouding my judgement, but within minutes of the opening scene, the theatre was filled with uproarious laughter. It was a pleasure to see Atkinson’s great command of his body language and adept understanding of how minute facial differences can be manipulated for comedy come to life once again on the big screen. There is a reason he has been in the film industry for almost 40 years.
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