Johnny English (2003)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Peter Howitt

Writers:

Neal Purvis (written by) &
Robert Wade (written by) ...

Release Date:

18 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

Stor biograf-success! (Huge cinema-success!)

Plot:

Rowan plays the eponymous lead character in a spoof spy thriller. During the course of the story we...

Plot Keywords:

British | Spy | Crown Jewels | Funeral | British Secret Service

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Johnny English
Tasha de Vasconcelos	...	Countess Alexandra - Exotic Woman
Ben Miller	...	Bough, English's Sidekick
Greg Wise	...	Agent One
Douglas McFerran	...	Carlos Vendetta
Steve Nicolson	...	Dieter Klein
Terence Harvey	...	Official at Funeral
Kevin McNally	...	Prime Minister
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Pegasus, Head of MI7
Nina Young	...	Pegasus' Secretary
Rowland Davies	...	Sir Anthony Chevenix
Natalie Imbruglia	...	Lorna Campbell
Philippa Fordham	...	Snobby Woman
John Malkovich	...	Pascal Sauvage, the Greedy Frenchman
Tim Berrington	...	Roger

Also Known As:

Johnny English (France)
Johnny English: Rogue Male (UK) (working title)
Touch of Weevil (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for comic nudity, some crude humor and language.

Runtime:

UK:88 min | USA:87 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Ireland:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:10 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Brocket Hall, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Working Title Films

Trivia:

The "poison dart pen" sequence while English is waiting outside Pegasus' office was first used in the Barclaycard averts that spawned the character. In the advert, Atkinson's character shot himself in the leg with the pen.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the chasing scene, the Aston lands on a trailer. When Johnny wants to get off the trailer he has to drive backwards off the trailer, thus putting the car in reverse. After starting the engine of the Aston, the next shot shows the Aston backing out from the trailer. But the indicators for the gearbox being in reverse are off.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnny English: Ah, the Heckler and Koch G-36. Quite deadly in the right hands.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Paradise (2005)

Soundtrack:

Theme from Johnny English

Some fun, some dull

This is one of those movies peppered with those occasional gut-busting scenes that we have come to expect with a comic actor on the order of Atkinson, but is substantially more full of a lot of disposable humor in the form of English's bumbling; for example, going to the wrong building, going up the "poop shoot," Sauvage's coronation (which is probably the best/worst example of this) etc. It comes across as strained and ultimately worthless for comic effect. I despise the kind of humor that is stretched much too far to be funny. It is so telegraphed that mid-way through the movie you can invariably anticipate exactly WHAT he is bumbling into and whatever vague humor it had is butchered. It becomes excruciating.

I would, however, enjoy seeing this turn into a screen franchise for Atkinson--IF (and this is a big IF) they give him a solid screenplay to work with. The plot and characters were all fine--even Malkovich's purposefully ridiculous French accent (and clearly John M. is slumming for a few bucks in this one)--but the movie lacked vaguely consistent humor. The bumbling James Bond-ish character is a one-noter--Atkinson would be funnier in funny SITUATIONS (I daresay mini-"Bean"-type scenes peppered throughout the movie) that are not strained to reveal merely how bumbling and stupid he can be (yes, by 15 minutes into the movie we GET how bumbling English is - don't spend the entire movie explaining it to us again and again).

Comedy is tough to write and tougher to execute on - but Atkinson has the chops to handle it. He just needs the right material. There were a few gem moments and enough "chuckle humor" to make this a worthy rental. Imbruglia is respectable as his female counterpart -- and none too tough on the eyes. She could be an excellent female lead in a franchise.