Review of Johnny English Reborn (2011) by Kyle L — 21 Jul 2018

Johnny English Reborn is one of the best British Comedy films ever made that manages to be better than the early James Bond Parody films while also paying tribute to the 007 franchise in a hilarious but good way.

This sequel takes place after the events of the first Johnny English where our titular hero returns to London after a failed mission in Mozambique that results with him searching for clues surrounding the events that led to the failure of his mission.

With the help of his new partner Tucker, Johnny began to unravel the true mysteries of what really happened in Mozambique as he uncovers the dark secret that there's a mole in the MI7 Agency he works in.

I remember watching the first Johnny English during my elementary years and it was a good Comedy film in its own right, the sequel managed to take a big step up in its game though by taking the jokes in a whole new direction while delivering another great performance from Rowan Atkinson in his long running Comedic filmography.

This sequel combines both British and Slapstick humor while also staying true to the core of its plot thanks to the fun direction of filmmaker Oliver Parker and his two screenwriters, William Davies and Hamish McColl.

Like most spy films where the gadgets are efficient and creative, the Johnny English movies rely on either parodying them or staying true to what makes a good Spy film watchable. Johnny English Reborn does both as we get to see some really cool yet funny gadgets (CDs that can cut heads, talking cars, cameras that shoots darts, umbrellas that shoots missiles).

For both a Parody and Spy film, Johnny English Reborn never fails to make me laugh as there are plenty of scenes that combines wit, humor and gags at the same time (The hilarious opening sequence where Johnny English is training in Tibet, the super funny parkour chase in Hong Kong where Johnny uses his brains, the fight between Johnny and one of Vortex's crooks, the hilarious scene where Johnny is in a high tech wheelchair while being chased by the agents, Johnny accidentally knocking down his boss' cat, the super funny dance of Johnny English while still hypnotized by his enemy Simon Ambrose, the super funny part where Johnny keeps hitting the wrong person after fighting the assassin cleaner every time until the end and the final battle between Simon and Johnny in the cable car that makes me laugh so hard plus the scene where Johnny eats a candy that makes his voice high is super funny to watch).

The dialogue is fun and the characters are just as funny as the humor and the tone is light in all the right places. Now, the acting is great for your everyday British Comedy, I'd say they are in line with the performances of Edgar Wright's Shaun Of The Dead cast.

You got Rosamund Pike who delivers a believable performance as Johnny English's love interest, long time X-Files actress Gillian Anderson is great as Johnny's boss, Dominic West is great as the antagonist Simon Ambrose, Its interesting to see Daniel Kaluuya in one of his first roles as Tucker, Johnny English's sidekick before he appeared in critically acclaimed films like Get Out and Black Panther and finally.

The one who delivers the best performance yet is Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as Johnny English and I have to admit that this is his best and most hilarious performance since Mr. Bean and he never fails in making me laugh so hard.

Director Oliver Parker does a good job in making an excellent Comedy film that keeps us laughing hard for the fun and he does not ruin it but rather respects it and this is an example of a true Parody film that is well shot and acted in all the right places.

Overall Johnny English Reborn is a fun Parody film that does a great job in spoofing the James Bond films in a good way while also paying tribute to it at the same time. This movie gets a 10/10.