Rowan Atkinson in 'Johnny English Reborn' - Photo courtesy Universal Studios
While
it doesn't live up to the quirky physical comedy the incomparable
Rowan Atkinson is capable of, this follow-up to his 2003 spy spoof
functions well enough as a PG-rated comedy for kids.
Atkinson's James Bond knock-off finds himself pulled back into the
service of MI7 after spending five soul-searching years in a Tibetan
monastery where he has perfected such arcane skills as dragging a
large rock by a string tied to his nether region. Upon his return to
London, English is shocked to find that Toshiba has taken over
corporate control of the top-secret spy agency.
A nod to the Pink
Panther films occurs whenever Mozambique comes up in conversation,
sending Atkinson's rubbery face into a fit of eye-twitching spasms.
Gillian Anderson takes over as MI7's leader, code-named Pegasus.
A
window ledge incident involving a pussy cat gives rise to one of the
film's sillier moments when English mimes holding a feline that
might have met with a tragic end.
The movie delivers earnest Rush
Hour references when English is sent to Hong Kong with an
African British junior-agent assistant named Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya).
A chemical weapon called Vortex serves as the story’s driving-plot
MacGuffin. Vortex can only be enabled with the use of three keys,
each held by a different person whom English must track down before
the keys fall into the hands of a MI7 mole. Screenwriter Hamish
McColl mixes up a random mishmash of spy movie influences for a
sporadically funny comedy that children will appreciate more than
adults. Grade: B-
Opens Oct. 21. Check out theaters and show times, see the trailer and get theater details here.
