Rowan Atkinson returns to the big screen in Johnny English Reborn, the sequel to the British spy comedy Johnny English which came out 8 years earlier in 2003. You don’t really need a review of this movie…it’s more of the same and exactly what you expect. If you enjoy these type of slapstick, corny and simple comedies, you’ll have a blast. It’s great for kids and kids who haven’t yet grown up. This sequel pretty much has the same formula as the original. I’m a Mr. Bean fan so I enjoy almost everything that Rowan Atkinson does…this is no different, I was laughing throughout the entire movie.
Reborn starts with Johnny English training with monks in Tibet since he’s been dismissed from MI7 after his botched mission in Mozambique. However, he’s been called back to duty to a changed secret service (MI7 is now referred to the Toshiba British Intelligence). I didn’t quite get that joke and a few others as there are many inside British jokes. What is universal, though, is Atkinson’s comedy through incredible control of his body, mannerisms and especially eyes and eyebrows. Every time someone says Mozambique, all the kids watching the movie will laugh.
He's still got it!
The movie goes through the typical spy spoof scenes with crazy tech gadgets from the toy cupboard, hot chick distractions and nick-of-time action. It makes fun of the genre all while playing out its own spy plot: “Spying …For You!” With every scene, if you didn’t think the story could get more ridiculous, you were proved wrong. The movies are obviously targeted for kids, but the older audience will have a great time too…especially if you grew up watching Rowan Atkinson. You could say that he is passed his prime and wasting his talents, but it looked like he was having a fun time while filming this movie. I certainly had a fun time watching it.
I could not stop laughing during this scene
You’ll probably forget this movie as fast as you forgot the first one (do you even remember the plot of the first one?), but for the 100 or so minutes of watching this, you’re guaranteed a few laughs. The movie doesn’t stick too long with any one gag and keeps the story moving along so the little ones don’t get bored. It’s chocked full of laughs from various types of comedy so even if you don’t like stupid word play or the physical comedy or the over the top antics, you’re bound to find something to laugh at. And if you like sticking around the theater, there’s a little more during the ending credits.
Tags: Johnny English, Johnny English Reborn, Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
