Johnny English (C or 2/4 stars)
The very funny {though, mileage will vary on that depending on the viewer} Rowan Atkinson stars as the titular 'Johnny English' (a 2003 spy action/spoof comedy directed by Peter Howitt). English is a low-level, bumbling, goofball bureaucrat in the British Secret Service who has big dreams of being a field agent. When all of the country's undercover agents are wiped-out through his incompetence, he gets his chance. England's crown jewels have been stolen by filthy rich, fey French mogul, Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), who plans to take over England & turn it into one big prison facility.
Assigned to protect the Crown Jewels by his superior, Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith), it is up to mediocre {to say the least} spy Johnny English, his quick-thinking sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), & a woman of mystery, Interpol crime-fighter, Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia), to help save the day from Pascal - who is not only hell bent on nabbing the Crown Jewels, but using his royal heritage to become the next King of England. Lunacy ensues.
Well. I enjoy Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean from the fun British TV show. I enjoyed him in 1990's The Witches. And I enjoyed him in his bit part in 2003's Love Actually. But I can't say that magic strikes again for this movie; try as he does. Sure, there is goofy, pratfall-laden fun to be had during the film's mercifully brief 87 minutes. But the spy elements are not nearly exciting enough, & the funny elements are not remotely funny enough {jokes are telegraphed ahead of time}. The OVERALL effect is mildly amusing, but that is damning it with very faint praise, indeed.
Rowan Atkinson is a gifted comedian who manages to wring laughs out of this slipshod material, but he can't save this Austin Powers throwaway film. His English is someone who can't help but complicate matters; which is funny to see. Atkinson is an inventive comedian, but like anyone else, he needs good material. I also kinda sorta liked Ben Miller, who plays his competent asst. who tries desperately to rectify the disasters that Johnny English creates.
But John Malkovich - an actor I adore - didn't do it for me as the villain, here. And again, the script is just pretty feeble. Rowan Atkinson/Mr. Bean fans may be happy enough and, indeed, this film made a ton of $$ around the world on a relatively modest production budget. But on merit, there's very little of that to this movie, unfortunately. Rampant silliness {however fun that may be, at times} does not always make for the best movies.
Assigned to protect the Crown Jewels by his superior, Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith), it is up to mediocre {to say the least} spy Johnny English, his quick-thinking sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), & a woman of mystery, Interpol crime-fighter, Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia), to help save the day from Pascal - who is not only hell bent on nabbing the Crown Jewels, but using his royal heritage to become the next King of England. Lunacy ensues.
Well. I enjoy Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean from the fun British TV show. I enjoyed him in 1990's The Witches. And I enjoyed him in his bit part in 2003's Love Actually. But I can't say that magic strikes again for this movie; try as he does. Sure, there is goofy, pratfall-laden fun to be had during the film's mercifully brief 87 minutes. But the spy elements are not nearly exciting enough, & the funny elements are not remotely funny enough {jokes are telegraphed ahead of time}. The OVERALL effect is mildly amusing, but that is damning it with very faint praise, indeed.
Rowan Atkinson is a gifted comedian who manages to wring laughs out of this slipshod material, but he can't save this Austin Powers throwaway film. His English is someone who can't help but complicate matters; which is funny to see. Atkinson is an inventive comedian, but like anyone else, he needs good material. I also kinda sorta liked Ben Miller, who plays his competent asst. who tries desperately to rectify the disasters that Johnny English creates.
But John Malkovich - an actor I adore - didn't do it for me as the villain, here. And again, the script is just pretty feeble. Rowan Atkinson/Mr. Bean fans may be happy enough and, indeed, this film made a ton of $$ around the world on a relatively modest production budget. But on merit, there's very little of that to this movie, unfortunately. Rampant silliness {however fun that may be, at times} does not always make for the best movies.