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Johnny English review

Check out our review of Johnny English - enjoyably silly stuff but not as funny as it might have been

Johnny English

Johnny English

Certificate: PG

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia

Release date: 2003

3 out of 5

3

Johnny English, bumbling British spy, began life as a character created for Barclaycard TV advertisements before getting his own big budget movie.

When almost all of England’s best agents are killed, there is only one left to protect his country and uncover a fiendish plot involving the theft of the British crown jewels. Unfortunately, that spy is Johnny, a man who’s a cross between Inspector Clouseau, Naked Gun‘s Frank Drebin and Atkinson’s own creation Mr Bean.

It’s enjoyably silly stuff as Johnny bungles at every turn while on the trail of suspicious Frenchman Pascal Sauvage (Malkovich), and there are some nice spoofs of the spy genre and James Bond movies in particular. That said, it’s never quite as funny as it thinks it is, and while Atkinson’s rubber face and physical comedy will make you snigger, there’s not much here that will have you rolling off the sofa with laughter.

Is Johnny English suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...

None.

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