I Watch Films: Johnny English Reborn

 

Johnny English Reborn

Shortly after the events of Johnny English, English (Rowan Atkinson) was disgraced when he allowed the President of Mozambique to be assassinated. He retired to a Tibetan monastery where, as well as gaining a certain amount of wisdom, he has strengthened his groin so it is invulnerable. (This film is a comedy). Then he is called back to duty by a new Pegasus (Head of MI7, British Intelligence, played by Gillian Anderson).

Former CIA agent Titus Fisher claims to have information about an assassination attempt of the Chinese Premier, who is scheduled to have talks with the British Prime Minister. The only person he will talk to is English. English discovers things have changed (MI7 is sponsored by Toshiba, they hand him a bunch of phone and Bluetooth gadgets, want to make him read health and safety before giving him a gun etc). He’s also assigned Colin Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) as his young, junior, assistant.

In Hong Kong Fisher reveals the existence of VORTEX an evil assassination organisation based around three keys; Fisher is killed by an old woman who impersonates (is?) a cleaner, who English fails to spot. An accomplice steals the key, escapes using all kinds of stunts while English walks around the obstacles etc, in an entertaining if over-long sequence that ends with him getting the key. It’s then stolen from him.

In disgrace the psychologist Kate Sumner (Rosamund Pike, notable in this context for playing Miranda Frost in Bond film Die Another Day) hypnotises English and he realises that Vortex was in Mozambique. It turns out that Vortex was three people, one Russian Intelligence, one CIA and one British. The Russian retired to Britain; English tracks him down but he’s killed.

English is having dinner with MI7 agent Simon Ambrose when Tucker tries to tell him that Ambrose is the British Vortex agent. English dismisses this; Ambrose went to Eton, he can’t possibly be a traitor. Obviously he is and Tucker and English have to foil the plot, in an increasingly complicated and farcical cascade of events.

The first Johnny English film had the idea, what if James Bond was an oaf, incompetent. This one still has him over-confident and a man who makes up wild excuses. Yet he chases a parkour escaping villain using common sense, actually spent time in a Tibetan monastery that fortifies both his willpower and his testicles, lost while flying a helicopter he follows a road to navigate, he wins fights without luck, assistance and happenstance. The film seems to want to say “kids these days with their electronics, health and safety and being sponsored by Toshiba,” yet the alternative is foolish and boastful Johnny English. I don’t know.

Watch This: Some good jokes
Don’t Watch This: Muddled spy spoof with little to say of interest