Johnny English Reborn

What’s the optimum time to watch a film? Depends on the film I guess, but for something of Johnny English Reborn’s ilk, surely it’s 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon? What better time, after a hard week of work, to disengage brain, forget about the quality of the film and just go with the flow with the weekend looming large. Sadly, even the endorphins released after surviving another week in the office can’t compensate for the fact that JEB just isn’t all that good. The problem is that (though a genius in his heyday) Rowan Atkinson’s rubber faced shtick and smarmy manner are old hat these days. This film’s predecessor suffered from the same problem, though that still had a few decent laughs and a fairly smart car chase. The laughs are pretty minimal here and I can’t recall a recent film that has as many obvious set-ups to its punch lines as this one. The only real highlight (on the humour front) is that the chair gag heavily plugged in the trailer is a lot longer (and still hilarious) in the movie. Director Oliver Parker doesn’t actually do too bad a job, but the screenplay (English attempts to track down a mole in “MI7” whilst simultaneously keeping tabs on an international assassin ring) doesn’t have anything original to say and most gags are just tired spoofing seen before. It isn’t clear either as to English’s characterisation as he’s gone from being a mildly lovable buffoon to a confusing mix of moron one minute and genius the next. Therefore any plot machinations seem too convenient in respect of what “mode” English is in at the time. Dominic West, Gillian Anderson and Rosamund Pike add some glamour to the cause, but you can’t polish a you know what. I did see West quoted at the premier in Leicester Square saying something like “This film has some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen”, before quickly adding, “Well, they were on set”. Indeed, dear boy.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Plenty of slapstick for little ones, but apart from the occasional laugh, it’ll just be shrugging of shoulders from everyone else. Rating: 4/10.