Nice effects though.

hyped garbage

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Johnny English fantasises about being Britain's top agent; then following a mistake by English he is Britain's only agent! This means that he and his sidekick Bough are put in charge of security of the unveiling of the recently cleaned Crown Jewels. Inevitably they are stolen. He is convinced that the man responsible is man who funded their cleaning; Pascal Sauvage… mostly because he is French. He superiors don't agree and order him to stay away from Sauvage. Luckily he doesn't and more through luck than judgement he learns what Sauvage; he doesn't just want the jewels he wants to be made king so he can put Britain to a new use.Anybody expecting anything serous will be disappointed but if you enjoy a bit of silliness this is quite fun. Rowan Atkinson is great in the lead role; making us believe in this ridiculous character. Being an obvious spoof of the Bond films there is some action and this is done surprisingly well with comic twists; I particularly enjoyed the chases scene and the scene where English parachutes onto the wrong building. There are also some delightfully silly moments such as when English interrupts a funeral, has problems at a sushi bar and tackles the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is little to offend here; the most shocking moment being the sight of the Archbishop's bare backside… more something to laugh at than be offended by. John Malkovich delightfully hams it up as Sauvage, Ben Miller is solid as Bough and Natalie Imbruglia is fine as Interpol agent Lorna Campbell. Overall a fun enough way to pass an hour and a half… not bad considering English and Bough started off as characters in an advert for a credit card.

Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is an incompetent British Intelligence agent. A bomb explodes at the funeral of Agent One killing the whole intelligence force leaving English as the only surviving agent. There is a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. English is to protect the Jewels but he is distracted by Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia). He and sidekick Angus Bough (Ben Miller) investigate and place the heist at the feet of Frenchman Pascal Edward Sauvage (John Malkovich).I just didn't laugh. Part of it is probably my love of Mr. Bean. It's weird to see Atkinson speaking normally. There are some attempts at fun slapstick action but none of it rates higher than a chuckle. Imbruglia adds no more than a oddly pretty girl. Broad slapstick spoof is something that requires special skills which I'm not sure director Peter Howitt has. Without Atkinson, this would be a complete train wreck.

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal and Working Title Films have created a fine spoof of 007, known as Johnny English. Rowan Atkinson, known for playing Mr. Bean, Blackadder and starring in a James Bond movie (Never Say Never Again) plays the lead role in this comedy. Johnny English is basically a fool who is upgraded to MI-7 intelligence duties after an explosion leaves the other agents dead. He is totally unqualified for the job, but always gets it done. Just as with his other roles, Rowan Atkinson plays this role finely with sharp wit. The supporting cast was rather well rounded. Ben Miller as Bough, the more sensible one, you have Natalie Imbruglia as INTERPOL Agent Lorna Campbell, though she is way out of the lead character's league, being rather well rounded on this project. Then you have John Malkovich as Pascal Sauvage, the jumped up Frenchman as they put it, with a horrible French accent meant for laughs.Released April 11, 2003 in the UK and July 18, 2003 in the US, this film is rated PG for comic nudity, some crude humor and language in the US. In the UK, it is rated PG for mild language and comic violence. I can say those ratings were deserved due to a couple of mild profanities and a few seconds seeing a man's bare backside which is played for laughs.To compare to Austin Powers, I would say this is superior due to it not being as crude in order to get laughs. Austin Powers took it a bit too far in some scenes, whereas this is cleaner and wittier. Don't get me wrong, Austin Powers, I find funny, but a little risqué sometimes, therefore taking away some of my enjoyment of the film.Johnny English is not a laugh until you're crying movie, but a clever, witty, sublime film for the family to enjoy!The DVD has some nice extras added, including making of, spy tips, etc. Presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound! 8/10

Johnny English is what it promises to be – an amusing and light-heard film. But what would you expect from Rowan Atkinson, the actor in Mr Bean? There are some strikingly funny scenes in the movie. But be prepared for some outlandish humour and chauvinistic jokes. But be prepared also for 007 and Austin Powers-style gadgets, which (I hope) you'll also laugh at, as I did.However, there are some weaker aspects to the film. For example, the movie portrays Chinese people as the bad guys and, in a way, vilifies them (though there are certainly bad apples in the Chinese race). Another one is that thinking logically, you would find some scenes improbable.In short, though this movie was a bit short of in-depth food for thought, it was a quite funny and light-hearted comedy. Very suitable if you're just looking for an hour or so of laughter and nothing in-depth.