Other Titles • Johnny English (2003) • Johnny English: Rogue Male • Touch of Weevil • more
Synopses for Johnny English (2003)
1.
When the British government fears that a plan is afoot to steal the royal family's beloved crown jewels from their secure home in the Tower of London, secret agent Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is assigned to the case. Unfortunately, English isn't the British Secret Service's first choice for the job; he's just the only secret agent that is still alive. Even though English dreams of being a suave, debonair agent and has only the best intentions, the hapless Brit continually makes matters worse as he tries to save his country from falling into the clutches of French prison mogul Pascal Sauvage, played by John Malkovich. Among other things, English misuses secret agent gadgets, inadvertently leaks his plans to the bad guys, takes the most inopportune route into Sauvage's castle, and generally makes silly mistakes--and somehow gets away with it. Physical comedian Atkinson, best known as Mr. Bean, shines in this film, which was directed by Peter Howitt (SLIDING DOORS). JOHNNY ENGLISH also features British comedian Ben Miller as Bough, English's mild-mannered, but surprisingly effective sidekick from the agency. Australian singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia makes her feature film debut as Special Agent Lorna Campbell.
(70 votes)
2.
When her majesty's crown jewels are stolen by a conniving Frenchman (John Malkovich), who also plans to steal the queen's throne, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson), a bit unseasoned but intensely enthusiastic, is thrown onto the case. Fast cars, high tech gadgets, top secret info - Johnny can hardly believe it. He may be in over his head, but his courage and dedication are unmatched - especially after he meets double agent Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia) and discovers that falling in love makes saving the nation even more exciting.
In an uncertain world, few things are as dependable as the British Secret Service. World renowned for the calibre of their agents, the cutting-edge technology utilized in their weaponry and the international intelligence-gathering web cast by their cadre of covert communications operatives, they are one of the last bastions of honor manned with committed defenders of "the truth."
So when an unthinkable plan to filch the country’s beloved Crown Jewels comes to the Service’s attention, the best man for the job, the crème de la crème of the organization’s supersleuths, Agent Number One, is quickly assigned to the case.
…And is almost as quickly dispatched to six feet under.
Unfortunately for the B.S.S., virtually every other able member of its esteemed ranks soon joins Agent Number One in the afterworld….nasty business, bombing a funeral.
Who could be behind such a diabolical plot? Perhaps the same twisted mind bent on stealing the Crown Jewels?
Now, there is only one man remaining who can even hope to protect his country, avenge the elimination of all of the Secret Service’s spies and uncover the fiend behind the fiendish plot to make off with the lasting symbols of the once supreme British empire, the Crown Jewels.
Enter Johnny English. He knows no fear. He knows no danger. He knows absolutely nothing.
(69 votes)
3.
There have been films based on books, video games, theme park rides and even songs, but Johnny English must be the first one based on an advert. Taking its inspiration from the Barclaycard commercials, which starred Rowan Atkinson as a hapless MI6 agent, this full-length film is a cross between a James Bond spoof and Mr Bean. Johnny (a pen-pusher who dreams of a life in her majesty's secret service) is given the mission to protect the crown jewels after a bomb kills all of MI6's existing spies. Unfortunately they are stolen from right under his nose by evil industrialist, Pascal Sauvage (a ridiculously accented John Malkovich) who is intent on seizing the British throne and turning the UK into the biggest prison colony in the world. Thus follows comic set-piece after set-piece, including a hilarious car chase and the obligatory breaking-into-the-evil-genius's-lair sequence, in which English, ably assisted by his much more intelligent subordinate Bough (a brilliantly patient Ben Miller), tries to recover the jewels, stop Sauvage's nefarious scheme, prove to his superiors that he is not completely insane and get the girl, here an Interpol agent played by Natalie Imbruglia.
It's a one-joke movie: he's the worst secret agent in the world. Situations and script are more than a trifle cliched, too, and John Malkovich's performance is cringeworthy. But Atkinson's talent for creating a frustrating but ultimately endearing character is firmly set in the British tradition of rooting for the underdog. The result is an entertaining and endearing spoof with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments and sparks of originality that more than outnumber the groans. --Kristen Bowditch
(64 votes)
4.
Mr. Bean meets Mr. Bond in Johnny English, a spy spoof that skewers the genre with Rowan Atkinson's trademark brand of veddy-British slapstick. It's a bit half-baked as a wannabe franchise, but Atkinson's creation of a new screen persona is just promising enough to warrant a sequel, despite critics' complaints that Austin Powers had already exhausted the spy-spoof's potential. Poppycock! Atkinson's gift for physical and, in this case, even verbal humor will surely please his devoted fans, even when a rather tepidly comedic screenplay prevents the British funnyman from reaching new heights of absurdity. As bumbling superspy Johnny English, who gains top-level MI-7 clearance after inadvertently causing a colleague's demise, Atkinson breathes life into gags that are too familiar to earn such an amusing revival. With John Malkovich as a smarmy Frenchman determined to overthrow the British monarchy, and Natalie Imbruglia as Johnny's comely comrade-in-arms, this slight but enjoyable comedy gives Atkinson plenty of opportunity to mug it up as only he can. --Jeff Shannon
(60 votes)
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