Johnny English Reborn (2011)

10 Comments

1. 

   iamincredible from Australia
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   Johnny English is back! The film kicks off swiftly indeed, with English being retrained for service. If there is one impressive thing, the pacing is spot on. Whilst the first film lent more towards witty dialog, Reborn relies more on visual gags. Standout sequences include English on a gadget powered wheelchair racing down the streets of London, along with the majority of action scenes. The chair gag in Mi7 is also most welcome. The music composer must be commended for a rousing score, frequently referencing the Johnny English Theme, particularly during the splendid opening titles sequence. The cast is solid, particularly Rosamund Pike. Whilst Ben Miller does not appear unfortunately, Daniel Kaluuya does an average job of replacing the sidekick role as Agent Tucker. The other performances are pretty spot on.
   
   Overall Oliver Parker and Rowan Atkinson have made a fun, entertaining film, barely missing the heights of the first adventure. Stay for the after credits scene!

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2. 

   Raghav Mathur from Malaysia
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   Johnny English 2 is fantastic. I watched it before it came out and I have to say, once it comes out everyone MUST go see it. It is not a total slapstick, childishly funny comedy. Quite the contrary; Johnny English Reborn is an amazing movie that entertains all ages. My mother was in hysterics at some points in the movie. I highly recommend this to everyone and anyone. The plot is not the simplest but not the hardest to follow either. There are many funny moments, many of which are in the trailer. The action is very…active. There is no gore or excessive blood. Most of the deaths are portrayed humorously and have funny sides. My positive review comes with one warning. Be EXTREMELY careful, no matter who you are with, where you are watching it, or when you are watching it, as this movie may cause excessive laughter. :) Enjoy.

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3. 

   adrian-limch from Singapore
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   A friend of mine warned me to go in with zero expectations. So I did. I read a few reviews around the internet about the movie, going on about how the audience weren't roaring with laughter.
   
   Well that simply wasn't what I just been through. There was a scene or two where the audience even started applauding!
   
   Frankly speaking, this movie is a vast improvement over the first one, with heightened unpredictability and more genuine gags.
   
   I think what you'll have to remember, if you're gonna catch it, is that Atkinson is best known for his slapstick (+silent) comedy, and not hilarious lines like Adam Sandler.
   
   If you're expecting a deep plot and clever dialogue, you won't find it in this movie – though I must say that the move has gotten the balance of plot, dialogue, and comedy, quite right.

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4. 

   Helliar from Croatia
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   Okay, I just saw Johnny English Reborn. It was excellent as a comedy. It had lots of funny moments.
   
   I'll be clear: it's not the best movie I've ever seen, but, as I already said, it was excellent as a comedy. It is even better than the first Johnny English film, however, I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't include Bough from the first film.
   
   Rowan Atkinson's performance was, of course, brilliant. All the other actors also acted great, and I have nothing against this funny, great comedy.
   
   I highly recommend this movie because it is obviously worth seeing!

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5. 

   Alise_shenle from Singapore
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   This movie is damn funny. I didn't watch the first show, but I can assure you, when I went to watch it yesterday at 21.15, all shows from 20.45, 21.00, 21.15, 21.30, 21.45 were full. Also, during the parts where Mr Bean just talked something funny, the whole theatre was laughing. I almost threw my popcorn up into the air during the chair shrinking part, and my dad choked on his drink. The whole movie is funny and not in a lowbrow way like most movies you see nowadays with disgusting sex or poop jokes. It has the British humour. And the opening scenes imitate the parkour one in James Bond but it is much more realistic. I think, if you don't set your expectations too high, you will find it above your expectations.

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6. 

   Arya Ros
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   Went on a Sunday to watch this movie and Rowan Atkinson makes my day. I don't mind all his bumbling's to put on a good show in the end. A fun family watch. It will leave you in a feel good mood.
   
   I did not go with any expectations to watch this movie. Although I did feel that overall the movie was a bit tepid and would say that Mr.Atkinson's antics managed to pull in the laughs.
   
   Rowan Atkinson looks lean and has lost some weight in the movie, a few extra pounds and a little hair color would have perfected his look. The salt and pepper hair makes him seem like the neighborhood uncle :-)
   
   Those who do not like the character of Mr. Bean (I cant understand why) however may be heavily critical but I would recommend that you leave aside your logic and reasoning and you will surely find the goofs worth the ride.

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7. 

   Forget_Never from Sydney, Australia
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   For those sick of the recent high school/teen comedies and rom-coms we're bashed with these days, this film will be a breath of fresh air for you. Sure, the film has some rehashed comedic scenes, but a lot of the humour is pure laugh-out-loud type layered on very good bits of suspense and chase scenes. I really loved the well-choreographed chase scenes and the climactic battle, which was something the first film lacked.
   
   The first film made me laugh so much back then and I've watched it a lot of times since 2003. Watching it now as I'm older, I thought its plot was too formulaic and the characters, beside Malkovich, were weak and bland. This film, however, had a great damn cast and a well written overall story. I liked how it had more darker elements than the first one – the violence, the suspense and the chase scenes were thorough, whereas in the first film everything seemed light and slapstick-ish, even the villains. The villains in this were top-notch and serious.
   
   This film began a little unfunny and was been-there-done-that with its humour, but around 15 minutes later good humour started to kick in. The funny scenes in this film were pretty infrequent and laugh out loud type, while the funny scenes in the first film were more chuckle type and frequent. But I still prefer the humour in this one. Rowan Atkinson was still excellent with his humour, and I doubted that because I thought he lost his magic because of his awful Bean 2 film.
   
   The film had scenes were I laughed so much. I really loved those classic Rowan Atkinson situations and his witty lines. The fight scenes were awesome and I loved how they made them humorous at the same time. The climactic scene in the mountains was just epic. What I loved about this film is that it mixed suspense and comedy at the same time, and that was awesomely done.
   
   The film kicks off swiftly indeed, with English being retrained for service. If there is one impressive thing, the pacing is spot on. Whilst the first film leant more towards witty dialogue, Reborn relies more on visual gags. Standout sequences include English on a gadget powered wheelchair racing down the streets of London, along with the majority of action scenes. The chair gag in Mi7 is also most welcome.
   
   The music composer must be commended for a rousing score, frequently referencing the Johnny English Theme, particularly during the splendid opening titles sequence. The cast is solid, particularly Rosamund Pike. Whilst Ben Miller does not appear unfortunately, Daniel Kaluuya does an average job of replacing the sidekick role as Agent Tucker. The other performances are pretty spot on.
   
   Overall Oliver Parker and Rowan Atkinson have made a fun, entertaining film, barely missing the heights of the first adventure. Stay for the after credits scene! And it's much better than the trailer suggests.
   
   Don't watch this film expecting serious stuff. It does what it has to do by making you laugh, and it does that well. Its story might be 'meh' for a lot of people, but it's much better than the story of the first one. Also, the humour is gold and people should like this because of that.

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8. 

   megggymag
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   I am very disappointed, to be honest.
   
   The first Johnny English movie got only 5.2 or what and this one is over 7… I was totally mislead by this. I have been watching the first movie in the past 8 years quite often, this one I will never ever! There were only two parts where I found myself laughing – one with the chair in the first 15 minutes and the one with his hand on his eyes in the last 15 minutes. In between I was wondering how could this movie receive this much of good rating.
   
   My expectations were way too high for this movie and I had to find the jokes way too lousy to enjoy :(

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9. 

   (chris.smith@twentytrees.co.uk) from United Kingdom
   18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

   My boys and I like the first film. Have the DVD; watch it regularly. It is laugh out loud funny even on the second, third, etc time of watching.
   
   This second film could have built on that legacy. However, even from the previews it all seemed laboured; uninspired, and it was. Should have gone with my first instincts.
   
   Even with Rosamund Pike and Gillian Anderson this film was predictable, tired, unfunny. So much less than it should of been.
   
   The gag about the chair going up and down. Is that the best the writer could do. The wheelchair with fast, v fast and f fast. Possibly the worst chase scene I've ever seen. The kung-fu master scenes. Is there nothing in this film that is original.
   
   Wish I could like it more but now beginning to think 4/10 was over-generous.

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10. 

    DICK STEEL from Singapore
    18 Nov 2011, 11:15 pm

    Silly spies and comical cops are always a welcome treat to chase those blues away as far as my record goes, from the likes of Frank Drebin to Austin Powers , perhaps there is none other than Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English, a misfit of British Intelligence, that was much maligned when first unleashed into the world back in 2003. Atkinson is better known throughout the world as Mr Bean, his most successful creation to date, but his Johnny English didn't receive as much love, so a sequel to the film is somewhat surprising, yet anticipated because of Atkinson's prolonged absence from the big screen.
    
    This of course gets explained in Johnny English Reborn, who had spent the last five years in a monastery after being dismissed for embarrassing MI7 in a mission failure at Mozambique, learning new skills such as mind over matter, training the weakest part of the body (his head actually, if you get the meaning), and strengthening parts of the body which got abused to slapstick perfection. And when all else fails, experience is something to put into good use to compensate for whatever's lacking when up against opponents. What you see in the trailer, forms the new, upgraded version of the British superspy, now recalled and reinstated, but not without his boss Pamela (Gillian Anderson) providing him with sidekick Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya), and the usual host of wonderful spy toys.
    
    As if to spoof the very obvious James Bond further which got reboot through Casino Royale, English begins his first mission at Casino Lisboa in Macau before jet setting back to Kowloon, Hong Kong, and back to Britain. And to add the feather in the cap, Rosamund Pike, who was a one time Bond Girl in Die Another Day, joins the cast as a typical Bond girl role as Kate Sumner the psycho-analyst, who reads body language for a living, recruited so as to assist in a diplomatic mission of helping the British Prime Minister react and respond to a one on one meeting with the Chinese premier, which a secret assassin organization known as Vortex is trying to disrupt.
    
    Most of the time the story involves English and team running around trying to solve who the three key persons in Vortex are in an attempt to avoid a grave diplomatic row, so the scenarios painted contain plenty of slapstick laughs, and repetition at times when carrying on a joke for far too long, such as the cleaning lady gag. Toilet humour are part and parcel of its arsenal, although it goes to show how receptive audiences here can be whenever it involves a good dose of kicking the nuts (to rapturous applause I must add). It's an exercise of expectations and anticipation with spy movies like these, where every single gadget and skill introduced are a cocked Chekov's gun waiting to be unleashed at least once when the time is opportune, and always coincidentally, everything has its place in good time.
    
    It's likely Rowan Atkinson's absence on the big and small screen contributed to the enthusiastic turn out as well as response to the gags he pulled, which is reminiscence of his abilities to perform facial gymnastics to pull a funny face, be it a twitch of the eye, or full blown rubbery effect. In some ways his Johnny English character has now aged like fine wine, being mellower yet no less bumbling in his tasks, being silly yet endearing, knowing that he'll pull out safely from any ordeal he finds himself in, from being chased by hordes of agents, to one on one fisticuffs. Daniel Kaluuya is also a wonderful addition in becoming the intelligence rudder for Team English, funny in his own right, although being a rookie character is hardly ever taken seriously, much less by his partner. Gillian Anderson doesn't do much with her M inspired role, while Dominic West had considerably greater screen time as the alpha spy and long time friend of English.
    
    Should anyone be searching for a clear message or moral of the story, I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree. Surely there are elements of "brotherhood" and trust issues strewn around, but look no further than this film providing sheer entertainment while you're at it, since you're likely to forget what had exactly transpired or the jokes told in detail. If you haven't had enough of Atkinson and his Johnny English persona, then stay behind when the end credits roll for a short scene where he struts his stuff in the kitchen preparing a meal for two, synchronized to classical music. Welcome back, Rowan Atkinson!

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