Johnny English Reborn

“Johnny English” truly is “Reborn” and to great effect I might add. I did not have high hopes going into the sequel but it only took the first action scene for me to come to the conclusion that this film was better than the first. This time, the filmmakers made the story of the movie its main feature. Because of this, Rowan Atkinson did not have to carry the whole film on his own and the results are entertaining. There are many films that I am more favorable towards than “Johnny English Reborn” but on the other hand, I had a lot of fun watching this film. I guess that eight-year break did wonders.

It was smart to have English as the only returning character because it created a greater separation between the moderate first film and this well-done sequel. Firstly, “Reborn” was much more realistic. There was a darker tone in this film that did so much to create that realism. It still feels like fiction but it is much less silly than its predecessor. "Reborn" had a wonderful balance between satire and serious action. The first film was like “Austin Powers” in terms of atmosphere while “Reborn” was more like unto “Get Smart”. There is hardly any relation to “Austin Powers” in “Reborn” and I like that very much. As I mentioned, the attention on the story was far greater and that made all the difference. The film establishes a lot of plot points that pay off very well such as the T2 and the kicks to the groin. It was the chase scene in Hong Kong where I came to the conclusion that “Reborn” lives up to its name. I love how Johnny follows the evil agent with barely any effort as he applies his Tibetan training. I also love the rich snobs watching and cheering from the yacht. The humor of the first film is reprised in that English is still incompetent but that humor is altered slightly so as to work in this new atmosphere of the “Reborn”. The romance in the film works a lot better too and it is thanks to Johnny’s female interest: Summers. The fact that she works at MI7 alone allows for a better romance than in the first film. This implies that Johnny and Summers are associating during the intervening time between scenes. Summers’ abilities to “read” people also does so much in that she can see inside Johnny’s soul and heart. There are a lot of smart people in the audience watching “Johnny English Reborn” and so rather than have us try to guess who the mole in MI7 is, the filmmakers have Johnny’s ineptitude get in the way of seeing the obvious truth about Ambrose and then they take Johnny on a quest to stop him once he discovers the truth. I love the lighting when Johnny realizes that Tucker was right the whole time. My favorite shot in the whole film is when we see Johnny from Ambrose’s point of view though the window of the dark apartment. Subsequently, I think this is the first time I have ever been scared of the sound of a vacuum. The Killer Cleaner is in da house! Then comes a much-needed scene where Tucker voices his impatience with English. We understand more than ever Tucker’s love for being an agent and we buy their reconciliation. As a side note, I love Johnny’s car. My favorite gag in the film is the “agent in distress” gadget and the hilarity that ensues. I like the climax with English drinking the drug and then fighting with himself. There is a great balance between comedy and tension. I am also glad that Ambrose reveals himself as the villain to all by accident. It releases a lot of that suspense. English’s “rebirth” is a little unbelievable but what makes up for it is how he gets the second kiss. Just when we think we have happily every after, we have a classic Bond moment where the hero must undertake one more fight with the henchmen who is still on the loose after the climax. Because the first film did not show the face of the Queen, we buy the knighting ceremony until the big reveal of the Killer Cleaner. My second favorite gag in this movie is the use of the metal tray whenever English thinks he has the Killer Cleaner.

The cast and characters in this sequel are so much more relatable, and therefore real, than the previous film. Atkinson is good as always and he not only reprised the character but allowed him to develop as well. Thanks to the slight graying of English’s hair, he resembles Mr. Bean less than in his first adventure. This brings more attention to the story which I think is all to the good. Because “Reborn” is longer than the previous film, the supporting characters like Pegasus add more to the story. As much as I like John Malkovich, Dominic West as Ambrose was a better villain by far. The same can be said for Tucker as English’s sidekick. Tucker is a rookie but a well trained one. He is very qualified but still respects English. Patch Quartermain has a very fitting name as the “Q” of MI7. I don’t think I have ever seen such a sudden improvement over the course of a film franchise. Now that the story is center stage and now that Atkinson has his backup of great characters, Johnny English can “kick some bottom”. This show is almost four stars in my book but I am bias to some films a little more.

3.5 Stars