Johnny English: Movie, DVD Review (2003)

Considering the long, over-cooked history of spy-genre spoofs and the inherent laziness of Hollywood, it’ll probably surprise no one that Howitt offers nothing new. So, since audiences will tolerate repetition but never a movie that lulls them to sleep, the focus shifts to the quality of the comedy and whether it delivers.

The film, which Howitt directed from a script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies, is every bit as canned and as simple as those current darlings of the media, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, but without the good teeth, the good hygiene, and the attitude that in spite of being shamelessly obvious and lame, it’s somehow relevant.

“Johnny English” knows it’s not relevant, but instead of using that knowledge to give the film an edge--as Mike Myers did in his films--Howitt instead accepts it and his film dies onscreen.

In the film, British comedian Rowan Atkinson ("Bean”) stars as English, a bumbling paper pusher for the British Secret Service who becomes, after an explosive series of events, the lead spy trying to reclaim the Queen’s stolen jewels.

The man behind the theft is billionaire Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), a frothy Frenchman eager to overthrow the Queen and become the new King of England.

His plan is to turn England into the world’s largest prison complex, something English is determined to prevent in spite of his inability to function in the everyday world.

Helping him overcome his overbearing, one-joke clumsiness are idiot savant Bough (Ben Miller) and the leggy Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia), both of whom add zip to a script that’s so witless and dull, it might leave some craving a shot of Johnny Walker once the credits roll.

Not unlike “Pirates of the Caribbean,” whose roots were buried in a Disney theme park ride, “Johnny English” also has unusual origins—it was inspired by a popular series of British credit card commercials starring Atkinson. Here’s hoping that the film’s inevitable sequel is limited to only one of those 30-second spots.

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