JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN: A New Low For British Comedy

Let me preface this scathing review: I am an enormous fan of alternative British comedy. From The Young Ones to The Mighty Boosh, there is hardly an eccentric britcom from the past 50 years that I can’t find some level of appreciation for. Rowan Atkinson has been behind many of these for me, most obviously Mr. Bean and Blackadder, but also the far more topical and radical Not The Nine ‘O Clock News, which have each pushed comedy to be smarter, more innovative, and far more out there.

In the glaring light of this back catalogue, Johnny English Strikes Again (the third in the trilogy) only looks even more incompetent, mean-spirited and painfully unfunny than it easily does as a standalone film.

Johnny English Strikes Again

Following the last movie, the titular spy has given up his job at MI7 and is working as a geography teacher at a jolly British private school (at least, I presume it is). Unfortunately for the government, but luckily for our ‘hero’, every other agent currently working has been exposed by a mysterious hacker, leaving them with only the tech-illiterate English to save the day using old-style spy gadgets and his traditional British values.

This story would likely feel groan-inducing to anyone under the age of 25, as it essentially attempts to make new technologies, especially those with environmental or health concerns, seem unnecessary and ridiculous. Like your grandma telling you to put your phone away on the Christmas Day walk, it comes off as less of an intelligent critique and more of a petty complaint.

Performances

For everything else bad about this movie, at least Atkinson commits to the character, injecting as much energy into the clichéd, dull script as he can. The same goes for Ben Miller, who turns Bough into the only remotely sympathetic, if painfully stupid character. This is more than I can say for the remainder of the cast, who arrived to pick up their paycheck, and ended up getting roped into actually having to appear in this film.

Emma Thompson in a bizarre career move plays the unnamed Prime Minister, who seems to be a sympathetic Theresa May analogue – ineffective and foolish, but ultimately harmless and well-meaning, a strange sentiment considering Atkinson’s previous jabs at the Conservative party in earlier works. Whilst she doesn’t offend in this role, she isn’t given much to do aside from develop an embarrassing crush on the Elon Musk villain, cringe-inducingly played by Jake Lacy.

Humour?

I realise the subtitle may have given this away, but I laughed only once during the screening of Johnny English Strikes Again I attended, at a joke that had already appeared in Atkinson’s far better movie Mr Bean’s Holiday. In fact, I counted around four jokes that had all already appeared in that film, and all were given a significant amount of attention in this one.

This isn’t coincidental; it’s lazy, shameful, and a bad look for a comedian this far into his career. As for the other attempts at humour, they mostly centre around two punchlines: Johnny screws up and makes a funny sound, or Johnny incorrectly assumes he knows what he’s doing. These wear thin early on, and towards the end of the film few in the cinema were still giving them any positive response.

Punching Down

Satirical comedy works best when the target is in a position of power; by knocking it/them down a peg, a genuine critique of the establishment and societal and cultural norms is provided. This is perhaps the largest failing of Johnny English Strikes Again, as every joke is at the expense of some group or individual at the mercy of our lead characters. From Bough’s wife who Johnny charmingly assumes is a ‘secretary’ or ‘cook’ to the French cyclists he tear-gasses, our hero is repeatedly shown mistreating those in a worse position than him, and never receiving any real consequences for it.

Sure, he has a sad moment in the rain after some of his worse offences catch up with him, but a climax with him in a full suit of armour suggests that he was simply fighting for the good of Britain. This nationalism hasn’t sat well with me or many other reviewers, and neither have allusions to the fall of the British empire – brought up by the villain in a tone deaf monologue – that suggest good old Johnny is here to regain our former glory. In the cynical, increasingly right wing era of Trump and Brexit, this message doesn’t subvert, but supports backwards ideas of Britain as innately superior.

Conclusion

How the mighty have fallen. If you’re a young child who has never seen a ‘grown up’ comedy before, then you might have a decent time. If you belong to any other demographic, this will only serve as a colossal letdown, and leave you contemplating how the man behind Mr. Bean and Blackadder could enter such a slump.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Rowan Atkinson’s spy spoof series? Let me know in the comments!

Johnny English Strikes Again was released on October 5, 2018 in the UK and October 26, 2018 in the US.