Review: 'Johnny English Reborn' is a breezy watch

Film: Johnny English Reborn
Director:  Oliver Parker
Cast: Rowan Atkinson Gillian Anderson Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, Daniel Kaluuya
Rating:  ***

Rowan Atkinson at it again. As a bumbling, (but surprisingly) not wholly incompetent, super spy for the fictional MI-7, English is under self-imposed exile in a stereotypical Asian commune (presumably in the Himalayas) after failing to protect the life of the Mozambique premier in a botched operation sometime after the first movie. Heeding a sudden summons from his super-secret agency, English is, to his dismay, paired with rookie agent Tucker (Kaluuya) at the behest of the reluctant and resentful chief Pegasus (Anderson) in a mission where he's up against an international-level conspiracy to eliminate the Chinese premier.

Learning, along the way, that that the Mozambique fiasco, to his relief, wasn't his fault (well, not entirely his fault), English must gather his wits and diffuse the situation and uncover a mole that is insidiously operating undetected from within the confines MI-7 itself.

With a titter here and a, titter there, Johnny English Reborn, is at best a pleasant diversion which doesn't quite have you clutching your while in the throes of hysterical laughter. Sure, there are a series of running gags like old ladies getting beaten mercilessly over the head with tea trays and a command-obeying Rolls Royce but while the fumbling Atkinson can still elicit a smile with his trademark economy, there is no doubt that the film could have been funnier.

Also, don't be misled by the 'Reborn' part of the title, though. The film doesn't see any major transformation in the character or upheaval in the universe he populates. (Other than the fact that eastern practices have drastically augmented his ability to take kicks to the groin). That being said, the film, for the most part, is successful in putting across an irreverent Spy Hard-like take on a genre that, as seen in the recent Bond movies, has started taking itself a little too seriously.

All in all, Johnny English Reborn is a breezy watch. So much so that it's predictability hardly seems to get in the way.

Not as over-the-top as it could have been, nor entirely tepid, the film is as just about as enjoyable as you would think one centred on a gadget-toting Atkinson giving baddies a run for their money could be. A sure enough bet for a family outing, (the groin-related exercises being the only risqué part, apart from a swimsuit-clad vixen who distracts English in his African operations) Johnny English Reborn is a light-hearted, zany, but ultimately, a regrettably forgettable film.