The Johnny English sequel is straightforward, innocuous and pleasantly entertaining, and it is better-made and slicker than the original. Like Atkinson's Bean movies, the material is lightweight and the comedy is patchy, but when it hits the mark it is very funny. Rowan Atkinson inhabits the character well and demonstrates his Tati-like timing and physical wit, Dominic West clearly enjoys his panto-villain role, and there is some quite delightful work from the 'straight' characters, notably Gillian Anderson as English's ice-cool boss, Rosamund Pike as an unconvincingly shoehorned-in love-interest and Daniel Kaluuya as Agent Tucker, English's naive young partner. The set-ups mostly lead to exactly where you expect, but there is one totally unexpected and hilarious use of a big 1970s ballad that works very well. There is nothing new on offer here, but Johnny English Reborn is well-made, enjoyably daft and benefits from a solid story on which the silliness hangs.
No comments:
Post a Comment