British comic superstar Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean", "Black Adder") portrays Johnny English, a nebbish of a clerk for His Majesty's Secret Service, who dreams of one day being a superstar spy like Number One. One day, he gets his chance. Not only does his incompetence get Number One killed, but he also manages to wipe out every other agent at the funeral.
It falls to English, therefore, to prevent Frenchman Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) from ascending to the throne. To aid him in his quest, he employs his faithful sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) and sexy Interpol agent Lorna (Natalie Imbruglia).
English, of course, is totally and completely inept. While his intentions are always good, his execution frequently leaves much to be desired. While no one will ever replace the brilliant Peter Sellers and his inspired creation, Inspector Clouseau, Atkinson, with his rubber spine and clownish features gives it a go.
There are several moments in "Johnny English" that made me laugh out loud, and the audience around me, largely consisting of pre-adolescents, got a kick out of it as well. The mockery here isn't as grotesquely buffoonish as the more recent "Austin Powers" installments, but there are instances of inspired slapstick that echo Sellers and Tim Conway. I greatly enjoyed the scene at the sushi bar in which English's tie gets hung up in a revolving table, and the scene in which he accidentally impales himself with a muscle relaxant was a comic masterpiece.
That said, I don't know that I can recommend the film to everyone. It doesn't stand up as well as the worst Sellers "Pink Panther" film, and there are many who would like to see more comic invention, as exists for example in the aforementioned Mike Meyers trilogy. But fans of Atkinson and his characters should find much pleasure in the refreshingly brief running time and the antics of "Johnny English." And guys
http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/8/174917