Review of Johnny English

Introduction

Where 007 shrugs out of a drysuit to reveal an immaculate tuxedo and in moments is sipping a martini - shaken, not stirred, Johnny English is more likely to surface in the toilet block and find himself covered in poo.

The characters of Johnny English and his sidekick Bough evolved from a series of adverts made for B*rclaycard, portrayed as more useful to any secret agent than any number of gadgets. When the series of adverts came to an end, the idea of a movie-length adventure for the hapless agent was mooted.

Johnny English is part of the post-Goldeneye, post-Austin-Powers spy revival that has included the Spy Kids and XXX. In the sixties the original spy boom brought us James Bond and his knowing spoofs Derek Flint and Matt Helm. Johnny English is closer to that other sixties super-spy Maxwell Smart in that he`s a walking disaster area.

Directed by Peter Howitt (the original Joey from Bread), the movie stars Rowan Atkinson as our eponymous hero who is catapulted into top agent status when all the other agents in MI7 are assassinated. He is assisted throughout by his long-suffering subordinate Bough (Ben Miller). In what must have been a major major casting coup, John Malkovich appears as the villain of the piece, eurotrash billionaire Pascal Sauvage. Sauvage, oddly reminiscent of Jean-Paul Gaultier on the original "Eurotrash" programme with Antoine DeCaunes, has made his fortune running prisons across Europe. He has a plan to make the Queen abdicate, become King in her place and then turn the UK into an enormous prison for the world`s criminal population. Now that`s a bonkers enough plot for 007, I`d have said.

No spy movie would be complete without a beautiful girl, and in this department Johnny English has scored very highly with ex-Neighbours star and popster Natalie Imbruglia as enticing Interpol agent Lorna Campbell.

The movie had a rough ride critically from certain quarters, but is in fact genuinely funny and tweaks mercilessly at the whole spy genre, not least the Bond films. It`s a lot funnier than the Naked Gun team`s spy spoof "Spy Hard", and lacks the self-indulgence of the Austin Powers movies. Writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have been responsible for the last two outings of a certain Mr Bond, and frequently there is more than a passing stylistic resemblance to the recent Bond movies. Much criticism has been made about the script lapsing into "poo" jokes when things flag, but in actual fact there is only one gag and it`s a spot-on spoof of the metal pipes sequence in "Doctor No".

Video

The picture is absolutely spotless. Presented in the original 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, colours are really vibrant (especially at the coronation) and contrast and detail are excellent.

Audio

Johnny English comes with two English soundtracks (no foreign language tracks have been provided). These come in a very active Dolby Digital 5.1 and an equally thunderous DTS mix. Dialogue is quite subdued in comparison to effects and Edward Shearmuir`s music score, so you can frequently be startled by jumps in volume as (say) chase music kicks in.

Features

There is a very nice 25 minute "Making Of Johnny English" which was screened by ITV during the movie`s first week of release. This is a standard puff piece, but no less interesting for that. There are also "character profiles", DVD-ROM extras and full English subtitles. Other reviewers (not on this site, matey) have mentioned disparagingly an MI7 observation test, but pass this and you get to see the deleted scenes. These are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen (and slightly odd colour), and include scenes which amp up Pascal Sauvage`s villainy as he disposes of people in his way. Most interestingly there are scenes that reveal Rowan Atkinson was going to play two roles in the film - Johnny English and a peculiar genealogist with a twitch who stands between Sauvage and his masterplan.

Conclusion

Easily the best of the year`s spy movies, miles ahead of "I-Spy" and "The Tuxedo". I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I defy anyone not to crack a smile at Johnny English`s method of getting past the guard dogs in the opening gambit. Eat your heart out, Arnie (True Lies).