Rating: 
Summary: WHY OH WHY?
Review: The only possible excuse I could come up for having watched this movie was my sporadic respect for the ham Rowan Atkinson. And he of course has good comic timing. It's just the material that doesn't have much of the comic about it. Every joke is predictable, from the pen to the ejector seat. Apart from a painfully predictable plot, the supposed humor in this attempted spy movie spoof has a surreal, numbing quality -- the kind that you could watch to cure insomnia (or jetlag, as in my case.) Not to mention a complete lack of layers. Johnny, hopeless at everything, manages some spectacular driving. Why not have something ACTUALLY spoofy, like him fighting with his shoelace and accidentally become a driving ace? Instead we have to put up with the endlessly one-dimensional Johnny actively 'covering' himself, clueless but cunning ala Mr Bean (and NOT working.) We only get more and more redundant situations where Johnny has driven up the wrong path, again borrowing without success from the hapless Mr Bean. And don't even get me started on the poor John Malkovich, whom I adore in general, but copiously sympathize with for his own situation of perpetual flummox in this film -- let's face it, he is no Dr. Evil. I'd stick with an Austin Powers for my dietary requirements of spoof for now.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't be compared to Austin Powers
Review: This is probaby one of the funniest spy spoofs ever. Without question. I know many people argue Austin Powers was funny, but lets be honest here: Austin Powers went off on its own little tangent after the first one. Frankly I see very little correlation between Austin Powers and any James Bond film. Johnny English however, mocks Bond at every turn, making it all that much funnier. Atkinson, better known as Mr. Bean, actually speaks, and does so quite well. He is a master of physical comedy, and really just by facial expressions and actions just made me crack up. Its really something different in a good way.
Rating:
Summary: Great Show
Review: I watched this a few weeks ago and laughed more than I have in months. It is absurd of course, but so well done that the absurdity is comedic. If you have not seen it you should. I heard many others in the theater laughing as hard as I was. I also plan to get the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: VERY FUNNY!
Review: Tjis is a very funny movie! I was laughing my head of when I saw it at the theater. At first I didn't want to see this movie at all, but it was greater than I expected.
Rating: 
Summary: QUITE THE OL' RUBBISH, I MUST SAY
Review: After paying for this film with my well earned money ($12), I found myself, a Bean fan, coming across a really incompetent and dumb movie that was trying way too hard for laughs. The "idea" was funny-a bumbling superspy, but with the stupid jokes and silly dialouge, it became a super "plop". Too bad, since the Bean series was better. Anyways, what was Malkovich (a great actor) doing in it? Come on Malkovich-Malkovich! And to think that Rowan Atkinson still is a funny guy. Oh....ha....ha....ha. Pidgeon poop. M.J.
in the northern hemisphere, somewhere...
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: A hilarious movie that one can watch with a family and not worry about the profanity or vulgarity so common these days. Rowan Atkinson did a wonderful job.
Rating: 
Summary: They Call Him Johhny, But His Comic Taste Is Quite English
Review: First, let me say this is not a typical Hollywood comedy. The origin of Johnny English, this spy spoof character, is a series of British TV commercials for credit card company televised in 1992. The director is Peter Howitt ("Sliding Doors") and the star is Rowan "Mr. Bean/Blackadder" Atkinson. And the film companies are Universal, Working Title, and Canal Studio, the trinity of hit film makers like "Bridget Jones." So, the basis of the film is for the audiences of UK, where "Jonny English became the No.1 hit three weeks in a row. The story made by the writing team (Neil Purvis and Robert Wade) who wrote for the two real Bond films ("The Wolrd Is Not Enough" "Die Another Day") is just what you expect from this now overcrowded genre of spy parody films. You got a comic hero who takes himslef very seriously; the "master mind" or "evil genius" played by John Malkovich with phoney French accent, and a hapless sidekick who unwisely (and unaccountably) follows the main character. Oh, and a beautiful lady whose identity should be somewhere between undercover agent and enemy in disguise. Frankly, I did not laugh as much as I expected, but the some people around me are enjoying the film so much (and I saw it in Japan), so it is purely a matter of taste whether or not you like the film. As far as the gags and gadgets are concerned, there are nothing unique or original, but as this is Atkinson's film, if you find his mugging face funny, you will have a good time all through the film. As you expect from many British comedies, Rowan Atkinson's approach to his character is very low-key, and even serious. Of course you are supposed to laugh when we see him confidently do stuffs like car chaces or gun-shooting, and as you always know, he blunders at the crutial moment. Unlike Austin Powers, Atkinson plays Johnny English character quite straightforward even in incredibly stupid situations. It sounds hilarious to some of us, to be sure, but as you know, the definition of comedy depends on your cultural background. In that sense, this is very English. Look for the cameo appearace of Greg Wise ("Sense and Sensibility") as the coolest agent in MI7.
Rating:
Summary: Atonement for "Mr. Bean Movie"
Review: So you love James Bond, and you love a good spoof: great! See this movie. I was cracking up in the first thirty seconds of the film, and the opening credits are funnier than the entirety of some so-called comedies I have seen. You understand the plot: all of the MI7 agents have been killed at a funeral, and fourth-string Johnny English is called in to investigate the pilfering of the Crown Jewels. Fairly simple, but you want to watch Atkinson work his magic. Yes, this film atones for the miserable 'Mr. Bean Movie.' This film has something for everyone: action, subtle roman and sexual tension, and intelligent comedy. In addition to the opening credits, there is one scene that captures the essence of the comedy. Johnny English is in the office getting his badge, an filling out his secret agent paperwork, when he accidentally shoots the secretary with a dart pen. A sub-normal comic would have left the joke end there, but Atkinson and Co. stretch eh humor out as English watches the paramedics come in and resuscitate the poor damsel. As to nudity, there is one scene of an Archbishops bottom that goes on a little too long, and there is a scene where Johnny English climes up a sewer into a castle's outhouse. Other than these two scene, the is absolutely no vulgarity. We can safely call this a Mormon alternative to 'Austin Powers.' I t is appropriate that Rowan Atkinson played the James Bond spoof, since he had a quick bit in 'Never Say Never Again.' Mike Myers never had such a claim.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious
Review: This is an exciting hilarious comedy. Johnny English could be the total messup of James bond. Rowan makes this movie so funny. Star of bean will finally meet bond. This movie is about a guy who tries to save the world and does an impressing but messed up job. If you see this take your kids and they'll have a super blast in this outragious comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Dire
Review: If you like films where the self-assured hero consistently makes incorrect predictions ("This is the most secure place in the British Isles" just before an explosion in the background takes out every decent British agent), you'll love this one. The joke structure gets repeated again and again and again. The only other frequent joke is English's Bean-like behaviour when he thinks he's alone in his bathroom. This movie is a yawn from start to finish, redeemed only by an original take on the requisite car chase: when English's high-speed sports car has been impounded by the clampers for illegal parking, he drives off in the truck carrying his car. After making so many masterpieces for the small screen (namely 'Mr Bean', 'Blackadder' and 'Not the Nine o'Clock News'), it's so frustrating that he has yet to star in a great film. (His funniest movie performance so far is still the cameo vicar in 'Four Weddings'.) Maybe he should take a few risks by taking the Alec Guinness roles in a re-make of 'Kind Hearts and Coronets'. The sad fact is that when you have fantastic talent and you get financial rewards to match, the urge to work diminishes and some of the inventive genius disappears. Atkinson does very few TV shows now because British TV is so poorly paid compared to movies -- hence the main reason why Bean is now a cartoon. (Financial reasons are also what keep writer Richard Curtis, Atkinson's buddy from Oxford, off our TV screens.) Atkinson's on-screen personas have always kept women at a psychological distance. Most of the time, his characters were desperately afraid of women -- he found them incomprehensible. Yes, he may have bedded a couple in 'Blackadder', but you get the impression he was no more intimate or revealing of himself than he would have been in a pub conversation with a man. Here in 'Johnny English', we see the character genuinely open up to a woman, Natalie Imbruglia. The revelation is not a particularly attractive sight, but I know how the middle-aged male ego is keen to show its interest in women. I have been following Atkinson's career since seeing him in the 'Inferiors' review in the late 1970s at Oxford. In comic terms, 'Johnny English' is the low point. If he is ever to shine again, he needs to re-think his approach. I don't think Hollywood is the answer for Rowan. I'm pretty sure that Richard Curtis is.
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