I would pay $2.00 to watch this movie

     I’ve been a fan of Rowan Atkinson’s since I first saw him in the “Black Adder” series. I was very excited when I saw him in the relatively mediocre “Hot Shots! Part Deux”, which was the first time I had seen him in an American film. Honestly, however, his movie career has really been a big disappointment.

    The best movie I’ve seen Atkinson in was “Rat Race”, and that was just because his role fit the movie. However, “Bean” was a train wreck and “Johnny English”, while nowhere near as bad as “Bean” was, is not what I would call either original or very interesting.

    The basic problems with this movie are that the idea is pretty much old hat. We have a spoof on the James Bond films… gee, that’s never been done. “Our Man Flint” was more biting a spoof and “Austin Powers” was more ridiculous. Where does that leave “Johnny English”? Smack in the middle in mediocre-ville.

    I’m also very tired of seeing Atkinson take on these “jerk with a heart of gold” roles. Basically, any film which centers around Atkinson is predictable: The audience is set up with the development of this total jerk character, only to see him redeem himself by the end of the movie. Well, I’m sorry, but I really like Atkinson’s jerk character, but his nice guy character is insipid. Besides which, the TV series which made him famous were about him as an unrepentant jerk, both “Black Adder” and “Bean”. This fact has apparently been lost on the ninny directors saddled with these films. Just a cheap dig here, but Peter Howitt, the director of “Johnny English”, staggered on to the film scene with a serious look at “Groundhog Day”… “Sliding Doors”. Sorry, Peter, but that movie was less original than “RoboCop 3”.

    Now for the breakdown. The acting was surprisingly good, and it would have been really nice if it hadn’t had such an idiotic plot and tepid writing to back it up. The direction was adequate for what the movie was, as were the cinematography and the special effects. The soundtrack was a bit annoying, and the sets were very nice.

    This movie would have been good if the story had been very different. Basically, all of the actors were solid, and all of the characters other than Johnny English himself were. Malkovich played a hilarious Frenchman, and Natalie Imbruglia played a suave love interest. The moronic plot, however, really kept this movie on the ground for me.

    There are a few really funny scenes, and the basic idea of the movie is sound, but this one just fails to do it for me. This is one to rent when you don’t want anything too stimulating.