Johnny English Reborn

Last updated

Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn Poster.jpg
British release poster
Directed by Oliver Parker
Screenplay by Hamish McColl
Story by William Davies
Based on
Characters
by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Danny Cohen
Edited byGuy Bensley
Music by Ilan Eshkeri
Production
companies
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • 7 October 2011 (2011-10-07)(United Kingdom)
  • 21 October 2011 (2011-10-21)(United States)
Running time
102 minutes [1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Languages
  • English
  • Chinese
Budget$45 million [2]
Box office$160.1 million [3]

Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 spy action comedy film directed by Oliver Parker and written by Hamish McColl from a story by William Davies. A sequel to Johnny English (2003) and the second instalment in the Johnny English series, it is a British-American venture produced by StudioCanal, Relativity Media and Working Title Films, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars Rowan Atkinson (reprising his role as the title character) alongside Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Daniel Kaluuya and Richard Schiff as new characters. [4]

Contents

Much like its predecessor, the film parodies the James Bond film series and clichés of the spy genre and marks Atkinson and Tim McInnerny's second collaboration after the series Blackadder . [5] Johnny English Reborn was met with mixed reviews but has grossed a total of $160 million worldwide.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2011, and topped the country's box office. [6] [7] It was later released in North America on 21 October 2011. A sequel to the film, Johnny English Strikes Again was released in October 2018.

Plot

Eight years after the first film, Johnny English has been training at a monastery in Tibet to recover from the shame of a failed mission to protect the newly elected president of Mozambique, which cost him his knighthood. English is called back into service by MI7 under new director Pamela "Pegasus" Thornton [Note 1] to investigate an assassination plot of the Chinese Premier during talks with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He meets fellow agent Simon Ambrose, MI7's quartermaster Patch Quartermain, and junior agent Colin Tucker, his assigned assistant.

In Hong Kong, English finds former CIA agent Titus Fisher, a member of Vortex, the group responsible for sabotaging the Mozambique mission. Vortex holds a secret weapon unlocked by three keys, held by himself and two others. Fisher is killed by an elderly female assassin disguised as a cleaner, and an accomplice steals his key. English recovers it, which gets stolen en route to London. He is humiliated in a meeting with the Foreign Secretary and Pegasus when he attempts to present the key and conspiracy. He compounds his disgrace by attacking Pegasus's mother at a children's party, mistaking her for the Killer Cleaner.

Kate Sumner, MI7's resident behavioral psychologist, uses hypnosis to help English recall his suppressed memory of the Mozambique incident, revealing that another Vortex operative, former Russian KGB and renegade MI7 associate spy Artem Karlenko, is posing as millionaire Sergei Pudovkin. English and Tucker meet Karlenko at a golf course outside London, but the Killer Cleaner critically injures him during their game. English and Tucker bring Karlenko to a hospital by helicopter, but he dies after revealing the third key is held by a mole in MI7.

Over dinner, English confides with Ambrose about the mole, who tells him that he suspects Quartermain. Tucker arrives and confronts Ambrose about him being the traitor, but English naively dismisses him, letting Ambrose have Karlenko's key. English confronts Quartermain at a church, but realises that he has been framed as the third Vortex member. Chased by MI7 agents, English manages to escape to Sumner's flat, using Quartermain's heavily modified wheelchair.

Reviewing the Mozambique mission footage, Sumner sees the assassin was manipulated by a supposedly-destroyed mind control drug, Timoxeline Barbebutenol. Ambrose comes to pick her up, and English realises he is the mole and third member of Vortex. Evading the Killer Cleaner by jumping down a rubbish chute, English goes to Tucker's flat and apologises. He persuades him to join in infiltrating Le Bastion, a nigh-impregnable fortress in the Swiss Alps where the talks are taking place.

There, English accidentally activates a distress beacon, alerting the guards to their presence. He commands Tucker to knock him out and put him inside a body bag, so that they will be taken inside. English escapes the bag and warns Pegasus of the threat, but accidentally consumes a drink spiked with the drug, and subdues Pegasus on Ambrose's command.

Assigning English as the Prime Minister's bodyguard in Pegasus' place, Ambrose orders him to assassinate the Chinese Premier using a pistol disguised as lipstick, initially designed for Pegasus. Thanks to his monastic training, English tries to resist the drug. Tucker interrupts Ambrose's communication feed with music before Ambrose resets it, exposing himself as the traitor. English resists again and shoots Ambrose, who escapes. The drug enters its lethal stage and English loses consciousness.

Sumner arrives and revives English with a passionate kiss. He pursues Ambrose down the mountainside, and they fight in a cable car. English overpowers Ambrose, but falls out of the carriage. Ambrose shoots at him, who tries to use his spy umbrella as a bulletproof shield, which is actually a missile launcher when he closes it. The missile destroys the carriage, killing Ambrose.

Vortex is shut down and English has his knighthood reinstated by Her Majesty the Queen. During the ceremony the Killer Cleaner, disguised as the Queen, attacks English with the knighting sword and flees. English ends up restraining the real Queen, only realising his mistake when the assassin is caught by the royal guards.

During the credits, English prepares dinner for Sumner to the tune of "In the Hall of the Mountain King".

Cast

Additionally, Atkinson's daughter Lily Atkinson has a cameo appearance in the film as the girl who gets her helmet stolen by English. [8] Joséphine de La Baume plays Madeleine, a deceivingly charming member of Vortex, responsible for luring English off his post in Mozambique. Williams Belle as Ling, a Vietnamese henchman working for Vortex, who works with the killer cleaner. Benedict Wong portrays Chi Han Ly, a Chinese official conspiring with Simon to take out Xiang Ping. Paul Che  [ zh ] and Courtney Wu appear as Chinese men in spectacles. Rupert Vansittart, who had previously appeared with Atkinson in several episodes of Mr. Bean , appears as a rich yacht owner. Miles Jupp cameos as a technician in Patch's lab. Ben Miller reprised his role of Angus Bough from the previous film in one scene, but was cut from the final film. He would later reprise his role as Bough in Johnny English Strikes Again .

Production

Filming for the sequel in London in September 2010 Johnny English 2 Notice Board.jpg
Filming for the sequel in London in September 2010

On 28 March 2007, Atkinson confirmed on Richard & Judy that a script for a second film was being worked on. In an interview for Mr. Bean's Holiday , Atkinson also stated that there was quite a moderate chance for a sequel. On 8 April 2010, Universal Pictures announced that they were producing a sequel to Johnny English, taking place seven years following the first film. [9]

In June 2010, it was announced that Daniel Kaluuya had been added to the cast. In July 2010, Ben Miller, who featured as the sidekick 'Bough' in Johnny English, said he had not been approached to reprise his role. On 10 July 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that Gillian Anderson would be playing an MI7 secret agent named Pamela Head. [10]

Filming began on 11 September 2010, in Central London at Cannon Street, with further production scheduled for the week beginning 13 September 2010, at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire and later in Hawley Woods in Hampshire, Macau and Hong Kong. [11] [12]

Filming took place on The Mall, London in Central London on 25 September 2010. Filming also took place in Kent, along the A299 carriageway and Cliffs End, Ramsgate. [13] The "Johnny English Theme" song from the original film is used four times in the score.[ citation needed ] Ben Miller, who played Bough in the previous movie, appeared, but his scenes were cut from the final film.[ citation needed ]

Car

Johnny English's Rolls Royce. Rolls Royce Johnny English.jpg
Johnny English's Rolls Royce.

The car that Johnny English drives was a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé with an experimental 9.0 litre V16 engine. There are only a few of these engines in existence, produced during tests for the Phantom Coupé, and they were not used in production models. For the production of the film, Atkinson approached the company and requested that they install one into a car, making the vehicle seen in the film unique. [14]

Release

Johnny English Reborn was originally going to be released on 29 July 2011. The film was then pushed back to 16 September 2011, however, it was delayed again; this time to 7 October 2011.

Home media

Johnny English Reborn was released on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack featuring the first film on 14 February 2012 in the United Kingdom, and on 28 February 2012 in North America. [15]

Reception

Box office

Johnny English Reborn opened to an estimated $3,833,300 in its first weekend in United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom, it grossed $7,727,025, $2,628,344 in Australia, and $3,391,190 in Germany. After five weeks in release, it grossed $8,305,970 in the United States and Canada and $151,772,616 elsewhere, bringing to a total of $160,078,586. [3]

Critical response

Much like its predecessor, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 38% of 91 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.81/10. The website's consensus is "Arguably a marginal improvement on its mostly forgotten predecessor, Johnny English Reborn nonetheless remains mired in broad, tired spy spoofing that wastes Rowan Atkinson's once considerable comedic talent". [16] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B" on an A+ to F scale. [18]

On the Australian television programme At the Movies , Margaret Pomeranz rated the film 3 stars and David Stratton rated the film 2 stars (out of 5). [19] Indian film critic Nikhat Kazmi of the Times of India gave the film a positive review praising Atkinson's characteristic flair for comedy once again, giving it a 4 star rating out of 5. [20]

Accolades

YearAwardsCategoriesRecipientsResults
2011Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards [21] Best Original SongI Believe in YouNominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards [22] Blockbuster of the Year
- People's Choice
Johnny English RebornNominated

Sequel

In May 2017, it was announced that pre-production had begun on a third film, which was released on 5 October 2018. [23]

Notes

  1. It is strongly implied that she became the new head of MI7 due to the downfall of her predecessor, the first Pegasus (played by Tim Pigott-Smith), who is said to have fallen from grace for allegedly collaborating (even if indirectly) with Pascal Sauvage (played by John Malkovich), the main antagonist of the first film, to overthrow Queen Elizabeth II.
  2. She is the only "Pegasus" (codename given to the head of MI7) whose real name is known, since both her predecessor (played by Tim Pigott-Smith in Johnny English ) and her successor (played by Adam James in Johnny English Strikes Again ) never had their real names revealed.

Related Research Articles

<i>Blackadder</i> British TV sitcom (1983–1989)

Blackadder is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, e.g., Melchett, Lord Percy Percy / Captain Darling and George.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillian Anderson</span> American actress (born 1968)

Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series The X-Files, ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film The House of Mirth (2000), DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama television series The Fall, sex therapist Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy drama Sex Education, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix drama series The Crown. Among other honors, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosamund Pike</span> English actress (born 1979)

Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike is an English actress. Pike studied at Wadham College, Oxford and began her acting career by appearing in stage productions including Romeo and Juliet at the National Youth Theatre. She had her breakthrough for her film debut as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day (2002), for which she received the Empire Award for Best Newcomer. She won the BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Libertine (2004) and portrayed Jane Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005).

<i>Mr. Bean</i> British TV sitcom (1990–1995)

Mr. Bean is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the eponymous title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and Robin Driscoll; the pilot was co-written by Ben Elton. The series was originally broadcast on ITV, beginning with the pilot on 1 January 1990 and ending with "The Best Bits of Mr. Bean" on 15 December 1995.

<i>Point of No Return</i> (1993 film) 1993 American film

Point of No Return is a 1993 American action film directed by John Badham and starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne. It is a remake of Luc Besson's 1990 film La Femme Nikita.

<i>Johnny English</i> 2003 spy comedy film by Peter Howitt

Johnny English is a 2003 spy action comedy film directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. It is a British-French venture produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films, and distributed by Universal Pictures.

<i>The Tall Guy</i> 1989 British film

The Tall Guy is a 1989 British romantic comedy and the feature film debut of screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Mel Smith. It was produced by London Weekend Television for theatrical release and stars Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson. Curtis's script draws from his experiences as straight man to long-time collaborator Rowan Atkinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Miller</span> English comedian and actor

Bennet Evan Miller is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two series of the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise, and for portraying James Lester in the ITV science-fiction series Primeval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Hibbert</span> British actor

Edward Hibbert is an American-born British actor and literary agent. He played Gil Chesterton in the TV series Frasier. He also voiced Zazu in several installments in The Lion King franchise, replacing Rowan Atkinson.

MI7 was a branch of the British War Office’s Directorate of Military Intelligence with responsibilities for press liaison and propaganda. The branch was originally established in the First World War and disbanded after the signing of the Armistice. The branch was re-formed at the start of the Second World War. The new MI7, while less significant than its predecessor, acted as a necessary liaison link between the War Office and the Ministry of Information and Political Warfare Executive.

<i>Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.</i> (film) 1998 American TV series or program

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a 1998 American television superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury. It was first broadcast on May 26, 1998 on Fox, intended to be a backdoor pilot for a possible new TV series. Written by David Goyer, and directed by Rod Hardy, the film had a $6 million production budget. It stars David Hasselhoff as Fury, a retired super spy who is approached to return to duty to take down the terrorist organization HYDRA, who threaten to attack Manhattan with a pathogen they have reconstituted known as the Death's Head virus. Lisa Rinna plays Contessa Valentina "Val" Allegra de Fontaine, and Sandra Hess plays Andrea von Strucker / Viper. It was released on DVD on September 30, 2008. The film was met with a largely negative reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Kaluuya</span> British actor (born 1989)

Daniel Kaluuya is a British actor. Prominent both on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2021, he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Atkinson</span> English actor and comedian (born 1955)

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms Blackadder (1983–1989) and Mr. Bean (1990–1995), and in the film series Johnny English (2003–2018). Atkinson first came to prominence on the BBC sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982), receiving the 1981 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.

<i>The Spy Next Door</i> 2010 American film

The Spy Next Door is a 2010 American spy halloween action comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer and Gregory Poirier, produced by Robert Simonds with music by David Newman. The film stars Jackie Chan, with a supporting cast of Amber Valletta, Magnús Scheving, Madeline Carroll, Will Shadley, Alina Foley, Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegasus in popular culture</span>

The winged, divine horse Pegasus has been a prominent figure in modern popular culture.

<i>Solace</i> (2015 film) Film by Afonso Poyart

Solace is a 2015 American mystery thriller film directed by Afonso Poyart and starring Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Abbie Cornish. The film was released on December 16, 2016, by Lionsgate Premiere. The film is about a psychic doctor, John Clancy, who works with FBI special agent Joe Merriwether in search of serial killer Charles Ambrose. The film's script was originally planned and developed as a sequel to the 1995 thriller film Se7en, but the idea was eventually scrapped. Solace was completed as a standalone film.

<i>Johnny English Strikes Again</i> 2018 film by David Kerr

Johnny English Strikes Again is a 2018 spy action comedy film directed by David Kerr. It is the sequel to Johnny English Reborn (2011) and is the third instalment of the Johnny English series. The film stars Rowan Atkinson in the title role, alongside Ben Miller, Olga Kurylenko, Jake Lacy and Emma Thompson. The film follows the titular MI7 agent who is called into action, when all undercover operatives are exposed in a cyber attack.

<i>Johnny English</i> (film series) British series of spy-action comedy films parodying James Bond

Johnny English is a series of spy action comedy films parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. It features Rowan Atkinson as the title character, based on the screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. The series includes three instalments: Johnny English (2003), Johnny English Reborn (2011), and Johnny English Strikes Again (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Atkinson filmography</span>

English actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson has appeared in twenty films and over thirty film series and over eight television advertisements.

References

  1. "Johnny English Reborn (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. Kaufman, Amy; Zeitchik, Steven (20 October 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Paranormal Activity 3' to frighten rivals". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Johnny English Reborn (2011)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  4. Germain Lussier (13 September 2010). "Gillian Anderson, Dominic West and Join Rowan Atkinson in 'Johnny English Reborn'". slashfilm.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  5. "Johnny English Reborn Parody and Pastiche". slideshare.net. 28 October 2011.
  6. "Weekend box office 7th October 2011 - 9th October 2011". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  7. "Weekend box office 14th October 2011 - 16th October 2011". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  8. "Lily Sastry: How well do you know Rowan Atkinson's daughter?". 9 October 2019.
  9. Tatiana Siegel (8 April 2010). "Universal signs up for more English". Variety . Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  10. London, Tim Adler in (9 July 2010). "Johnny English Recruits Gillian Anderson".
  11. Stuart Kemp (13 September 2010). "Cast added to 'Johnny English Reborn'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  12. Working Title Films Staff (12 October 2010). "Johnny English Reborn enters principal photography". Working Title Films. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  13. Kent Film Office Johnny English Reborn Film Focus. kentfilmoffice.co.uk
  14. "Johnny English Reborn Rolls-Royce Phantom". gtspirit.com. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  15. "Johnny English Reborn". canada.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.[ dead link ]
  16. "Johnny English Reborn (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  17. "Johnny English Reborn Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  18. McClintock, Pamela (21 October 2011). "Box Office Report: 'Paranormal Activity 3' on Course for Jaw-Dropping $45 Mil to $50 Mil Weekend". The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  19. Pomeranz, Margaret; Stratton, David. "Johnny English Reborn Review". At The Movies TV Show and Website. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  20. "Johnny English Reborn – Nikhat Kazmi". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  21. "Past Years Awards". phoenixfilmcriticssociety.org. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  22. "Evening Standard British Film Awards for 2011 - SHORTLIST REVEALED". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2017
  23. Richardson, Jay. "Rowan Atkinson to make Johnny English 3". Chortle.