United Kingdom, France, United States · 2018
Rated PG · 1h 29m
Director David Kerr
Starring Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller
Genre Action, Adventure, Comedy
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Disaster strikes when a criminal mastermind reveals the identities of all active undercover agents in Britain. The secret service can now rely on only one man - Johnny English. Currently teaching at a minor prep school, Johnny springs back into action to find the mysterious hacker. For this mission to succeed, he’ll need all of his skills - what few he has - as the man with yesterday’s analogue methods faces off against tomorrow’s digital technology.
While the gentle mediocrity of it all is somewhat charming at first — even with such tired material, Atkinson is still a reliably sweet and well-intentioned screen presence — it doesn’t take long for the film to wear out its welcome.
Relying on such arcane gags as prat falls in knight’s armor, fake French accents, and an array of gadget-based explosions, Johnny English Strikes Again seems almost hellbent on aiming for the lowest common denominator at every turn.
The A.V. Club by Jesse Hassenger
Johnny English Strikes Again might actually come closer to success than its predecessors, if only by default. At very least, it proceeds unencumbered by excess story machinations.
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
The result is a cheerfully unfunny low-brow affair which simply can’t compare with the many genuinely entertaining James Bond spoofs that seem to crop up every decade or so, such as "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery or the more sublime pleasures of Jean Dujardin in the "French OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies."
There are a minor handful of scenes in Johnny English Strikes Again that will make you laugh. A bit.
Here, however, Atkinson may even outdo Cruise, with the comedian hurling his 63-year-old body into the service of comedy.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
The humour feels as if it is pitched at kids rather than adults, and for me Johnny English’s wacky misadventures aren’t as inventive and focused as Atkinson’s silent-movie gags in the persona of Bean.
It’s easier talking about the film’s most promising bits, because too little of the rest of it has anything particularly funny to offer.
Screen International by Sarah Ward
Try as he might, Rowan Atkinson’s slapstick pratfalls and rubbery expressions can’t stretch over the feature’s brazen attempt to rehash past glories.
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
Johnny English Strikes Again is an oddly mirthless addition to the series.
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