By Johnny English puzzles me. This series of movies pokes fun at the spy-genre, but even in the original film, the humor fell flat with lazy comedy. The Johnny English series continues to confuse me, as today, the next installment in the series, Johnny English Strikes Again, has a new trailer out.
We’re treated to the return of Rowan Atkinson as the titular Johnny English, a now retired spy who’s taken up teaching in primary school. Unfortunately, a devastating cyber attack has exposed the identities of every undercover agent in Britain, leaving Mr. Bean Johnny English as the sole operator to find and stop a mysterious, malevolent hacker.
I was hoping this trailer would be interesting or humorous on some level, but again, this film seems to be taking the easy route, with a surface level parody of the spy genre, as well as modern technology. Johnny English is awkward and clumsy, that’s not how a spy should be! Virtual Reality looks silly, and Johnny English acts silly with it on! This is as deep as the humor goes, people.
Credit where credit is due however, the last joke in the trailer was good. English tries to escape a lone captor by shoving off the side of a luxury yacht, and falls instead onto the deck below him. Good old physical humor always has its place. I just hope the movie is better than the rest of the trailer.
Johnny English Strikes Again is coming to theaters in 2018.