Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)

(On Cable TV, July 2019) The Johnny English series is a weird one. The films, released at something like seven-year intervals, aren’t necessarily getting better—but I’m liking them more and more. This reaction is almost entirely based on the evolution of the title character from one instalment to another: Rowan Atkinson started out by playing the character as a complete buffoon (shades of Mr. Bean parodying James Bond) but with each instalment has upgraded the character so that in this third outing, he has some undeniable skills (which he’s teaching to kids) while retaining a propensity for bumbling whatever he’s doing. The result is a far more likable character, although he’s too frequently held back by the series’ requirements for buffoonery. Made on a smaller budget than its predecessors, Johnny English Strikes Again doesn’t feature expensive set-pieces but still manages to pull out a coherent cyber-attack conman plot. English here often comes across as an old-school agent looking better and better through the rest of the characters acting like idiots—there are also some allusions here about the degeneracy of the British nation that may have a few unfortunate resonances in a Brexit blunder era. Even at barely more than 90 minutes, the comedy is uneven and often stretched out far too long—the suit-of-armour sequence in particular seems to last forever. Still, the flashes of competence shown by English are a welcome bit of character development and do much to keep the film jogging across the finish line even despite the silliness of the overall result.