Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Johnny English Reborn Blu-ray Movie Review

The dim-witted Double-Oh is back for another beating. Mission... accomplished?

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 14, 2012

Rowan Atkinson isn't an acquired taste. But then neither is Black Adder, Mr. Bean or the MI7 semi-spy's first outing, the aptly named Johnny English. While a master of physical comedy, an accomplished disciple of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and -- no argument here -- one of Britain's foremost screen comedians, Atkinson hasn't evolved as steadily as his contemporaries. If at all. Aside from a few wrinkles and a bit of stately gray, Rowan Atkinson 2012 is almost indistinguishable from Rowan Atkinson circa 1983. He's certainly honed his craft, but there's not much spark or surprise left in the old bean. And for all its shuffling, slippery-when-slick action, and New Bond parodying, Johnny English Reborn feels like more of the same: the same old Atkinson, the same old humor, the same old gags.

"Let's kick some bottom."

Adapt or die. Out with the old, in with the new. These are the mantras of what has come to be known as New Bond. Reborn simply adds a question mark to each one -- Adapt or die? Out with the old, in with the new? -- followed by a string of queries Classic Bond purists have been asking since Casino Royale introduced fans to its leaner, meaner, Bourne-ier 007. Do we really need to mix up a proven formula? Has New Bond become so far removed from Classic Bond that it's ceased to be Pure Bond? Was anything wrong with Classic Bond in the first place, other than a few bad eggs? And why does the spy genre suddenly have to take itself so seriously? Truth be told, the Reborn ground is ripe with opportunity and the recent changing of the Bond guard is perfect fodder for a parody. So how is it that Johnny English Reborn falls so flat? The story is solid -- English, reinstated to MI7 after botching a mission five years earlier and being stripped of his knighthood, is tasked with stopping a mysterious man from using a secret weapon to... do... um, something secret but really sinister -- and Atkinson's dolt among straight men routine has been polished and primed for another go-round. The action captures the adrenaline and explosiveness of Daniel Craig's action scenes, and director Oliver Parker's casting is dead on (Gillian Anderson as the M-like Pegasus, Adder alum Tim McInnerny as Q stand-in Patch Quartermain, Rosamund Pike as Bond-girl-next-door Kate Sumner, Daniel Kaluuya as the bright-eyed Junior Agent assigned to keep an eye on Johnny, and Dominic West as the oh-so-obvious wolf in sheep's clothing, Ambrose). Why does it all feel so stale? So dated? So dull?

There's a great little sequence early in Johnny English Reborn; a solitary bit of brilliance that hints at what the film could have, should have been. English, keenly aware of his age and limitations, gives chase to a young thief skilled in, what else, roof-hopping, fire-escape-sliding, this-would-kill-anyone-who-hadn't-practiced-this-specific-route parkour. (The modern actioner's answer to energizing its base.) But English doesn't try to compete with the nonsense. He's hails from an old-school breed of suave superspy, and don't you forget it. He doesn't run, jump or shimmy down a ledge; he simply takes the elevator, turns sideways to navigate a tight space, checks to see if a door is actually locked instead of vaulting over a barbed wire fence, and commandeers a bigger, faster boat when his adversary takes to the water. And he does it all without breaking a sweat. It's a scathing commentary on just how desperate-to-please modern action movies have become -- not to mention how ridiculous fist-to-fist battles and chase scenes arguably are in the post-Bourne era of the New Bond Age -- and it stands as the funniest (perhaps the only truly funny) scene the sequel has to offer. The bits of brilliance end there, though. There are other bite-sized chunks of clever comedy to be had (the once-secretive MI7 is now the very public Toshiba British Intelligence, complete with "spying for you" signage), but none of it amounts to much. Atkinson, Parker and screenwriter Hamish McColl set out to give Atkinson fans what they expect -- crotch shots, slapdash slapstick, cocked eyebrows, and self-punishing pratfalls -- and that's exactly what they deliver: everything you might expect, down to the punchline, reveal, and predictable plot twist.

And then there's the patented Johnny English schtick, which is as fundamentally flawed as it is shortsighted. No one mistakes English for a superspy. No one thinks his bumbling antics are an act. No one assumes his stupidity is a concealed weapon in an already deadly arsenal. (Even Cars 2 got that one right.) No, everyone thinks poor Johnny is an idiot -- scratch that, everyone knows poor Johnny is an idiot -- and, if they paused for a second, would realize it's dumb luck, not English, that saves the day. None of that would matter much, of course, if Parker and McColl, by their own admission, weren't working so hard to make everyone as straight-laced as possible. Pegasus' reactions aren't rubbery, West's villainy isn't hammy, Kaluuya's forelorn sidekicking isn't silly, and Pike's sweetness isn't exploited for laughs. Only Quartermain is given a dose of wry wit and physical comedy, and that's more in keeping with Q than the movie's simpleton-among-professionals premise. Parker's intent is to create an MI7 Daniel Craig could step foot in without suspecting something was awry. The result is a jarring contradiction that softens almost every joke, stifles almost every gag, and leaves the entire film with a debilitating limp. You may not notice it happening, but you'll feel it, just as surely as you'll feel the minutes slowly, slooowly, slooooooowly creeping past. (If I haven't mentioned Reborn's tedious pacing yet, well, there you have it.) Johnny English Reborn may as well have been titled Johnny English Rehashed or Johnny English Redistributed. There's a modicum of fun to be had, an ounce of familiar laughs to be garnered, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for much more.

Johnny English Reborn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Johnny English's rebirth is never more apparent than in its shaken-not-stirred 1080p/VC-1 encoded video transfer. While not as deadly as other recent theatrical release presentations, nearly all of Reborn's quote-unquote issues trace back to Parker's intentions and Danny Cohen's photography. The filmmakers spoof New Bond, the Bourne franchise, and other spy-vs-spy actioners inside and out, all the way down to Marc Forster's gritty car chase palette, the washed out greens and dingy blues of Paul Greengrass' amnesia-fueled actioners, and other visual quirks of the modern spy trade. Colors are all over the place but look exactly as they should in each scene; contrast is inconsistent yet a gray-for-gray replica of the spy genre's dustiest thrillers; and black levels range from muted to rich, albeit due to the film's parkour-peddling parodying. Detail is really the only problematic element on display -- inherent softness and a bit of suspicious smearing invade the image to varying degrees, presumably, but only presumably, a product of Cohen's photography -- and even it manages to deliver on the whole. Textures aren't razor sharp but boast a nice, filmic resolve, edges are fairly refined (without any debilitating ringing to speak of), a modest selection of closeups are nothing short of remarkable, and delineation remains revealing and reliable throughout. I also didn't stumble across any serious eyesores, or catch sight of the sort of artifacting, banding, aliasing or crush that might make things difficult for our endearingly dim-witted superspy. All things considered, Johnny English Reborn's presentation doesn't disappoint.

Johnny English Reborn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Johnny English Reborn isn't in the same sonic league as Quantum of Solace and The Bourne Ultimatum, but its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track puts up a good fight and lives to tell about it. Dialogue is crisp, clean and intelligible, with only the faintest mumbles and exclamations falling by the wayside. Low-end output, meanwhile, is steady and strong, and has quite a bit of fun with Ilan Eshkeri's hybrid New Bond/Classic Bond score. No, it isn't as explosive or earth-shaking as the on-screen action seems to demand, but the LFE channel comes out swinging and, frankly, doesn't relent. Rear speaker activity is just as tenacious, even if directionality isn't quite as convincing as it is in the films Reborn is cramming into the wood shipper. Thankfully, cross-channel pans are suitably smooth, the soundfield is immersive enough to eek by, dynamics are decidedly decent, and no effect is disavowed. I know, I know. Some of you will read all this and gather that Universal's lossless mix is underwhelming. But that simply isn't the case. It isn't overwhelming or spectacular, lest I leave you with an unbalanced impression, but it gets the job done, and then some. I have a feeling Johnny English fans will be most pleased with the results.

Johnny English Reborn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary: I actually laughed more during director Oliver Parker and screenwriter Hamish McColl's commentary than I did while watching the film it accompanies. The two have dry senses of humor suited to the task at hand, and their droll wit reveals just how measured their overview of Johnny English Reborn is. They pull a few punches, sure, but for the most part, they don't suffer from any delusions of grandeur. If you mildly enjoyed Reborn, give this one a listen. It might make you appreciate the film a bit more. If you adore Reborn, well then, I don't need to tell you to soak up every last extra on tap.
• Deleted/Extended Scenes (HD, 39 minutes): Parker introduces seventeen trimmed scenes -- "The Cave," "MI7 Walkthrough," "Creme," "Mandarin Couple," "Shazzam," "Squirrel Balls," "Wakey, Wakey to Stick Man," "Semtex Gum," "Pontoon," "Pre-Foreign Secretary," "Foreign Secretary," "Hello Johnny to Car Chase," "Restaurant," "Cafe to Face Off," "Kate Fixes Johnny," "Cooking" and "Cable Car" -- some of which fizzle, some of which are genuinely amusing.
• The English Files (HD, 25 minutes): A snazzy behind-the-scenes documentary that charts the production from inception to completion. And, at 25-minutes, no stone is left unturned, no key member of the cast and crew left unheard, no nugget of info left untapped.
• Working with Rowan (HD, 4 minutes): Atkinson's castmates line up to sing Rowan's praises.
• English in Hong Kong (HD, 5 minutes): A look at Johnny's Hong Kong location shoot.
• The Wheelchair Chase (HD, 5 minutes): "It's got a very powerful engine in it." That's an understatement.
• Gadgets (HD, 3 minutes): MI7's toy cupboard, Johnny English-style.
• Gag Reel (HD, 2 minutes): Gillian Anderson drops an F-bomb. Good enough for me!

Johnny English Reborn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Johnny English Reborn didn't do it for me. But that's the beauty of comedy, especially the varying shades of British comedy: what doesn't work for me may leave you in stitches. If you have any love of Rowan Atkinson, a rental is a must. If his schtick grows old after a half-hour, you may want to spend your hard-earned cash on another release. Love it or loathe it, though, Reborn's Blu-ray release is a commendable one thanks to a faithful video presentation, a tenacious little DTS-HD Master Audio track, and an entertaining bounty of extras. My advice? Give Johnny a chance and see if he earns a place in your HQ.