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Johnny English Strikes Again Trailer #2: Johnny's Still Got It
Johnny English is back to his old shenanigans in the latest trailer for Johnny English Strikes Again. The spy action-comedy sees Mr. English forced out of retirement when a cyber-attack exposes the identity of every active undercover agent in Britain... leaving Johnny as the only one who can track the master hacker responsible and bring them to justice.
Rowan Atkinson reprises his role as Mr. English here, with Ben Miller playing his sidekick Bough for the first time since the original Johnny English. The film was directed by David Kerr (Fresh Meat, Inside No. 9) from a screenplay by Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn cowriter William Davies. Oscar-winner Emma Thompson costars as the British Prime Minister, with Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Oblivion) and Jake Lacey (Girls, Rampage) also playing key roles.
With the first Johnny English Strikes Again trailer having already set-up the film's plot, the second trailer is free to focus more on the franchise's big selling points; namely, Atkinson's bumbling antics as the not so debonair Mr. English and the film's slapstick set pieces. For more on that, watch the movie's new trailer (courtesy of Universal Pictures) in the space below:
More of a strict James Bond sendup than recent spy movie parodies Spy and The Spy Who Dumped Me, the original Johnny English unexpectedly kicked off a franchise that's still going, fifteen years later. Neither of the previous films were box office hits in the U.S. (where Atkinson has much more niche appeal), nor were they particularly admired by critics. Similarly, the Johnny English series has had far less cultural impact stateside than fellow Bond spoof Austin Powers before it. These movies have nevertheless managed to consistently turn a healthy profit worldwide, thanks in no small part to their lean budgets ($40-45 million) and loyal audience (the first two films both earned around $160 million across the globe).
Judging by its trailers, Johnny English Strikes Again is aimed squarely at those moviegoers who enjoyed Atkinson's pratfalls and comical misdeeds in the previous films. The theme to the gags this time is that Johnny doesn't really understand how digital-era technology works, but it's a pretty thin excuse for Atkinson to get up to his usual physical comedy. Mind you, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. The Johnny English movies are pretty inoffensive and Johnny English Strikes Again may yet provide some welcome laughs for those who just can't get enough of Atkinson's silly-bad 007 impersonation.
Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) release date: Oct 26, 2018
