Taglines: He Knows No Fear. He Knows No Danger. He Knows Nothing.
Rowan Atkinson plays the eponymous lead character in a spoof spy thriller. During the course of the story we follow our hero as he attempts to single-handedly save the country from falling into the hands of a despot.
Johnny English is a British comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller and John Malkovich. Atkinson had previously appeared in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again. The screenplay was written by Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, with William Davies, and the film was directed by Peter Howitt. The film grossed a total of $160 million worldwide. The film was followed by a sequel, 2011’s Johnny English Reborn.
Johnny English is an inept MI7 agent with dreams of being their most trusted employee. After Agent One dies in a submarine accident (courtesy of English making a mistake on checking the submarine hatch code), the remaining agents are assassinated via a bombing at Agent One’s funeral (again courtesy of English’s incompetence at security), leaving English as the lone survivor.
English is assigned to follow a plot to steal the Crown Jewels, which are on display at the Tower of London. At the display, English is head of security, and meets the mysterious Lorna Campbell. The power is cut, and the jewels are stolen. During the chaos, English knocks out a security guard in the process and fights the “assailant” (himself). He later makes up a false description of the assailant to Pegasus. English and his assistant Angus Bough find the jewels were removed via a hole dug beneath their display case.
The two follow a tunnel, confronting the two thieves Klaus Vendetta and Dieter Klein. The two escape in a hearse, with English trying to pursue them, but mistakes another hearse for the escape vehicle, crashing a funeral until Bough comes to his aid.
Directed by: Peter Howitt
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Ben Miller, Douglas McFerran
Screenplay by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, William Davies
Cinematography by: Remi Adefarasin
Production Design by: Chris Seagers
Art Direction by: John Frankish, Alan Gilmore
Costume Design by: Jill Taylor
Mekaup Design by: Graham Johnston
Set Decoration by: John Bush
Music by: Ed Shearmur
MPAA Rating: PG for comic nudity, some crude humor and language.
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 11, 2003
