''Johnny English Strikes Again'' is a 2018

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by David Kerr. It is the sequel to ''

Johnny English Reborn ''Johnny English Reborn'' is a 2011 spy action comedy film directed by Oliver Parker and written by Hamish McColl from a story by William Davies. A sequel to ''Johnny English'' (2003) and the second instalment in the ''Johnny English'' serie ...

'' (2011) and is the third and final installment of the ''Johnny English'' series. The film stars

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

in the title role, alongside

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...

Olga Kurylenko Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko ( uk, Ольга Костянтинівна Куриленко; born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian and French actress and model. She started her acting career in 2005, and first found success as an actress for ...

Jake Lacy Jake Lacy (born February 14, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Pete Miller on the ninth and final season of ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', as Fran Parker in the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's ''Girls (T ...

and

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

. The film follows the titular

MI7 MI7 was a branch of the British War Office’s Directorate of Military Intelligence with responsibilities for press liaison and propaganda. The branch was originally established in the First World War and disbanded after the signing of the Ar ...

agent who is called into action, when all undercover operatives are exposed in a cyber attack. The film was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2018 and in the United States on 26 October 2018, by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $159 million worldwide with its $25 million budget.

Plot

Seven years after the events of ''

Reborn Reborn may refer to: Film *''Reborn'', a 2015 video produced by the Augustine Institute * ''Re:Born'' (film), a 2016 Japanese action film * ''Reborn'' (film), a 2018 American horror film Music * Reborn (band), a Moroccan death metal band Albums ...

'', a cyber attack exposes

’s field agents, forcing the agency to reinstate older inactive agents, including Johnny English. Now a geography teacher, he secretly trains his students in espionage. Accidentally incapacitating the other retired agents, English is the sole agent left to accept the mission. He insists on his old sidekick and MI7 clerk, Angus Bough. Collecting their equipment, including explosive

jelly babies Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basset ...

and a tracker disguised as a Sherbet Fountain, English and Bough leave behind their mobile and drive an old Aston Martin to France to investigate. They arrive at the Hotel Magnifique in

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

, where the cyber attack originated. Undercover as waiters, they steal a mobile with a photo of the next target, the ''Dot Calm'' yacht, and English accidentally sets fire to the restaurant. Sneaking onto the yacht, he and Bough are caught by Russian operative Ophelia Bhuletova, but escape after seeing many computer servers. Pursuing Bhuletova's electric BMW through the countryside, English and Bough run out of fuel. She finds them, arranging to meet at the Hotel de Paris in

Cagnes-sur-Mer Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a French Riviera town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern ...

. While English meets her at the hotel bar, Bough discovers she is a spy, but English rejects his suspicions. Attempting to kill him, she fails after he takes a pill making him hyperactive. Further cyber attacks force the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

to solidify an agreement with

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

billionaire Jason Volta, to be revealed during a forthcoming G12 meeting. Learning Volta owns the ''Dot Calm'', and suspecting he is behind the cyber attack, English and Bough return home. Seeking proof, they must infiltrate Volta's mansion. In preparation, English is given a

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

exploration of the building. However, he unintentionally leaves the simulation room, assaulting various people while in the virtual environment (including battering the manager of a local cafe with two

baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a di ...

s, and commandeering an Open Top Routemaster by pushing the tour guide off the top deck).A group of people see him pushing the man off the top deck in a meeting room. Arriving at the mansion, English discovers Bhuletova is also a spy. He records evidence of Volta's plans with her iPhone, but is exposed when hitting a button, playing a song instead. English escapes, hijacking a driving instructor's car, returning to MI7 after being chased by Volta. However, he mixes up iPhones with the driving student, so fails to convince MI7 and the Prime Minister of Volta's schemes. Hearing of both the restaurant and virtual reality incidents, she fires English, Bough and Pegasus and proceeds with the G12 meeting in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Bough convinces him to stop Volta anyway, enlisting his wife Lydia's aid, a Navy captain of submarine HMS ''Vengeance'', to arrive at Garroch Castle via

Loch Nevis Loch Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Nibheis'') is a sea loch in Lochaber on the west coast of Scotland. It runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, and is bounded on the north by the peninsula of Knoydart and on the south by North Morar (the region ...

. Bhuletova attempts to kill Volta but, knowing she is a spy, he has immunized himself to her

poison ring A poison ring or pillbox ring is a type of ring with a container under the bezel or inside the bezel itself which could be used to hold poison or another substance; they became popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The poison ring wa ...

and removed her gun's firing pin. Scaling the castle using a powered bodysuit, English intervenes before Volta can kill her, who escapes. Volta plans to extort the G12 leaders by threatening to shut down the internet. English calls MI7, but forgets Lydia's warning about using a mobile near the submarine. An MI7 secretary unintentionally places two telephones next to each other: one on a call from English, the other from Lydia, calling to confirm a launch code English inadvertently keyed in. Mistakenly given the order to attack by English, Lydia launches a

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

. The missile diverts to a Sherbet Fountain beacon left by English on the ''Dot Calm'', destroying the yacht and Volta's server. English, in a suit of armour, Bough and Bhuletova chase Volta to his helicopter as he prepares to reroute the attack to a server in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Bhuletova gives English a tablet to disable Volta's Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopter. When Volta mocks English's inability to use digital technology, he throws the tablet at Volta, hitting him in the head and knocking him out, then smashes his phone with a sword to stop the attack. The Prime Minister praises and forgives English for his attitude, who accidentally disrobes before the press and G12 leaders while removing the armor. English returns to his school as a guest speaker, welcomed by his students. However, to his horror, he sees the headmaster about to eat one of the explosive

Jelly babies Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basset ...

Cast

as Johnny English,

Esq. Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...

, a geography teacher and retired MI7 agent who is reinstated for a mission. *

as Angus Bough, an MI7 agent and former assistant to English. *

as Ophelia Bhuletova, a Russian spy. Kurylenko previously portrayed Camille Montes in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film ''

Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy film and the twenty-second in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sequel to Casino Royale (2006 film), ''Casino Royale'' (2006). Directed by Marc Forst ...

''. *

as Jason Volta, a Silicon Valley tech billionaire who is promoting a system that could improve data management. *

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

* Adam James as Pegasus, the head of MI7. *

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

as Samir, assistant to the Prime Minister * Matthew Beard as P, weapon expert of MI7 *

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of D ...

as Lydia, Bough's wife and a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer *

Pippa Bennett-Warner Philippa Elaine Fanti Bennett-Warner (born 23 July 1988) is a British actress. She was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award in 2010 for her performance as Cordelia in Michael Grandage's production of ''King Lear'', and long-listed for Best Actr ...

as Lesley, secretary to Pegasus * Roger Barclay as Sebastian Lynch, a suspect * Irena Tyshyna as Viola Lynch, Sebastian's wife *

Pauline McLynn Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'', Tip Haddem in the BBC ...

as Mrs. Trattner * Gus Brown as The headmaster at the school *

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

as Agent Five *

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...

as Agent Seven * Edward Fox as Agent Nine

Production

In May 2017, it was announced that

would be returning to take the role of Johnny English in the sequel to the film ''

'' (2011). On 3 August 2017,

Working Title Films Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Bev ...

announced that they had begun production and filming with the director David Kerr. The

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

was Florian Hoffmeister. This is the second spy film starring both Rowan Atkinson and Edward Fox, who appears in a minor role as the retired Agent Nine (Atkinson and Fox had both appeared earlier in the 1983 non-

Eon Eon or Eons may refer to: Time * Aeon, an indefinite long period of time * Eon (geology), a division of the geologic time scale Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Eon, in the 2007 film '' Ben 10: Race Against Time'' * Eon, in the ...

James Bond film '' Never Say Never Again''). The

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

was

Simon Bowles Simon Bowles is a British feature film production designer. Bowles has worked with directors Armando Iannucci, Amma Asante, Oliver Parker, Roger Michell, Edgar Wright and Neil Marshall. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Career ...

, who won an award for his designs for this movie at the 2019

British Film Designers Guild ''(Also known as Designer's Guild or B.F.D.G. and can be seen after a member's name as a professional certification abbreviation)'' A society of British Film Directors and Designers was founded in 1946, for the betterment of the Design in British ...

Awards, shared with set decorator Liz Griffiths and supervising art director Ben Collins. Parts were also filmed in

Welham Green Welham Green is a village in the parish of North Mymms, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated a mile to the west of the A1 road (Great Britain), Great North Road coaching route that used to run through the neighbouring hamlet of Bell Bar from ...

, Hertfordshire; and in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Filming continued in France from 26 September, at the Saint Aygulf beach in

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

. On 4 April 2018, the title was revealed to be ''Johnny English Strikes Again'', with a teaser trailer released the day after.

Release

Theatrical

''Johnny English Strikes Again'' was scheduled to be released in both the United Kingdom and United States on 12 October 2018 by

; the date for the United States was later moved up to 20 September 2018, before being pushed back to 26 October 2018. It was released on 5 October 2018 by ''Cinemax Angola''.

Home media

The film was set to be released digitally on 4 February 2019, and on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UltraHD format on February 18, alongside a box set of all three movies in the franchise. In Australia, the film's digital release was moved up to 19 December 2018 while the Blu-Ray and DVD release in the United States and Canada was January 22, 2019.

Reception

Box office

''Johnny English Strikes Again'' has grossed $4.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $154.5 million elsewhere (including $23.2 million in the United Kingdom), for a total worldwide gross of $159 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Johnny English Strikes Again'' was released alongside '' Hunter Killer'' and '' Indivisible'' as well as the wide expansion of ''

Mid90s ''Mid90s'' (stylized as ''mid90s'') is a 2018 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Jonah Hill, in his feature directorial debut, inspired by Hill's own childhood in the mid-1990s. It stars Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges ...

'', and was projected to gross around $2 million from 544 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $1.6 million, finishing 12th at the box office. ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' noted the film's American release was essentially a formality, as it was not built for the audience in the United States, and thus the low opening wasn't seen as a disappointment to the studio. Outside North America, the film debuted to $5.5 million in the United Kingdom and grossed $14.1 million overall in its second week for a to date total gross of $66.5 million. In its third weekend of international release, the film added another $9.8 million from 57 countries, including a $2.4 million opening in Germany, and a running cume of $96 million.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Johnny English Strikes Again'' might get a few giggles out of viewers pining for buffoonish pratfalls, but for the most part, this sequel simply strikes out." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Johnny English 2018 films 2010s adventure films 2010s parody films Johnny English French action comedy films English-language French films French parody films French sequel films French spy comedy films British action comedy films British parody films British sequel films British spy comedy films American action comedy films American comedy films American parody films American sequel films American spy films Films about police officers Films about virtual reality Films produced by Eric Fellner Films produced by Tim Bevan Films set in Asia Films set in Europe Films set in France Films set in Japan Films set in London Films set in Singapore Films set in Tokyo Films set in the United Kingdom Films shot in France Films shot in London Films shot in Singapore Films shot in Tokyo Intelligence agencies in fiction Films with screenplays by William Davies 2010s spy comedy films Perfect World Pictures films StudioCanal films Universal Pictures films Working Title Films films Films directed by David Kerr (director) 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s French films