Johnny English Strikes Again always reminds me that the International market can make hits. Hits in the financial sense, not in the successful narrative that appeals to anyone over the age of 8. But, I was an 8 year old kid when Bean got popular during his HBO debut. Years later, he would even get a terrible feature film debut with Burt Reynolds playing a General. Laughs were had by some, quiet chuckles by others. The years kept coming and Rowan Atkinson would find characters other than Bean to use. Enter Johnny English.
Rowan Atkinson is wise enough to know that his Tati like tactics could wear thin with a James Bond style character. Hell, I just realized that this was the third Johnny English film. Why do we need a trilogy of funny face Bond films littered with pratfalls? There is a VR scene that works. Hell, I even liked the possible nuke scene. I wasn’t sure if that was meant to be taken seriously or not.
That being said, the film is one of those films that has already broken even overseas. Giving it an American release just feels like a victory lap for the producers. Does Rowan Atkinson need American audiences anymore? I’m not so sure.
