''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. It is a British-French venture produced by

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

and

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 Ti ...

, and distributed 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 Americ ...

. Starring

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'' (2003–20 ...

in the title role,

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing care ...

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 seri ...

and

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

, it is the first installment of the ''Johnny English'' film series and serves as a parody and homage to the spy genre, mainly the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, 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 19 ...

film series, as well as Atkinson's Mr. Bean character. The character is also related to Atkinson's bumbling spy character from a series of adverts in the United Kingdom for

Barclaycard Barclaycard (; stylized as barclaycard) is a brand for credit cards of Barclays PLC. , Barclays had over ten million customers in the United Kingdom. History Barclays launched Barclaycard on 29 June 1966, initially as a charge card, but followi ...

in the 1990s. Released theatrically in the United States on 18 July 2003, the film met with mixed reviews from critics but was commercially successful and grossed $160 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million. The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 11 April 2003 and topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being overtaken by '' X2''. It was followed by two sequels, ''

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'' ...

'' (2011) and ''

Johnny English Strikes Again ''Johnny English Strikes Again'' is a 2018 action spy comedy film directed by David Kerr. It is the sequel to '' Johnny English Reborn'' (2011) and is the third and final installment of the ''Johnny English'' series. The film stars Rowan Atk ...

'' (2018).

Plot

Kindhearted but clumsy MI7 agent Johnny English dreams of becoming Agent One. After Agent One and the remaining agents are killed by English's unwitting incompetence, he is the lone surviving agent capable of finishing Agent One's mission. Assigned to thwart a plot to steal the newly restored Crown Jewels at an event hosted by French prison mogul Pascal Sauvage, English meets the mysterious Lorna Campbell at the jewels' unveiling at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...

. The jewels are stolen during a sudden blackout. English accidentally knocks out the deputy head of security and fights an imaginary assailant to cover his mistakes; he gives a false description of the unseen suspect to MI7 head Pegasus. English and his assistant Angus Bough follow a tunnel dug beneath the jewel's display case and confront German thieves Dieter Klein and Klaus Vendetta, who escape in a hearse. Having pursued the wrong hearse, English gatecrashes a funeral. Sauvage is revealed to be Klein and Vendetta's employer, and instructs the thieves to eliminate English. Pegasus does not believe English and Bough's claims that Sauvage is involved. English and Bough are attacked by Vendetta, who escapes when English mistakenly attacks Bough. English again encounters Campbell and, having seen her at two crime scenes, his suspicions deepen when no record of her can be found. English and Bough parachute into Sauvage's headquarters and learn that Sauvage, a descendant of

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

, plans to make himself king using an impostor Archbishop of Canterbury. English observes that the fake Archbishop has a tattoo on his bottom saying ''Jesus is coming — look busy''. Campbell reveals herself to be an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

agent tracking Sauvage. English crashes a reception hosted by Sauvage and is removed from the case by Pegasus. Sauvage scraps his plan to use the fake Archbishop and instead blackmails Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

to abdicate and erase her

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.corgis. Campbell, now in charge of the assignment, convinces English to travel with her to Sauvage's French château and investigate behind Pegasus's back. English and Campbell learn Sauvage intends to transform mainland Britain into the world's biggest prison. English accidentally blows their cover; he steals an incriminating DVD but accidentally takes the wrong disc before the two agents are captured. Bough rescues English and Campbell, and the three race to stop Sauvage's coronation. English exposes the Archbishop's bare bottom and discovers by the lack of the expected tattoo that he is genuine. Undeterred, English has Bough play the incriminating DVD, only to find it is bugged footage of himself lip-syncing to

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

's " Does Your Mother Know" in his underclothes. Having snuck away, English swings back in on a wire to steal St Edward's Crown from the Archbishop. Sauvage attacks English, who drops the crown, falls from the wire, lands on the throne knocking Sauvage off, and is crowned himself. As king, English has Sauvage arrested before restoring Elizabeth to the throne, requesting only a knighthood as reward. As Sauvage is awaiting trial for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and execution, he requests that after he dies, his brain will be donated for schizophrenia research. English and Campbell drive to southern France but English accidentally ejects Campbell from his car whilst attempting to kiss her. She lands in a swimming pool where Bough and a man matching the description of the imaginary assailant are on holiday.

Cast

as Johnny English *

as Lorna Campbell, an INTERPOL agent *

as Angus Bough, English's partner in the field *

as Pascal Sauvage, a French prison owner and descendant of James II *

Oliver Ford Davies Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in ''Star Wars'' Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role a ...

as the Archbishop of Canterbury *

Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...

as Pegasus, the head of MI7 *

Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, atte ...

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 moder ...

Douglas McFerran Douglas McFerran (born 1958) is an English actor and writer. He has also directed and produced a small number of television programmes and films. Filmography As actor: As writer: References Notes * Film directed by Peter Howitt. * Directed/ ...

as Carlos Vendetta, one of Sauvage's minions * Steve Nicolson as Dieter Klein, one of Sauvage's minions *

Tasha de Vasconcelos Tasha Sandra Mota e Cunha de Vasconcelos (born 15 August 1966) is a Mozambican-born Portuguese-Canadian model, actress and humanitarian ambassador. She is also the ambassador for the Institut Pasteur. She has just been appointed as a UN Women Gl ...

as the Exotic Woman in English's daydream * Greg Wise as Agent One, MI7's top agent whose death English is unknowingly responsible for * Terence Harvey as the Funeral Officer at Agent One's funeral * Nina Young as Pegasus' Secretary * Rowland Davies as Sir Anthony Chevenix, Head of Royal Security * Philippa Fordham as the Snobby Woman, whom English harasses at the

ceremony *

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

* Tim Berrington as Roger, an MI7 agent who helps discover the identity of the "assailant" at the Tower of London * Simon Bernstein as the Assailant, who English makes up to cover his error * Martin Lawton as the Hearse Driver at the funeral English mistakenly crashes * Neville Phillips as the Priest at the funeral English mistakenly crashes * Takuya Matsumoto as the Sushi Waiter * Peter Tenn as the Sushi Bar Customer * Sam Beazley as the Elderly Man at the Hospital * Kevin Moore as the Doctor * Faruk Pruti as the Truth Serum Guard * Marc Danbury as the Guard that holds Bough at gunpoint in Sauvage's office * Jack Raymond as the French Reception Waiter * Jenny Galloway as the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV children's television show ''Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show ''Who Wants to Be a Milli ...

as the Radio Announcer at Sauvage's coronation * James Greene as the Scottish Bishop at Sauvage's coronation * Clive Graham as the Welsh Bishop at Sauvage's coronation *

Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian- British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Caree ...

as the Newsreader, who reveals Sauvage's fate Additionally, the film's director Peter Howitt played a cameo in the film, as the man Bough threatens to play the DVD at Sauvage's coronation.

Production

In March 2000, before the release of '' Maybe Baby'', Atkinson signed up to star as a spoof 007, with the news becoming official. In July 2002, ''Johnny English''

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commenced. The film shot for fourteen weeks, filming at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

, on location in London and St. Albans, and finally setting down in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...

for two days to complete filming the final scene. In September 2002, it was announced that

would star alongside Atkinson. The character of Johnny English himself is based on a similar character called Richard Latham, who Atkinson played in a series of British television adverts for

. The character of Bough (pronounced 'Boff') was retained from the adverts though another actor,

Henry Naylor Henry James Naylor (born 19 January 1966) is a British comedy writer, director and performer. He is also a playwright. Early life Naylor read history and history of art at Downing College, Cambridge. Career Naylor was head writer for ''Spi ...

, played the part in the ads. Some of the gags from the adverts made it into the film, including English incorrectly identifying a waiter, and inadvertently shooting himself with a tranquilliser ballpoint pen.

Filming locations

* Some scenes were filmed at

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central ...

in London—indeed, the film duplicates the single real tower into two identical ones (albeit on the real site) for the fictional London Hospital and Sauvage's headquarters at 1 Canada Square. * The scenes set in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

were filmed in

St. Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be a ...

: though this connection is solely implied through the dialogue—for this footage is never intercut with footage of the real abbey's exterior. The interior (with the televisual screen hiding the St Albans organ) is clearly St Albans. The choir singing in the coronation scene is

St Albans Cathedral Choir St Albans Cathedral Choir is an English Cathedral Choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 20 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult lay clerks. In 2003 it appeared in the coronation scene of the film Johnny ...

. * Both the exteriors and interiors in the introductory dream sequence scene are in

Mentmore Towers Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...

. * The exterior and interior of MI7's headquarters which English enters at the start is

Freemasons' Hall, London Freemasons' Hall in London is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England, as well as being a meeting place for many Masonic Lodges in the London area. It is located in ...

, which is also used as Thames House (the MI5 headquarters) in Spooks. * The scenes where Johnny English drives into

Dover, Kent Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidston ...

along the A20 road (with

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...

in the background) and then enters the

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pa ...

(with a "Dover Ferry Terminal" sign, Dover's Athol Terrace and the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...

in the background) to catch a ferry to France, were all shot on location. * The exterior of Sauvage's French château is actually the castle atop

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount ( kw, Karrek Loos yn Koos, meaning " hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a causeway of granite s ...

in Cornwall. * The scenes in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Es ...

were filmed there.

Reception

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 Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 122 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A tame spy spoof that elicits infrequent chuckles." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Soundtrack

All tracks were written by

Edward Shearmur Edward Shearmur (also known as Ed Shearmur; born 28 February 1966) is a British film composer. Born in London, England, at age seven he sang in the boys' choir at Westminster Cathedral. Educated at Eton College, he studied at the Royal College o ...

and performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra unless otherwise noted. # "A Man for All Seasons" (

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living ...

, Robbie Williams) –

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

# "Theme from Johnny English" (

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was n ...

) # "Russian Affairs" # "A Man of Sophistication" # "Kismet" (Written by

Gay-Yee Westerhoff Gay-Yee Westerhoff (born 14 June 1973, in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England), is an English cellist of the all female string quartet, Bond. She studied A-level music at Wyke College in Hull and holds an Honours Degree in music from Trin ...

) –

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

# "Truck Chase" # " The Only Ones" – Moloko # "Parachute Drop" # "Pascal's Evil Plan" # "Theme from Johnny English (Salsa Version)" (Howard Goodall) – Bond # "Off the Case" # "Cafe Conversation" # "Into Pascal's Lair" # "

Zadok the Priest ''Zadok the Priest'' ( HWV 258) is a British anthem that was composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of King George II in 1727. Alongside ''The King Shall Rejoice'', '' My Heart is Inditing'' and ''Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened'' ...

" –

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his train ...

# " Does Your Mother Know" –

# "For England" # "Riviera Highway" # "Agent No. 1"

Home media

''Johnny English'' was released on VHS on 11 August 2003 and on DVD on 11 January 2004. A DVD re-release, entitled ''Johnny English: Fully Loaded Edition'', was released on 19 September 2011, including bonus material about its sequel ''

''. The film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

on 28 February 2012, along with its sequel ''

''. The film was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

in February 2016.

Sequels

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

, titled ''

'', was released in October 2011. In September 2010, filming for the sequel began, seven years after the release of the original, and concluded in March 2011. The film follows Johnny English, now training in Asia after being disgraced in an earlier mission, as he attempts to foil a plot to assassinate the Chinese Premier, while a mole is found in "MI7" and English has to deal with being framed. In May 2017, it was announced that pre-production had begun on a third film titled, ''

'', which was released on 5 October 2018.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnny English 2003 films 2003 action comedy films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s parody films 2000s spy comedy films British action comedy films British adventure comedy films British parody films British spy comedy films Cultural depictions of Elizabeth II Fictional secret agents and spies Film characters introduced in 2003 Films about Catholic priests Films about royalty Films critical of the Catholic Church Films directed by Peter Howitt Films produced by Eric Fellner Films produced by Tim Bevan Films scored by Edward Shearmur Films set in Kent Films set in London Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in Cornwall Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in Kent Films shot in London Films with screenplays by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade Films with screenplays by William Davies Johnny English Parody films based on James Bond films StudioCanal films Universal Pictures films Working Title Films films Works based on advertisements 2000s English-language films