Johnny English review

Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) is egomaniac hell bent on toppling the British Monarchy and installing himself as king and, to this end, steals the Crown Jewels wiping out most of MI7 in the process. Through a series of unfortunate events, Johnny English (Atkinson), a lowly junior inelligence worker, is the one man remaining who can even hope to protect his country and avenge the elimination of all of the Secret Service's spies.

Suitably outfitted with a highly-specialized automobile, armed with the ultimate in intelligence gadgetry, English and his long-suffering sidekick Bough (Miller) set about uncovering the fiend behind the crime. The duo are aided in their mission by Lorna (Imbruglia), a no nonsence, high kicking spy with an eye for a bumbling fool.

Atkinson is brilliant as the hapless spy with his brand of physical comedy stealing the show and, while he doesn't step far from his Mr Bean persona, he goes far enough to make for an enjoable romp. He is supported by an able villain in the guise of Malkovich and by a resurgent Imbruglia in her first acting role since her Neighbours days. Special mention should also go to Ben Miller for underplaying a role that could so easily have been hammed-up.

Director Peter Howitt keeps the action cantering along, skilfully inserting some classic comedy set-pieces. Once you've seen the Archbishop of Canterbury defrocked it's not easy to forget!

Those with long memories will recall the 30 second Barclaycard ads where this character was first honed. The big question is: can the comedy last for 88 minutes. The answer is yes - on the whole. It will need most cinema-goers to disengage their brains to a certain extent, but that done it proves to be a fun night out.