Johnny English Reborn

• Genre: Comedy
• Director: Oliver Parker
• Stars: Rowan Atkinson
• Rate: ** 1/2

Having worn out his welcome with his interminable Mr. Bean character – his Chaplin/Hulot copycat finally fizzled with the flatulent Mr. Bean’s Holiday in 2007 – Rowan Atkinson seems determined to do the same with Johnny English, his parody spy stumbler.

Despite a deafening lack of public roar for a sequel to Johnny English, Atkinson (or his banker) has deduced the need, eight years later, for another raid on the Austin Powers/Get Smart! playbook of James Bond buffoonery.

This time, British MI7 agent Johnny English is tasked with stopping the planned assassination of the visiting Chinese premier, because no other agent is available, of course.

Oliver Parker (Dorian Gray) directs, Hamish McColl (Mr. Bean’s Holiday) writes and the story comes from William Davies, who wrote the first Johnny English and also the significantly better How to Train Your Dragon.

That’s a lot of credit for what is little more than warmed-over Austin Powers antics and Get Smart! gadgetry.