51
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Wall Street JournalWall Street JournalThe movie is, at times, funny enough to make you cry, and, when it's not, it moves nicely as a parody.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenOnce in a long while, it even comes tantalizingly close to that rarest of modern film commodities -- ribald wit.
- 63USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigThe jokes often are corny or labored, and the story is predictable. However, Atkinson raises the movie to the level of good fun by the force of his outrageous persona and skill at physical comedy.
- 60Film ThreatRick KisonakFilm ThreatRick KisonakRowan Atkinson's spy spoof is wildly uneven and yet, at times, nothing less than wildly entertaining.
- 50Baltimore SunChris KaltenbachBaltimore SunChris KaltenbachJohnny English never builds any momentum, and Atkinson simply isn't a good enough actor to mine continued laughs from repetitive material.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannBy playing the boob so brilliantly, Atkinson allows us the catharsis of recognizing our own incompetencies and lack of poise.
- 50Miami HeraldConnie OgleMiami HeraldConnie OgleDespite its contemporary-sounding anti-French cracks, could easily have been made 20 years ago.
- 50Film ThreatFilm ThreatAll in all, Johnny English isn’t a bad effort. Rowan Atkinson is much more of a comedian than Mike Myers is, but unfortunately Myers had the spy spoof down pat.
- 50PremiereAaron HillisPremiereAaron HillisFavorably, Atkinson’s family-friendly, rubber-limbed professionalism can revitalize even the most vapid of material, which this certainly is. Anyone who has seen an episode of Black Adder can tell you that he’s leaps and bounds funnier than this sitcom-grade bauble.
- 50Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumOn its own modest terms, this romp delivers.