Film

Johnny English Strikes Again

Name: Johnny English Strikes Again
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Released: 2018
Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller, Emma Thompson, Jake Lacy

Parody
Crime
Spy action
Light-hearted

Johnny English is a bumbling MI7 agent called back from teaching to stop a hacker who's exposed all of Britain's undercover agents. It's slapstick comedy dressed in a spy-thriller frame: Rowan Atkinson's physical comedy and pratfalls anchored by real action sequences and a plot that actually moves. For anyone who wants laughs with their espionage and doesn't mind a protagonist who's gloriously, intentionally incompetent.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slapstick built on a stubborn man's cluelessness, where a gag about outdated gadgets lands harder than any plot twist and a lot of the fun is watching a mess get messier.

Skip it if you want sharp, grounded spy mechanics or a comedy that trusts its jokes to be quiet; this one leans on mugging, pratfalls and broad physical business almost every minute.

What it asks of you: A brisk eighty-eight minutes with little to track beyond the next set piece, so settle in for loud, cheerful nonsense rather than anything that rewards close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Kingsman: The Secret Service2015

A spy-action film that nails the same tonal balance: absurdist humour and brutal fight choreography in equal measure, with a protagonist learning the ropes in a secret service. Same energy, different registers.

But It's considerably more violent and sexual than Johnny English, with a scene that drew real controversy. Some find the tone uneven—it shifts between goofy and genuinely nasty.

The Pink Panther1963

Peter Sellers as a bumbling cop in a jewel-heist mystery. Pure physical comedy from someone who understood that incompetence played with absolute conviction becomes its own kind of brilliance. The DNA is there.

But It's almost sixty years old and moves at a different pace than modern comedy. Some jokes land silently and expect you to sit with them, which can feel slow.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery1997

Spy-comedy that commits fully to its own absurdity: a ridiculous protagonist in a ridiculous premise, played straight by Mike Myers. The formula Johnny English inherited and made British.

But The sexual humour has aged oddly, and the comedy is relentless—if you don't find the core joke funny, ninety minutes is a long time to sit with it.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Johnny English Strikes Again

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Summer with the gentleman2019

Same director as Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (which influenced the spy-comedy subgenre). A film where bumbling gives way to intricate planning—the inverse of Johnny English's arc, but the same pleasure in watching incompetent people navigate complex schemes.

Guy Ritchie directed this slick, layered crime-caper where everyone is competent but still getting outmanoeuvred. It's Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, and Michelle Dockery in a plot that doubles back on itself. Pure pleasure.

But It's so densely plotted that some people find it confusing, and the tonal shifts can whiplash you. It requires active watching, not background viewing.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.2015

A spy-action film that takes itself seriously enough to make the action matter, but light enough that you're never tense. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer have genuine chemistry. Stylish, fun, and deeply competent at what it does.

But It's deliberately cool and composed—the opposite of Johnny English's energy. If you want frenetic slapstick, this is too chill.

Spy Game2001

Brad Pitt and Robert Redford as a mentor and protégé spy, framed as a series of flashbacks during a rescue mission. It's lighter than it sounds, clever with its structure, and moves at a pace that doesn't lag.

But It's been somewhat forgotten and doesn't have the wit of better spy-comedies. The plot is serviceable rather than surprising.

The Ladykillers2004

Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans, and others as criminals posing as musicians. Pitch-black comedy from the Coen Brothers about people terrible at being what they pretend to be. Genuinely funny and oddly touching.

But It's cynical and mean in ways Johnny English never is. Some find the humour too dark, and the film is less action-driven.

Rush Hour1998

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as a cop and a detective who can't stand each other. Chan's physical comedy is phenomenal, and the buddy dynamic carries you through a decent action plot. Endlessly watchable.

But The humour relies heavily on cultural stereotypes that haven't aged well. Some action sequences are dated, and the plot is pretty thin.

National Security2003

Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn as a bumbling security guard and a cop. It's silly and doesn't pretend otherwise. If you want low-stakes comedy with action window-dressing, it delivers without pretending to be anything more.

But The writing is thin and the comedy is broad. It's the kind of film that works once as a time-passer and doesn't hold up to scrutiny or rewatching.

Tropic Thunder2008

An action-comedy about actors making an action film, which lets it play jokes at both action-movie conventions and Hollywood itself. Cast is excellent and there are some genuinely great set pieces.

But It's uneven—some bits land brilliantly, others don't. The satire is sometimes too obvious, and it trades on shock humour that not everyone finds funny.

A Fish Called Wanda1988

John Cleese, whose deadpan delivery and physical comedy anticipated Rowan Atkinson's work. A film where the spy-world is background to character comedy—Johnny English inverts this by making plot more important than character.

A heist-comedy where the real humour comes from character collision rather than plot. Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, and Michael Palin as criminals with contradictory agendas. Brilliantly constructed and genuinely hilarious.

But It's from 1988 and shows it—the pacing is deliberate, and some of the comedy is character-based in ways modern audiences sometimes find slow. One subplot involves animal cruelty that's played for laughs, which doesn't land well now.

The Man with Two Brains1983

A protagonist deeply out of his depth in a world governed by rules he doesn't understand, played by someone with perfect comic timing who undercuts every moment with sincerity. Comedy from character contradiction rather than plot mechanics—what Johnny English aims at, but from a completely different era and sensibility.

Steve Martin as a neurosurgeon who falls in love with a woman who may be a murderer, and his brain is transplanted into another body. Absurdist comedy that commits fully to its own logic. It's weird and generous and genuinely brilliant.

But It's utterly strange and doesn't hold your hand. If you're not primed for 1980s surrealist comedy, it might just seem silly. The humour doesn't announce itself.