Johnny English

Wall Street Journal Collin Levey

The movie is, at times, funny enough to make you cry, and, when it's not, it moves nicely as a parody.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A comic actor of genius who raises silliness to an art form, the wonderfully expressive Atkinson makes excellent use of those devastating looks in the spy spoof Johnny English, where he turns up as a James Bond type more likely to kill adversaries by accident than on purpose.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Unlike most movies of this kind, which run out of steam and ideas as they go along, Johnny English gains momentum, nudging you along from a few stray giggles to helpless, giddy laughter.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The hilarious Malkovich, coiffed in an artful pageboy and savoring a fruity French accent, would overpower the competition on sheer thespian madness.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Delivered with the kind of English aplomb that PBS audiences around the country have come to know and love. It must be the accent.

Variety Derek Elley

An extremely silly but effective enough romp for family audiences.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

The movie is more a loose collection of skits than a coherent whole. But then, it's never coherence we're looking for when Atkinson's exhausting imagination is cut loose from its fetters. The weird bonus here is John Malkovich's over-the-top performance.

LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

A funny summer frolic.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Most Bond parodies tend to flatten because they fail to evoke the production design overkill and slick cinematic style of its target. Johnny English is no different. Director Peter Howitt delivers action like a journeyman, but Atkinson saves him time and again.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

It's a chaste "Austin Powers," a less ridiculous "Casino Royale," a more subtle "Spy Hard" — in other words, yet another James Bond parody.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Once in a long while, it even comes tantalizingly close to that rarest of modern film commodities -- ribald wit.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The 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.

Film Threat Rick Kisonak

Rowan Atkinson's spy spoof is wildly uneven and yet, at times, nothing less than wildly entertaining.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Johnny English's international popularity may or may not translate here, but in a sequel-glutted summer, even a mildly amusing time-waster can't help but stand out.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Malkovich is usually such a numbingly self-serious actor. But he cuts loose here in a way that's outlandishly brilliant: It's his best performance in years.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Where's the real 007 when we really need him? Or better yet -- Calling Inspector Clouseau!

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

There weren't enough good laughs for me to recommend it to anyone other than the most devoted Beanheads.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

An old-fashioned comedy. And in this case, "old-fashioned" means tired, out of date and so abominably blah that you'll fall asleep in your popcorn.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Aussie singer Natalie Imbruglia gets to play the babe, nothing more, but she does that brightly. The rest of the movie is a dim bulb.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

On its own modest terms, this romp delivers.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Johnny English never builds any momentum, and Atkinson simply isn't a good enough actor to mine continued laughs from repetitive material.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

By playing the boob so brilliantly, Atkinson allows us the catharsis of recognizing our own incompetencies and lack of poise.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Despite its contemporary-sounding anti-French cracks, could easily have been made 20 years ago.

Film Threat Clint Morris

All 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.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

Favorably, 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.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Adding to the general air of ''What the hell?'' is Australian pop singer Natalie Imbruglia as Lorna, the beautiful superspy who falls for our hero. With Lorna's help, Johnny discovers that Sauvage is plotting to take over the British throne -- the Battle of Hastings wasn't good enough, it seems.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

If you were to strip the "Austin Powers" films of their juvenile lewdness, psychedelic decor and swinging soundtrack while leaving intact the potty humor and pratfalls, the result would be something very like this pointless spy spoof.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Plays like a tired exercise, a spy spoof with no burning desire to be that, or anything else.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

For those looking for something positive, this is the only movie I can recall that features music from both ABBA ("Does Your Mother Know") and Handel ("Zadok the Priest"). Let's hear it for musical diversity!

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Smug with timely zingers like "The only thing the French should be allowed to host is an invasion," the movie's recommended strictly for Bush advisers.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

The film manages the rare trick of improving as it unrolls from the utterly putrid to the barely tolerable. And, friends, I wish to say that sometimes that is as good as you can hope for in this racket.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

This is strictly dull chuckles from dull wits, and while there are a few genuine laughs to be found amidst the dross, they’re as rare as Francophiles in Crawford, Texas.