Joe T

I was so disappointed with the original Johnny English - a movie that was saved from being a total abomination by the genius of Atkinson - nevertheless, like many people, being a fan of the great comedic actor I gave this sequel a go but with very little expectation.

Fortunately the reborn JE is an improvement on the original. Nothing special of course, the humorous moments are largely predictable and there's very little original in the way of plot development, but the overall structure and flow of the movie has a bit more going for it and Atkinson is given a better quality canvas to apply his craft (so to speak) in terms of script, storyline and supporting characters. Worth a watch if you're into simple comedy flicks and the disappointment of the original will certainly help keep any expectations low.

Very visually stunning movie. The basic story line isn't particularly original, but it has a nice take on it and certainly the 'moral of the story' is fairly well made. Acting is solid enough even if a touch cliché at times. The suspense is well set out and drew me in nicely and is obviously the heart of the movie.

Unfortunately, I think if you're going to make a serious movie with a sci-fi setting like this one then I think you should make the effort to keep the universe logically consistent. There are many flaws in the physics and logic - some admittedly not crucial to the underlying story, but present nonetheless. As such, it didn't destroy the movie experience for me, but was certainly a distraction.

As already well noted, this is a very well crafted film that captures and portrays some of the lowest possibilities of human endeavour. The movie has it's flaws, but drawing empathy from the viewer is not one of them and this it does so well that I was emotionally exhausted by the end of it.

The religious dimension of the film is an interesting one. Clearly people wanting opportunity for anti-Catholic or anti-religious diatribe would find plenty of fuel here, but I think the more reasonable viewer (religious or not) would see the issues raised for what they are - a perversion and distortion of Christian faith perpetuated and maintained by flawed institutional systems. In this vein, it's not necessarily an anti-religious film and not even anti-establishment as such, but it does show a terrible side of those things and, moreover, illustrate how human beings can take any ideology, belief system etc. and turn it to meet their own personal sadistic and evil ends.

A sad and horrible film and one that reminds us all of what not do to, how not to treat people and how we should be ever vigilant as a society against evil and cruelty no matter the guise it takes.