Story
Johnny English Strikes Again is the third instalment in the Johnny English spoof comic spy series.
Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is a James Bond-like secret agent. At the start of this movie, Johnny is retired from the secret service and working as an eccentric school teacher. He’s called back into action when Silicon Valley entrepreneur (and secret cyber-villain) Jason Volta (Jake Lacey) reveals the identity of every spy in the British secret service by hacking its server. It turns out that Volta is about to cause an international crisis by turning off the internet!
As someone who has chosen to shun all digital technology, Johnny English is the man to save the day, aided by his trusty sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) and Russian secret agent Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko).
Themes
Espionage; cyber-crime; ageism; political incompetence
Violence
Johnny English Strikes Again has many scenes of slapstick violence, including fighting and shooting, although no-one is killed. There are no gratuitous injuries or graphic fight scenes.
Here are some examples of violence in this movie:
- Several characters are hit over the head or fall from a height.
- Johnny English hits a security guard over the head with a breadboard.
- Johnny English attacks a baker with two baguette loaves.
- While wearing a virtual reality headset, Johnny English attacks an unsuspecting old woman using karate moves.
- Johnny English falls off a balcony on a ship. He expects to fall into the ocean, but instead lands on the lower deck.
- A submarine fires a rocket into a ship, which explodes.
- Ophelia tries to garrotte Johnny English as they dance. Johnny uses judo moves to throw her down and knock her out.
- Johnny English fires a rocket of tear gas into a group of French cyclists to clear a road.
- Johnny English throws a tour guide off the top of an open-top London bus.
- Johnny English is shot at while wearing a protective suit of armour.
Sexual references
Johnny English Strikes Again has some sexual references. For example:
- Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko) behaves seductively and is always dressed in tight, revealing evening dresses.
- Johnny English falls in love with Ophelia and gazes longingly at her.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Johnny English Strikes Again shows some use of substances. For example:
- Many scenes show adults drinking alcohol, including cocktails and champagne, at parties and restaurants.
- The British Prime Minister (Emma Thompson) orders a ‘two bottles of wine and some sleeping pills’ to get to sleep. Later she orders ‘vodka tonic – no ice, no tonic’.
- Johnny English orders a ‘London lemming – vodka, gin with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese’.
- Johnny English takes some energy pills. This leads to an all-night dancing session.
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Johnny English Strikes Again:
- Hyundai, BMW and Aston Martin cars
- Apple computers and mobile phones.
Coarse language
There is some coarse language in this movie.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Johnny English Strikes Again is an action-packed spy spoof, with clever slapstick physical humour and many great comic one-liners. Fans of Rowan Atkinson (particularly as Mr Bean or from earlier Johnny English movies) are likely to enjoy this movie.
The main messages from this movie are that good will always overcomes bad and that sometimes the life experience that comes with age has more value than we think.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the following:
- Experience is valuable, even if you’re not up to date with modern technology.
- Persistence pays off.
- Innovative teachers make a difference.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- political incompetence
- online dangers like data sharing, internet dependency and ‘big data’
- the consequences of violence.
- women’s roles in society
- ageism
- international espionage.