Jason Statham’s action comedy Spy is a great James Bond spoof, but Rowan Atkinson starred in an even funnier parody of the franchise with 2003’s Statham’s best movies of the past decade. Melissa McCarthy stars as a government desk clerk who’s reluctantly promoted to a field agent when her colleague is compromised. Statham steals the show in the role of Rick Ford, a self-aware spoof of 007 and all the invincible action heroes Statham has played throughout his career.
Spy is one of the ‘80s Bond films. Johnny English gives Bond’s job to Mr. Bean, and chaos naturally ensues.
If You Enjoy Jason Statham's Spy, You'll Also Love Johnny English
Johnny English Is About A Bumbling Spy Trying To Protect The Throne
Johnny English has a very similar premise to Spy; they both revolve around an unqualified operative being thrust into a 00 agent’s job. In Spy, a low-level CIA office worker is sent into the field when her partner is seemingly killed in action. In Johnny English, Atkinson plays an ambitious but buffoonish MI7 agent whose incompetence causes the death of Agent One, then the deaths of every other agent attending Agent One’s funeral, meaning English is the only one left to thwart a plot to steal the Crown Jewels.
Atkinson brings the same slapstick genius to his turn in Johnny English that he brought to Mr. Bean, but there’s the added layer that English has a Ron Burgundy-esque sense of unearned confidence.
Atkinson brings the same slapstick genius to his turn in Johnny English that he brought to Mr. Bean, but there’s the added layer that English has a Ron Burgundy-esque sense of unearned confidence. Every big set-piece in Johnny English leads to a hilarious punchline. When English infiltrates the villain’s lair, he unwittingly lands on a hospital and takes a bunch of nurses hostage. When he gets mixed up chasing a perp in a parking garage, he ends up pouncing on his own partner.
Spy & Johnny English Both Parody The James Bond Franchise
They Lampoon All The Familiar 007 Tropes
Both Spy and Johnny English are pitch-perfect parodies of the Bond franchise. Johnny English’s action-packed opening scene wouldn’t be out of place in a Bond movie’s cold open, but it’s promptly revealed to be the daydream of a man who’s nowhere near that suave. Spy plays around with the Bond gadget trope and its villain, Rayna Boyanov, hilariously spoofs the ineptness of Bond villains who constantly squander their opportunities to kill 007.
Johnny English
- Release Date
- July 18, 2003
- Runtime
- 87 Minutes
- Director
- Peter Howitt
- Writers
- Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, William Davies
- Producers
- Eric Fellner, Mark Huffam, Tim Bevan, Frédéric Bovis
Cast
Rowan AtkinsonLorna Campbell
John MalkovichJohnny English
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