One thing a great deal of modern franchises struggle to attain is consistency, with quality, critical acclaim, and box office taking wildly varying from sequel to sequel. For better or worse, though, Johnny English has got to be viewed as one of the most reliable properties of the 21st Century.
That’s very much intended to be a backhanded compliment, seeing as none of Rowan Atkinson’s three adventures as the bumbling secret agent set the world alight. However, it’s definitely worth pointing out that the metrics never dipped, even if the saga ended up spanning 15 years.
The first two installments both earned almost the exact same amount of money at the box office, with their respective $160 million totals separated by only a few thousand dollars. Even the lowest-grossing film – threequel Johnny English Strikes Again – totaled out at $158 million in ticket sales.
On the critical front, the trio nabbed 33, 37, and 38 percent scores on Rotten Tomatoes, so you knew pretty much exactly what you were getting right from the very start. It’s the middle entry that’s been capturing attention on streaming over the weekend, with FlixPatrol naming Johnny English Reborn as one of the top-viewed titles on the Rakuten rankings.
Doing what all follow-ups do, the quietly-retired operative ends up being dragged out of self-imposed exile for the fabled “one last job.” Anyone who’d been paying attention wouldn’t be going in with high expectations, but the IP was remarkably consistent throughout its entire existence, as interminable as it may have been.
Published: May 1, 2023 02:03 am