HE KNOWS NO FEAR. HE KNOWS NO DANGER. HE KNOWS NOTHING.

Clumsy intelligence operative Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is convinced that a French billionaire (John Malkovich) is trying to make himself the next king of England.

The world needed another spy spoof about as much as a third world war, but Atkinson finds opportunities to successfully mug himself through a few scenes. Fairly harmless and likable, but the jokes are too predictable; I’m not sure hiring two actual Bond screenwriters was a great idea.

And then there’s John Malkovich playing the French villain – that hairdo and accent are more terrifying than funny.

2003-U.K.-U.S. 86 min. Color. Directed by Peter Howitt. Screenplay: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, William Davies. Song: ”A Man For All Seasons” (performed by Robbie Williams). Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Johnny English), John Malkovich (Pascal Sauvage), Natalie Imbruglia (Lorna Campbell), Ben Miller, Douglas McFerran, Tim Pigott-Smith, Prunella Scales.

Trivia: The Johnny English character was based on a series of commercials where Atkinson played an agent called Richard Latham. Followed by two sequels, starting with Johnny English Reborn (2011).