As a cyber-attack exposes MI7’s field agents, the agency is forced to reinstate older inactive agents, and that’s where Johnny English steps in, though he’s been working as a geography teacher, who secretly trains his students in espionage. In his third outing with the franchise, comedian Rowan Atkinson returns to play the title role, alongside Ben Miller, Olga Kurylenko, Jake Lacy and Emma Thompson. Directed by David Kerr, the action-comedy film Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) is set to have its Indian TV premiere this weekend. And we got to chat with Atkinson, and dig a little deeper into his super-sleuth persona.
How important was the script’s development, for you?
The part of the process of filmmaking I enjoy the most is scripting. Shooting a movie is always difficult, stressful, but when you’re sitting in a room with some like-minded souls thinking, wouldn’t it be funny if this happens, wouldn’t it be funny if that happens... But when you start thinking, then it is fun, and you feel that it can be a good idea that one day it can appear on screen.
How would you define the ‘analogue vs digital’ aspect that is reflected in the movie?
This is a basic story of the ‘analogue vs digital world’. It would be fair to say that Johnny English is more of an analogue character, and the modern world we live in is more digital. It was just putting these two things into conflict and trying to make out if that is fun.
How crucial is the VR sequence in the film?
The VR sequence is the root of our ‘analogue vs digital’ story. It is like the analogue trying on this digital thing, and mistreating it. What I like about it is that it goes from the very beginning of the story to the very end, and through the story, in compete ignorance of what he might have done. It’s very nice when you get a basic mechanical device that is supposed to flow, and supposed to move in sympathy with you. You think you are running, or you are walking, but the place is locked. So when Johnny puts his VR and walks, he thinks he’s out of the room, but he’s in his own VR, which causes considerable hurt and chaos to members of the population that he meets outside the room, in which he is supposed to be staying. This is the essential joke because VR is funny, and if you see people with a VR headset, they are in their own world, and not in the world in which they are physically present. Exploiting that for humour felt like an absolute no-brainer.
What is the difference between Mr Bean and Johnny English?
I think, if Mr Bean is kind-of between 9 and 11 years old, Johnny is a sort of 14 or 15 years old. He loves being a spy. He doesn’t question why or what, but if given the job, he relishes it. He loves the feeling of going into cocktail bars and chatting with women. He loves the idea of fast cars and exotic locations. So, he is a childish person, but not very childlike. Bean is very childlike and aggressive. I think Johnny is a nicer guy.
How familiar are you with the technology used in the film?
Well, it’s quite familiar, and there are things which people over 12 years of age can understand because the world is advancing quickly on terms of technology. If you are old enough to remember when things were different, maybe six years ago, or 26 years ago or 46 years ago, it doesn’t matter