The combination of high-tech thrillers a la James Bond and the so English humor of Rowan Atkinson worked fine for me in the original ‘Johnny English’ and work even better in the ‘Johnny English Reborn’ sequel released eight years later, which I got to see only now. If I am to look for the perfect comedy entertainment I would go for something like this because it succeeds to be funny and anti political-correct, while keeping some logic and sending references to the original movies it is inspired from, without taking itself too much seriously at any moment.
source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1634122/
If I am to decide what are the reasons JE works for me better than other similar comedy-parody movies I would of course first of all mention Rowan Atkinson. He is himself, meaning Mr. Bean whatever the role he plays – a combination of Britishness and irreverence, a walking gaffer and catastrophes generator, and yet – a warm human being. The greatest comical character one can identify with since Stan Laurel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_883cRmOZXs
(video source Clevver Movies)
The second reason are the scripts of the Johnny English films. They actually have logic. Of course, it’s Brit logic, it’s movies logic, but if you really put the script of the two Johnny English movies near the stories of most of the James Bond films, not only you will find them similar, but English may won many of the credibility contests.
This second and I hope not last installment of Johnny English has also the great advantage to bring back to screen one of my mostly beloved actresses, Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame. Did I say that was my preferred TV-series of all times. I did and now you know it all too. I hope that director Oliver Parker (or somebody else) will go on with the JE series, and that Gillian will become Atkinson/English’s Q for a long time.