The spy film , also known as the spy thriller , is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage , either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré ) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films). Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan , le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton . It is a significant aspect of British cinema , with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service .
41-503: Johnny English Strikes Again is a 2018 spy action comedy film directed by David Kerr . It is the sequel to Johnny English Reborn (2011) and is the third instalment of the Johnny English series . The film stars Rowan Atkinson in the title role, alongside Ben Miller , Olga Kurylenko , Jake Lacy and Emma Thompson . The film follows the titular MI7 agent who is called into action, when all undercover operatives are exposed in
82-702: A Sherbet Fountain , English and Bough leave behind their mobile and drive an old Aston Martin to France to investigate. They arrive at the Hotel Magnifique in Antibes , where the cyber attack originated. Undercover as waiters, they steal a mobile with a photo of the next target, the Dot Calm yacht, and English accidentally sets fire to the restaurant. Sneaking onto the yacht, he and Bough are caught by Russian operative Ophelia Bhuletova, but escape after seeing many computer servers . Pursuing Bhuletova's electric BMW through
123-504: A ballistic missile . The missile diverts to a Sherbet Fountain beacon left by English on the Dot Calm , destroying the yacht and Volta's server. English, in a suit of armour, Bough and Bhuletova chase Volta to his helicopter as he starts to reroute the attack to a server in Nevada . Bhuletova gives English a tablet to disable Volta's glass Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopter. When Volta mocks English's inability to use digital technology, he throws
164-489: A $ 2.4 million opening in Germany, for a running cumulative total of $ 96 million. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 37% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, " Johnny English Strikes Again might get a few giggles out of viewers pining for buffoonish pratfalls, but for the most part, this sequel simply strikes out." On Metacritic ,
205-590: A box set of all three movies in the franchise. In Australia, the film's digital release was moved up to 19 December 2018 while the Blu-Ray and DVD release in the United States and Canada was 22 January 2019. Johnny English Strikes Again has grossed $ 4.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 154.5 million elsewhere (including $ 23.2 million in the United Kingdom), for a total worldwide gross of $ 159 million. In
246-426: A combination of exciting escapism , technological thrills, and exotic locales, many spy films combine the action and science fiction genres, presenting clearly delineated heroes for audiences to root for and villains they want to see defeated. They may also involve elements of political thrillers . However, there are many that are comedic (mostly action comedy films if they fall under that genre). James Bond
287-549: A cyber attack. The film was released in cinemas in Australia on 20 September 2018, the United Kingdom on 5 October 2018 by Universal Pictures and in the United States on 26 October 2018, by Focus Features . The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box-office success, grossing $ 159 million worldwide with its $ 25 million budget. Seven years after the second film , a cyber attack exposes MI7 ’s field agents, forcing
328-518: A fourth film in the franchise is in the works and is set to be filmed in 2024. Spy film Spy films show the espionage activities of government agents and their risk of being discovered by their enemies. From the Nazi espionage thrillers of the 1940s to the James Bond films of the 1960s and to the high-tech blockbusters of today, the spy film has always been popular with audiences worldwide. Offering
369-670: A minor role as the retired Agent Nine (Atkinson and Fox had both appeared earlier in the 1983 non- Eon James Bond film Never Say Never Again ). The production designer was Simon Bowles , who won an award for his designs for this movie at the 2019 British Film Designers Guild Awards, shared with set decorator Liz Griffiths and supervising art director Ben Collins. Parts were also filmed in Welham Green , Hertfordshire; and in Gloucestershire . Filming continued in France from 26 September, at
410-405: A number, and the beautiful foreign agent who comes to love the hero. Lang's Dr. Mabuse films from the period also contain elements of spy thrillers, though the central character is a criminal mastermind only interested in espionage for profit. Additionally, several of Lang's American films, such as Hangmen Also Die , deal with spies during World War II. Alfred Hitchcock did much to popularize
451-474: A party. Further cyber attacks force the Prime Minister to solidify an agreement with Silicon Valley billionaire Jason Volta, to be revealed during a forthcoming G12 meeting. Learning Volta owns the Dot Calm , and suspecting he is behind the cyber attack, English and Bough return home. Seeking proof, they must infiltrate Volta's mansion. In preparation, English is given a virtual reality exploration of
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#1732905793688492-459: A person's life. Carrying things in rings was common, but the science of making a deadly poison that could kill someone from just a drop was challenging for most. Seeing that it was no easy task of creating such a lethal death through such a small amount of poison, it is speculated that there were probably few deaths from the poison rings. Carthaginian General Hannibal committed suicide in order to avoid capture by Roman soldiers. Another victim of
533-420: A remake of his 1934 film of the same name . He followed this up in 1959 with North by Northwest (1959), widely considered one of the most influential works within the spy genre. The peak of popularity of spy films is often considered to be the 1960s when Cold War fears meshed with a desire by audiences to see exciting and suspenseful films. The espionage film developed in two directions at this time. On
574-533: Is Charlotte Gray , based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks . Also during the period, there were many detective films ( The Thin Man Goes Home and Charlie Chan in the Secret Service for example) in which the mystery involved who stole the secret blue-prints, or who kidnapped the famous scientist. In the mid-1950s, Alfred Hitchcock returned to the spy genre with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) ,
615-677: Is the most famous of film spies, but there were also more serious, probing works like le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold that also emerged from the Cold War . As the Cold War ended, the newest villain became terrorism and more often involved the Middle East . The spy film genre began in the silent era , with the paranoia of invasion literature and the onset of the Great War . These fears produced
656-453: The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming were adapted into an increasingly fantastical series of tongue-in-cheek adventure films by producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli , with Sean Connery as the star. They featured secretive and flamboyant supervillains, an archetype that would later become a staple of the explosion of spy movies in the mid-to-late 1960s. The phenomenal success of
697-628: The Bond series leads to a deluge of imitators, such as the eurospy genre and several from America. Notable examples include the two Derek Flint films starring James Coburn , The Quiller Memorandum (1966) with George Segal , and the Matt Helm series with Dean Martin . Television also got into the act with series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E and I Spy in the U.S., and Danger Man and The Avengers in Britain. Spies have remained popular on TV to
738-605: The Mr. Moto series, based on the books of John P. Marquand . In the 1940s and early 1950s, several films were made about the exploits of Allied agents in occupied Europe, which could be considered a subgenre. 13 Rue Madeleine and O.S.S. were fictional stories about American agents in German-occupied France. There were several films based on the stories of real-life British S.O.E. agents, including Odette and Carve Her Name With Pride . A more recent fictional example
779-550: The British 1914 The German Spy Peril , centered on a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament , and 1913's O.H.M.S. , standing for "Our Helpless Millions Saved" as well as On His Majesty's Service (and introducing for the first time a strong female character who helps the hero). In 1928, Fritz Lang made the film Spies which contained many tropes that became popular in later spy dramas, including secret headquarters, an agent known by
820-446: The G12 leaders by threatening to shut down the internet. English calls MI7, forgetting Lydia's warning about using a mobile near the submarine. An MI7 secretary unintentionally places two telephones next to each other: one on a call from English, the other from Lydia, calling to confirm a launch code English inadvertently keyed in. Mistakenly given the order to attack by English, Lydia launches
861-519: The G12 meeting in Scotland . Bough convinces English to stop Volta anyway, enlisting his wife Lydia's aid, a Navy captain of submarine HMS Vengeance , to arrive at Garroch Castle via Loch Nevis . Bhuletova attempts to kill Volta but, knowing she is a spy, he has immunized himself to her poison ring and removed her gun's firing pin. Scaling the castle using a powered bodysuit, English intervenes before Volta can kill her, who escapes. Volta plans to extort
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#1732905793688902-453: The Middle Ages. The poison ring was used to slip poison into an enemy's food or drink. A powder or liquid poison was stored in these instances. In other cases, the poison ring was used to facilitate the suicide of the wearer in order to preclude capture or torture. People more commonly died from suicide rather than murder caused by the poison ring. The purpose of the compartment in the ring
943-611: The October 2001 article "A Ring to Die For: Poison Rings Hold Centuries of Secrets", published in Antiques & Collecting Magazine , this type of jewelry originated in ancient days of the Far East and India. It replaced the practice of wearing keepsakes and other items in pouches around the neck. The wearing of vessel rings was so practical that it spread to other parts of Asia, the Middle East and
984-581: The Saint Aygulf beach in Var . On 4 April 2018, the title was revealed to be Johnny English Strikes Again , with a teaser trailer released the day after. The car that Johnny English drives was an Aston Martin V8 Vantage (1977) . The car is personally owned by Rowan Atkinson, who drove it during car scenes in the movie. He bought the car a few months prior to the production of the film. Johnny English Strikes Again
1025-417: The United States and Canada, Johnny English Strikes Again was released alongside Hunter Killer and Indivisible as well as the wide expansion of Mid90s , and was projected to gross around $ 2 million from 544 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $ 1.6 million, finishing 12th at the box office. Deadline Hollywood noted the film's American release was essentially a formality, as it
1066-402: The agency to reinstate older inactive agents, including Johnny English. Now a geography teacher, he secretly trains his students in espionage. Accidentally incapacitating the other retired agents, English is the sole agent left to accept the mission. He insists on his old sidekick and MI7 clerk, Angus Bough. Collecting their equipment, including explosive jelly babies and a tracker disguised as
1107-439: The building. However, he unintentionally leaves the simulation room, assaulting various people while in the virtual environment (including battering the manager of a local cafe with two baguettes , and commandeering an Open Top Routemaster by pushing the tour guide off the top deck). Arriving at the mansion, English discovers Bhuletova is also a spy. He records evidence of Volta's plans with her iPhone , but accidentally presses
1148-516: The countryside, English and Bough run out of fuel. She finds them, arranging to meet at the Hotel de Paris in Cagnes-sur-Mer . While English meets her at the hotel bar, Bough discovers she is a spy, but English rejects his suspicions. Attempting to kill him in his room upon nightfall, she fails after a sleepless English accidentally takes energy pills instead of sleeping pills and vacates the room to attend
1189-459: The explosive Jelly babies . In May 2017, it was announced that Rowan Atkinson would be returning to take the role of Johnny English in the sequel to the film Johnny English Reborn (2011). On 3 August 2017, Working Title Films announced that they had begun production and filming with the director David Kerr . The cinematographer was Florian Hoffmeister. This is the second spy film starring both Rowan Atkinson and Edward Fox , who appears in
1230-410: The film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". In a Reddit AMA thread in October 2018, when asked about more Johnny English films, Rowan Atkinson replied with: "I doubt it but thank you very much for implying you'd like to see another one. But at the same time...never say never." In February 2024, Screendaily reported that
1271-484: The most popular films include: Movie series ( franchises ) One-shots, sequels and remakes Some of the most popular television series include: Classic era Modern era Poison ring A poison ring or pillbox ring is a type of ring with a container under the bezel or inside the bezel itself which could be used to hold poison or another substance; they became popular in Western Europe during
Johnny English Strikes Again - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-475: The one hand, the realistic spy novels of Len Deighton and John le Carré were adapted into relatively serious Cold War thrillers that dealt with some of the realities of the espionage world. Some of these films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), Torn Curtain (1966), and the Harry Palmer series, based on the novels of Len Deighton . In another direction,
1353-438: The poison ring was Marquis de Condorcet. He ended his life in a desperate attempt to avoid a far worse death. Lucrezia Borgia was an Italian noblewoman who according to legend was exceptionally talented at making poisons potent, enough to use the poison ring to dispose of political rivals. The story of Lucrezia Borgia was only speculated but has never been confirmed. According to Marcy Waldie, who wrote about poison rings in
1394-600: The present day with series such as Callan , Alias and Spooks . Spy films also enjoyed something of a revival in the late 1990s, although these were often action films with espionage elements or comedies like Austin Powers . Some critics identify a trend away from fantasy in favor of realism, as observed in Syriana , the Bourne film series and the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig since Casino Royale (2006). Some of
1435-574: The spy film in the 1930s with his influential thrillers The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). These often involved innocent civilians being caught up in international conspiracies or webs of saboteurs on the home front, as in Saboteur (1942). Some, however, dealt with professional spies, as in Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936), based on W. Somerset Maugham 's Ashenden stories, or
1476-418: The tablet at Volta, hitting him in the head and knocking him out, then smashes his phone with a sword to stop the attack. The Prime Minister praises and forgives English for his attitude, who accidentally disrobes before the press and G12 leaders while removing the armor. English returns to his school as a guest speaker, welcomed by his students. However, to his horror, he sees the headmaster about to eat one of
1517-485: The wrong button, playing music from the phone and exposing himself. English escapes, hijacking a driving instructor's car, returning to MI7 after being chased by Volta. However, English mixes up iPhones with a driving student ( Pauline McLynn ), thus failing to convince MI7 and the Prime Minister of Volta's schemes. Hearing of both the restaurant and virtual reality incidents, she fires English and Bough and proceeds with
1558-411: Was believed to protect and cast away misfortune. It was even thought to create and bond with God through it. Carrying holy relics was believed to bring happiness and good health, and to be in the good graces of God. These rings were also known as locket, socket, compartment, box, and funeral rings. The compartment in poison rings are relatively small. A strong potent poison was needed to be able to end
1599-413: Was not built for the audience in the United States, and thus the low opening wasn't seen as a disappointment to the studio. Outside North America, the film debuted to $ 5.5 million in the United Kingdom and grossed $ 14.1 million overall in its second week for a to date total gross of $ 66.5 million. In its third weekend of international release, the film added another $ 9.8 million from 57 countries, including
1640-415: Was not only limited to poison. Rings with such compartments were long before used for other reasons, before, during, and after the peak of poison rings. There were many uses for such rings. A very popular use for these rings was to store perfume, special items, talismans, keepsakes or small portraits. People would even store the teeth, hair, and bones of the dead, especially of saints or martyrs, because it
1681-552: Was scheduled to be released in both the United Kingdom and United States on 12 October 2018 by Universal Pictures in the United Kingdom and by Focus Features in the United States; the date for the United States was later moved up to 20 September 2018, before being pushed back to 26 October 2018. It was released in Portugal on 5 October 2018 by Cinemax Angola . The film was set to be released digitally on 4 February 2019, and on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UltraHD format on 18 February, alongside