How Johnny English Referenced James Bond More Than Ever

After announcing that Bond 25 would be released on February 14, 2020, the producers moved it further for an April 2020 release date. Since Bond 25 has been delayed again, I think it would be just right that we feast our eyes with other films from the spy genre, films that are referencing, or spoofing, the James Bond franchise.

Johnny English Strikes Again movie poster from imdb.com

The third installment of the Johnny English movie series, "Johnny English Strikes Again" came seven years after the second one. As for me, I think this movie made reference to the James Bond franchise more than its predecessors ever did. That is maybe is an influence rubbing off from Spectre (2015) wherein there were references from all previous 23 Bond films, from Dr. No to Skyfall.

1. Plot

The film starts with someone hacking information about the British Secret Service agents, revealing their true identities, exposing their covers. This was the same plot used in Skyfall wherein Silva, a former MI-6 agent did the same cyber attacks on the British Secret Service.

Agents' cover being exposed in Johnny English Strikes Again

The list of agents in Skyfall

2. Theme

The film has the "Old versus New" theme, with Johnny English representing the "Old" and Jason Volta representing the new. Much like in Skyfall, where a very experienced James Bond tried dealing with his digital villain in an old-fashioned way.

Johnny English choosing the Aston Martin over the hybrid ones in Johnny English Strikes Again

Q and Bond in Skyfall

3. Pre-Title Sequence

A tradition set by the James Bond movies, this movie has its own Pre-Title Sequence.

4. From Russia with Love Pre-Title Sequence

That pre-title sequence is lifted from From Russia with Love's (1963). Seemingly, Johnny English is in a mission with his colleagues until it was revealed that it is only a training conducted by English to his students, just like when Red Grant was training with a SPECTRE agent with Bond's face in the start of From Russia with Love.

Johnny English training his students in Johnny English Strikes Again

Red Grant in a training with SPECTRE in From Russia With  Love

5. "Moneypenny"

This film has its Pegasus. This means that it is only right to have this film's version of Moneypenny. Named Lesley, Pegasus' secretary was played by Pippa Bennett- Warner.

Lesley in Pegasus' office in Johnny English Strikes Again

Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall

6. Pegasus' office

Bernard Lee's M was known to be an Admiral before he was the head of MI-6. That explains the painting of ships present in the office of Ralph Fiennes' M in Skyfall. For this film, Pegasus' office also has a ship painting present.

Pegasus in Johnny English Strikes Again

M and Bond in Skyfall

7. Dance, Fox, Gambon

These three older agents that returned as requested by the British Secret Service all have their own links to the James Bond franchise. Charles Dance was a henchman of the villain, Aris Kristatos (played by Julian Glover), in For Your Eyes Only (1981). Edward Fox played M in Never Say Never Again (1983) wherein Rowan Atkinson played a small role alongside Sean Connery, while Michael Gambon was offered the role of James Bond for Diamonds are Forever (1971).

Edward Fox in Johnny English Strikes Again

Edward Fox as M with Sean Connery as Bond in Never Say Never Again

Charles Dance in Johnny English Strikes Again

Charles Dance as a henchman in For Your Eyes Only

Michael Gambon in Johnny English Strikes Again

8. Exploding Pen

Q mocked Bond for wanting a more extravagant item in Skyfall (2012) by saying "Were you expecting an exploding pen?". Another reference of this was from Goldenye (1995) where Bond was given an exploding pen but with a shorter countdown timer of five seconds.

Exploding pen in Goldeneye

Exploding pen in Johnny English Strikes Again

9. P Scene

This movie also has its own Q Branch scene, which was also lifted from Skyfall. The gadgets are now some futuristic technology and not the traditional spy stuff seen in earlier spy films. To keep up with the theme of the movie, Johnny English still picks to be old-fashioned and asked for a gun, and a vintage Aston Martin, instead of asking for a hybrid vehicle.

P scene with Bond in Skyfall

P scene in Johnny English Strikes Again

10. Aston Martin

James Bond drives an Aston Martin, so does Johnny English.

Bond's Aston Martin DB5 in Skyfall

English's Aston Martin V8 in Johnny English Strikes Again

11. Chase scene

Most spy films have their own chase scenes. However, the car chase scene in Johnny English Strikes Again between Johnny English and Ophelia Bhuletova looks similar to the initial chase scene between James Bond and Xenia Onattop in Goldeneye. The location seems similar. Also, it was a chase between Bond and Bond girl, although she is a henchwoman. Notice the color schemes of the cars used in both chase scenes.

Bond's chase scene with Onattop, featuring the cyclists, in Goldeneye

Bond's chase scene with Bhuetova, featuring the cyclists, in Johnny English Strikes Again

12. Bar scene

The bar scene where Ophelia Bhuletova meets Johnny English is very alike with most of Bond's meeting with his Bond girl. One of those seemingly similar scenes is the bar scene in Skyfall. Another one is the scene where Bond meets Anya Amasova, also a Russian agent, in the Egyptian gathering in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

Bond and Severine in Skyfall

Bond and Bhuletova in Johnny English Strikes Again

13. Dance Floor, Curtain, Gun

The scene wherein Johnny English is highly energized by a drug and is then seen dancing in the dance floor while Ophelia Bhuletova was trying to kill him was one of the hilarious moments of the film. The part where Bhuletova hides behind a curtain and aims at Johnny English looks like the one from Thunderball (1965).

Gun pointed at Bond in Thunderball 

Gun pointed at English in Johnny English Strikes Again

14. Garrote Watch
Red Grant of From Russia with Love has the garrote watch as his choice of weapons. So does Russian agent Ophelia Bhuletova.

Grant's garrote watch in the train fight scene in From Russia With Love

Bhuletova's garrote watch in the dance floor scene in Johnny English Strikes Again

15. VR

Although it is not used well in Die Another Day (2002), the idea of having a Virtual Reality concept in a spy film started in that said movie. Pierce Brosnan's James Bond was shown in a shooting training using VR, while Moneypenny used it to fantasize Bond. Johnny English Strikes Again upgraded the use of the VR in a highly hilarious scene. VR and Rowan Atkinson seemed to be a good combination.

Bond and Q's VR in Die Another Day

English and P's VR in Johnny English Strikes Again

16. Student Driver

This has to be my most favorite among all other references made. After escaping Jason Volta's lair, Johnny English has to take over a vehicle for him to continue escaping. However, the vehicle he managed to get was occupied by a student lady driver accompanied by its instructor. Hilariously, English continued the driving lesson even when they were being chased by Volta.

Do you remember Mrs. Bell from Live and Let Die (1973) as she was getting her plane driving lessons from Roger Moore?

Mrs. Bell in Live and Let Die

The student driver in Johnny English Strikes Again

17. Crane chase

That previously stated chase scene ends when a crane blocks their way leaving only a little space enough for Johnny English and the student lady driver's car to pass through. Since Jason Volta's car is larger, he cannot pass through and continue chasing English. This very scene is reminiscent of how the very first car chase action scene of the James Bond series concluded.

As Sean Connery was driving, the Three Blind Mice follows him until they were blocked by a crane. Since they were in a hearse, they were not able to pass through and fell off the narrow road.

The obstructed funeral car in Dr. No

Volta's obstructed car in Johnny English Strikes Again

18. Six Bullets

During the final showdown with Jason Volta, Johnny English in a knight's armor is being shot at by Volta using his 3D-Printed gun. English remarks, 'Don't worry, he's only got six bullets in that thing!" Sean Connery also has the same remark before he shoots Professor Dent, played by Anthony Dawson, in Dr. No. "It's a Smith & Wesson, and you've had your six."

Bond and Professor Dent in Dr. No

English and Volta in Johnny English Strikes Again

19. Villain fight

The final showdown with Jason Volta involves a very unexpected weapon of choice for Johnny English. As English manages to be in possession of Volta's tablet, he tries to stop Volta's chopper. However, since English is not very good with computer and modern tech stuff, he throws the tablet to Volta which made him fall onto his head, just like when Bond throws a knife into Raoul Silva's back in Skyfall.

Javier Bardem (left) and Dame Judi Dench in Skyfall

English throwing the tablet at Volta in Johnny English Strikes Again

20. Main Girl

The main English girl (as opposed to Bond girl) of this film is Olga Kurylenko, playing a Russian spy working undercover against Jason Volta. Kurylenko also played the main Bond girl Camille Montes in Quantum of Solace (2008) and in another spy film with former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan in  The November Man (2014).

Olga Kurylenko (left) and Daniel Craig (right) in Quantum of Solace from supposedlyfun.com

Pierce Brosnan (left) and Olga Kurylenko (right) in The November Man from variety.com

Olga Kurylenko (left) and Rowan Atkinson (right) in Johnny English Strikes Again from entertainment.inquirer.net

MOVIE REVIEW: Goldfinger Part 2

(Continued from the previous post.)

Bond was eventually captured and what followed was one of the most iconic scenes, an exchange of dialogue between an antagonist and a protagonist in a film. Goldfinger really had lots of iconic scenes.

Goldfinger (left) interrogating Bond (right) from independent.co.uk

Bond was fixed on a platform before a laser machine as Goldfinger was laying out his evil plans. Bond tried to buy himself some time and maybe convince Goldfinger not to kill him by saying different reasons. One was that MI6 would undoubtedly send 008 to replace him if he would not report about his assignment. Another was that he overheard Goldfinger's evil plan "Operation Grand Slam". This was when Bond asked Goldfinger, "You expect me to talk?" and Goldfinger answered, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." Soon after, Bond was released and was just kept as a prisoner inside Goldfinger's lair.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore from jamesbondfanon.wikia.com

Bond met Goldfinger's pilot, Pussy Galore, as they were on their way to Goldfinger's lair in the United States. Unlike in "Dr. No", Goldfinger's lair did not have a fancy hotel room and services for Bond, although he would be treated fairly good in later scenes. Bond escaped his guards and overheard Goldfinger's evil plans again, this time in detail because Goldfinger was actually presenting it to a set of businessmen whom would also be all killed by Goldfinger. Although one was shot by Odd Job and not killed alongside his businessmen mates. This scene would be replicated 21 years later in "A View To A Kill".

Bond placed his GPS tracker and left a note in it to be fetched by Felix Leiter. As the day of Goldfinger's plans came near, Bond made Pussy Galore fell for him despite her obvious resistance ever since they met each other.

Pussy turned sides and would be revealed to help Bond stop Goldfinger's plan.

Bond, together with Odd Job and a bunch of Goldfinger's troops made it to Fort Knox and executed the plan. Bond was handcuffed inside the vault and the CIA, and the authorities swooped in to foil the plan. Goldfinger escaped hastily leaving his plan to Odd Job.

Although left for damnation by his employer, Odd Job stayed loyal to the plan and still went on to stop Bond from foiling their plan. After a heavily painful fight with Bond, Odd Job came across death when he was electrocuted after reaching for his metal hat. He came out to be one of those villains who was ultimately killed because of their unique weapon of choice, or characteristic.

Bond diffused the bomb set by Goldfinger and was soon on his way for recognition from the President of the United States. However, Bond's plane to the White House was hijacked by Goldfinger and Pussy. 

Bond was shocked to see Goldfinger pointing his golden gun at him inside, but he managed to distract Goldfinger by asking where Pussy was. He tried to grab the gun from Goldfinger, however, a shot was fired during the process and led to the breaking of the airplane window. Goldfinger got sucked out to his death as Bond and Pussy tried their luck in landing the airplane.

Goldfinger and his golden gun from wikipedia.org

They did land down safely, and Bond told Pussy this cool one-liner, "this is no time to be rescued", as the film shifts into its end credits.

As what would happen over the next 50, or more, after this film, the next Bond actors would get to their top Bond form by the time they would be in their 3rd movie (The Spy Who Loved Me, The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall). They would be in their best shape, and they would be more confident than ever by the time they would reach their 3rd Bond outing. This film, Goldfinger, started it all. Sean Connery was the epitome of coolness and suave spy action hero. Although the plot was not the best, the gadgets, the action scenes, the chase scenes, the characters, and Bond were all top-notch.

MOVIE REVIEW: Goldfinger Part 1

We now come to the third Bond film in the official EON Productions James Bond franchise, the quintessential Bond film "Goldfinger".

Goldfinger movie poster from imdb.com

Although many Bond films take it as the best Bond film of all time, I don't. I basically do not like it because of this reason: Bond does nothing in this movie. There is no spying. Yes, he escaped his room and was able to know the plans of Goldfinger, but the film did not require him to do more spy work since he was already in the villain's lair. No need to track Goldfinger down.

Upon another viewing, I came to realize that he did something somehow. It was still him who made Pussy Galore turn to the good side.

The film opens with a pre-title sequence unrelated to the film's story. Disguised in a bird underwater costume, Bond appears and plants a bomb in a drug facility. After doing so, he removes his underwater suit and reveals a neatly dressed white and dry tuxedo. On a party, he meets a woman and is engaged in a fight scene. Not very shocking, right?

Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger from filmforum.org

The theme song of this film was sung by Dame Shirley Bassey in her first calling, She would then sing two more times for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever and 1979's Moonraker. (Teeeeen-ten, tenteneneeeen...)

Bond's mission for this film is to watch over Auric Goldfinger. Goldfinger was suspected to be smuggling gold and yes, he was and more.

Upon meeting Goldfinger, Bond tricked him into losing a card match and on their next meeting, he tricked him again into losing a golf match with him, this time around. This made Goldfinger pissed, even killing off his woman, Jill Masterson as an aftermath of their first encounter.

Just as Bond and Jill finished their affairs in bed, Goldfinger sent his henchman, Odd Job to deal with the humiliation that Goldfinger had. Odd Job killed Jill by completely painting her in gold paint, which led to her demise. Bond was knocked out as he was reaching for the fridge to get some drinks. The introductory scene for Odd Job was quite memorable for me because of the resemblance that it had with the introduction to the series Hitchcock Presents. 

Bond was back in England, in a briefing in M's office. He was told not to make the mission a private vendetta, to avenge the death of Jill Masterson. After a separate briefing with M and the bank secretary for a gold bar, Bond met Q in his lab.

In here was the very first appearance of Q's lab, with very little gags in line with the testing if Q's prototypes. We were also shown Q's gadgets for Bond, along with his new car, the Aston Martin DB5. No invisible cars at this point yet, just GPS trackers, revolving plates, and an ejector seat, along with various insane weapons for Bond to use.

James Bond and his Aston Martin DB5 from fortune.com

Bond continued his mission on a golf course wherein Goldfinger was playing at. They were arranged for a match, and Bond took the chance to use the gold bar to distract Goldfinger into missing a shot. Goldfinger tried to cheat his way to win by having Odd Job (his caddy, too) release an extra ball. However, Bond realized that the ball was a fraud. Bond used it to his advantage by citing a rule concerning the use of different balls in a match. Goldfinger was obviously pissed and realized that it was also Bond who tricked him in Miami.

Odd Job showed off a special skill of him and his hat to scare off Bond.

Odd Job (left) throws his hat at a statue, with Bond (center), and Goldfinger (right) from 007james.com

Bond followed Goldfinger using the GPS tracker that he planted on Goldfinger's car after their golf match. Goldfinger flew to Switzerland along with his car. So did Bond. So did Bond.

While Bond was following Goldfinger in Switzerland, Bond spotted another car behind him. Realizing it was a woman on the driver's seat, Bond snooped in and damaged her car so she would ride in Bond's Aston Martin instead. What I loved in this scene was when Bond tried to show off but the woman stopped him mid-introduction. "My name is Bo--."

Bond eventually talked with the woman and suspected that she was up to something. Later that evening, Bond got in contact with her again as Bond was infiltrating Goldfinger's lair. Apparently, the woman was out for revenge for she was the sister of the murdered Jill Masterson, the one painted in gold. She was also killed by Odd Job after being chased. Bond couldn't protect her.

The car chase was one of the best of the series because of the gadgets used. The Aston Martin DB5 exposed its secret weapons during the car chase, but the best bit was when Bond used the ejector seat on one of Goldfinger's goon. 

Bond using the Ejector Seat of his Aston Martin DB5 from 007james.com

Part 2: https://angelorem.blogspot.com/2019/02/movie-review-goldfinger-part-2.html