Johnny English review: Tiresome and unfunny, says Rashid Irani

In this flick, the old school spy copes with challenges of modern technology.

The law of diminishing returns has finally caught up with the 15-year-old spy-spoof franchise. Even die-hard devotees of Johnny English will find little to cheer in this third instalment of the eponymous series.

Summoned out of retirement after a cyber-attack has exposed the identities of all active British undercover agents, the buffoonish secret service superhero (Rowan Atkinson) is tasked with tracking down the dastardly hacker.

The ungainly plot dispatches the old-school spy to the south of France where he manfully tries to cope with the challenges of modern technology.

The past-his-prime Atkinson runs through the gamut of slapstick shenanigans and physical shtick but rarely elicits a laugh-out–loud response. The comedian clearly seems to have exhausted his once-so-welcome flair for family-friendly fluff.

It should come as no surprise then that the latest English… escapade is tiresome, unfunny and instantly forgettable.