Johnny English Strikes Again: (Howard Goodall)
Proving that hauling the Johnny English character out of retirement once
wasn't enough, 2018's
Johnny English Strikes Again tickled
audiences to significant box office returns a third time. The bumbling
British agent is among old MI7 spies brought back into service to save
the world after all the legitimate, current ones are compromised. As
fate would have it, English is the only one able to take on the mission
to save the world from an American tech villain, with a little help from
a female Russian spy along the way. The appeal of Rowan Atkinson's
antics seems to know no bounds in his native country, the man's immense
talent for physical humor once again on display as his character
stumbles through a number of lucky circumstances to achieve his mission.
The soundtracks for the
Johnny English movies have been pure
parody fun, combining glitzy espionage scores of high jazz style with a
variety of humorous source songs. Nothing in this equation changes in
Johnny English Strikes Again, though the highlight of the music
in the film is undoubtedly the outrageous dance moves Atkinson applies
to Darude's "Sandstorm" song, the comedian once again showing the
audience things that cannot be unseen. Several major scenes use song
placements, and one of the funniest, involving English in a virtual
reality mishap, intentionally chops up the score to play only when you
view his perspective from within the simulation but not all the mayhem
he's causing around him. The original
Johnny English score by
Edward Shearmur took inspiration from music written by resident
Mr.
Bean composer Howard Goodall, while
Johnny English Reborn
allowed Shearmur associate Ilan Eshkeri the chance to give that sound
another spin. For
Johnny English Strikes Again, Goodall was
allowed to score the picture himself, and he took the opportunity to
spin it back towards the music he wrote for the Barclaycard television
commercials of the 1990's that actually introduced Atkinson as a faux
secret agent. The theme of those commercials informed the first phrase
of Shearmur's main identity and Eshkeri's offshoot, the latter
technically closer to Goodall's approach.
While it was heartening to see Goodall get a chance to
score
Johnny English Strikes Again after providing so much music
for Atkinson's characters on the small screen, he only achieves a
moderately successful result. With each successive score in this
franchise, the music became less refined and robust, with Goodall
achieving parody but through rather dainty constructs and orchestration
rather than over-the-top brute force in the espionage genre. He does
pilfer many the norms of the James Bond scores, especially those of the
David Arnold era, but the recording is often flimsy and resorts to
cuteness more than necessary. This despite few fully realized references
to other tunes, like the brief Canadian parody in the middle of
"Johnny's On Board." While a wide variety of orchestral and rock colors
are applied, the performances are surprisingly shallow; occasional synth
choir effects are muted before the enhanced choral presence in
"Helicopter," and the electronics aren't always appealing, the
obnoxious, bubbling analog synth tones in "Break-In" yielding a
pointless cue. The narrative is fine at the start and end, but the
middle suffers from a lack of focus, the long, source-like "Flaming
Lobsters" shifting through light salsa and jazz tones without advancing
the themes. The main theme is similar enough to the Shearmur original
take on Goodall's Barclaycard idea for casual listeners to make the
connection, though the version here is a much closer sibling to that
original melody, to its detriment. Shearmur worked magic with the idea,
and Goodall, like Eshkeri, really struggles to conjure a satisfying
second phrase for the idea. Still, it's prevalent in this score, hinted
at 1:37 into "Forest Mission" before enjoying its suite-like arrangement
throughout "Opening Titles" with obligatory brass and electric guitar.
The theme becomes cute throughout "Johnny's On Board" and "Boat
Mission," achieves better attitude on electric guitar (and wild drum kit
solos) at 0:35 and 2:15 into "Car Chase," and is laced throughout
"Learner Driver" in fragments. The idea becomes somber on horn,
clarinet, and trumpet early in "Sacked Johnny," indirectly informs the
burst of action in "Knight Hiding," and reprises the opening titles
sequence in "Mr. English Returns" with light vocal backing, finishing
"End Roller Medley" with similar flair. The first phrase of the theme
occurs as a stinger throughout the work as well.
Goodall's main theme for
Johnny English Strikes
Again contains a romantic bridge sequence distinct from the
equivalents of his predecessors, and his is vaguely John Barry-like and
underutilized in the score, not justifying its existence. It interjects
at 0:37 and 1:13 into "Opening Titles," opens "Car Chase" briefly,
features early in "False Flirtation and Tablet Choice" in a simpler,
cyclical variant, and is handed to a trumpet at 2:42 into "U.N. Speech."
The theme reprises its opening titles interlude duties in "Mr. English
Returns" and makes a cameo in the middle of "End Roller Medley." The
highlight of the narrative in
Johnny English Strikes Again is
Goodall's villain material that encompasses both the Russian spy and
American tech billionaire, the main representation a simple and
memorable melody that flourishes as a good rhythm, too. Debuting at 1:07
into "Forest Mission," this theme is hinted in the latter half of
"Volta, The PM and Dot Calm," opens "Boat Mission," offers a quiet
moment during the percussive action at 1:12 into "Car Chase," and
figures at 2:13 into "False Flirtation and Tablet Choice" on sinister
violins just prior to the famed dance sequence. The villain theme enjoys
cool swagger to open "Castle Arrival" and closes out that cue on soft
strings. It develops into grandiose variants in the latter half of "U.N.
Speech," with a new form consolidating in the impressive choral climax
of "Helicopter." The only other recurring theme of any significance is
one of regal intent for British leadership, opening "Volta, The PM and
Dot Calm" and closing "Helicopter" with humble relief. Together, this
set of themes basically achieves its purpose but doesn't develop into
half the narrative it could have provided. This unfortunate lack of
focus leaves you with a few singular highlights outside of the somewhat
trite opening and closing titles, led by "Car Chase," "Castle Arrival,"
and "Helicopter." These moments would make an appreciable addition to a
suite with Eshkeri's best material from
Johnny English Reborn.
But neither of the sequel scores achieved the ballsy force of will that
Shearmur provided for the first film, each successive entry losing more
of that depth of style. The 54-minute digital-only, score-only album for
Johnny English Strikes Again suffers from volume fluctuations
between tracks. The score barely achieves a third star in its rating due
to its sufficient character, though one can't help but be disappointed
by this missed opportunity.
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