Rowan Atkinson steps into another comic caper film filled with a fantastic mixture of visual slapstick and clever dialogue. The film is a spoof of everything Bond and does its job of spoofing bond flawlessly. Here is a secret agent who gets things done right up to the end where he effortlessly destroys his own plans. For a film of this kind the music that would accompany and in some places drive it needed to be stylish, exciting and capture the irreverence of the film. Normally such comedy films as this produce music that is all style and no substance. These scores whilst work well in the film remain weak on album. However, Edward Shearmur (otherwise known only for the K-pax soundtrack) has produced a score for the film that is both thematically strong and enjoyably stylish.
The main title secures itself as a Bond mimic with the first few bars being a direct copy of the opening cue of the James Bond theme. The track then expands into an enjoyably simple theme performed with a mixture of small orchestra and electronica. The beat is fast and the theme instantly reflects a mood of comic heroism. The pace is almost unrelenting all the way through and the theme is repeated and tweaked in almost every cue. The quieter moments consist mainly of trumpet and violin jazz beats to give Johnny's character his suave and sophisticated presence such as the obvious "Man of Sophistication" track.
There are some very exciting action cues in Johnny English that have the drive and loudness of a David Arnold Bond score. Indeed Shearmur has mimicked Arnold's use of trumpets in 3 note bursts and some of the serious tension cues have that David Arnold style that Bond fans will be familiar with. But whilst Johnny English does sound completely fresh an new. The action music makes up most of the score but it never degenerates into loud banging and discordant noise. The main theme is played at least once in every cue and the rest of the action music is interesting and constantly varying and the electronic elements of the score play in harmony with the orchestral elements and neither element seems to dominate too much. Some of the best of these action cues include "Truck Chase", "Into Pascal's Lair" and "For England" which work at a frantic pace to leave the listener on the edge of their seat. The latter two represent the most serious cues from the score and are the climax of the film. "For England" is also worth of note as it has an interesting choral element as Johnny dramatically dives into action one last time to thwart the evil Pascal.
"Riviera Hideaway" represents the ending that all super spy films must have. Johnny gets his girl alone at last.
Edward Shearmur's score for Johnny English is excellent. The music is everything it should be, the sound quality is excellent and the running time is more than generous.
****
1. A Man For All Seasons - Robbie Williams
2. Theme from Johnny English
3. Russian Affairs
4. A Man of Sophistication
5. Kismet - Bond
6. Truck Chase
7. The Only Ones - Moloko
8. Parachute Drop
9. Pascal's Evil Plan
10. Theme from Johnny English (Salsa Version) - Bond
11. Off The Case
12. Cafe Conversation
13. Into Pascal's lair
14. Does Your Mother Know - Abba
15. For England
16. Riviera Hideaway
17. Agent No.1
