Rowan Atkinson Archives

Never Say Never Again (1983)

Rating: ★★★★

Aug 25, 2002James Bond Film

Rogue James Bond film made outside the regular series due to a complicated copyright battle. Sean Connery was inveigled back the role and this has some standout casting that is a welcome relief from the unserious Roger Moore films

Director: Irvin Kershner

Actors: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Barbara Carrera, …

Category: Science Fiction

25 August 200228 February 2026 by Roog

The Witches (1990)

Rating: ★★★★

Dec 16, 2003Evil Witches/Roald Dahl Adaptation

Nicolas Roeg and Jim Henson collaborate on an adaptation of a Roald Dahl book. Roeg leaves the grotesquerie and gleeful malice intact making this one of the best Dahl adaptations

Director: Nicolas Roeg

Actors: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Bill Paterson, Rowan Atkinson, …

Category: Fantasy

16 December 20036 September 2021 by Roog

The Lion King (1994)

Rating: ★★★★

Dec 31, 2001Disney Animation/Talking Animals

One of the best films to come out of Disney's animation renaissance during the 1990s, this uses all the studio as its disposal to create a work that is epic in its scope

Director: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers

Actors: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, James Earl Jones, …

Category: Fantasy

31 December 200129 December 2024 by Roog

Scooby-Doo (2002)

Rating: ★

Jul 15, 2002Ghostbusting Team/Cartoon in Live-Action

The live-action film version of the popular Hanna-Barbera animated tv series. Despite James Gunn on script, this is not very good, a one-dimensional, no-brain film trying to look like a one-dimensional, no-brain cartoon

Director: Raja Gosnell

Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr, Linda Cardellini, …

Category: Fantasy

15 July 200227 February 2026 by Roog

Johnny English (2003)

Rating: ★

May 5, 2003Incompetent Spy Comedy

Spy movie parody with Rowan Atkinson as an inept agent who is constantly tripping over his own feet. It is Austin Powers reconceived as a Mr Bean film but offering little that is funny.

Director: Peter Howitt

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Tim Piggott-Smith

Category: Science Fiction

5 May 200330 March 2020 by Roog

Keeping Mum (2005)

Rating: ★★

Jun 21, 2006Murderous Old Dear Black Comedy

Comedy in which reverend Rowan Atkinson's home is invaded by murderous nanny Maggie Smith. A promisingly black idea ends up being delivered as a quaintly mumsy British rural comedy

Director: Niall Johnson

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze, …

Category: Horror

21 June 20064 January 2026 by Roog

Johnny English Reborn (2011)

Rating: ★½

Nov 3, 2011Incompetent Spy Comedy

Rowan Atkinson is a very funny man but try as I might I cannot get into these Johnny English films - they seem at best lame Austin Powers castoffs with gags designed for the single digit age range

Director: Oliver Parker

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson, …

Category: Science Fiction

3 November 201122 October 2020 by Roog

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)

Rating: ★★

Feb 11, 2021Incompetent Spy Comedy

Rowan Atkinson in his third outing as the inept spy. Atkinson is a talented comic but these Johnny English films, which are like less sophisticated versions of Peter Sellers’ Inspector Closeau, are the least of his comedy incarnations

Director: David Kerr

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, Emma Thompson, Ben Miller, …

Category: Science Fiction

11 February 202113 May 2026 by Roog

Wonka (2023)

Rating: ★★

Feb 3, 2024Willy Wonka Origin Story

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has become a cult classic. This offers a Willy Wonka origin story but seems to be far too nice a work that is missing the dark bite of the original

Director: Paul King

Actors: Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Jim Carter, …

Category: Fantasy

3 February 202416 July 2026 by Roog