‘Man vs Baby’ review: A predictable festive offering from Netflix, but Rowan Atkinson still carries it

Sequel to ‘Man vs Bee’ gives ‘Mr Bean’ star Atkinson plenty of opportunity for the kind of physical comedy and rubbery facial contortions that are his trademarks Rating: Three stars

Rowan Atkinson as Trevor Bingley in ‘Man vs Baby’. Photo: Ana Blumenkron/Netflix © 2025

Rowan Atkinson has never been above reusing ideas. A breakfast gag in an early Mr Bean episode was reworked from a one-off 1979 ITV sketch show called Canned Laughter, where Atkinson played a proto-Bean character called Robert Box.

The same bit of comic business was recycled a second time in the first Bean movie. There’s a faint whiff of old Beans about four-part comedy Man vs Baby (Netflix, from Thursday, December 11), a sequel to 2022’s Man vs. Bee.