Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
While Colin Firth takes centre stage for the most part (pulling off some incredible action scene moves) it is Jack Davenport (from "Coupling", the UKs answer to "Friends") who first gets to really make the premise of the film clear. Smoothly stepping into frame to violently and bloodily murder the bad guys yet rescuing an expensive alcoholic beverage as he does so.He gives a dashing smile and quips to the liberated non-combatant who looks on speechless (and horrified).
Yep, this is a spoof of James Bond and a very entertaining one, and ultra-violent too!
Anyone who saw Edgar Wright's "The World's End" will have seen the incredibly choreographed action sequences featuring the camera carefully rotating around to capture every single punch in full context of the surrounding environment. If you enjoyed that as much as I did, you'll be glad to know that Matthew Vaughn is also employing this style. One particular fight scene mid-way through the film is particularly stunning as a result. Especially since the villains this time around aren't robots with ink instead of blood, making the violence far more shocking.
Just as "Kick-Ass" was an ultra-violent send up of the superhero genre, so is "Kingsman" an ultra-violent send up of James Bond films. In both cases the original material being spoofed was already pretty silly, but these films simultaneously mock and pay homage to their chosen genre. Mark Millar's attempts to shock can often cross the line.
I discovered this when reading his graphic novel "Wanted" and many others discovered this upon the release of "Kick-Ass 2"; yet Matthew Vaughn and writer Jane Goldman know how to make this material work for the average filmgoer. Mark Kermode seems to feel that the film oversteps the mark in one of the final scenes, but frankly the tasteless element in question is so clearly parodying a typical James Bond trope that it only seems fair to let it pass. Sure, the scene is question is rather crass, but it is parodying a long tradition of crassness in Bond movies which few would bat an eyelash at.
Kingsman becomes genuinely implausible on a number of occasions, even more so than Kick-Ass, and that's all part of the fun. Expect more of the same chaotic style, colourfulness and walking on the border of bad taste which made Kick-Ass so much fun, with the action sequences actually more exciting and visceral than ever. Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman know how to tell an entertaining story and they do just as good a job as you'd expect here.
As a side-note, those rather more excited than I regarding the upcoming Star Wars sequel may also be pleased to hear that Mark Hamil does a great job in his role here. (With a flawless English accent too!)
A+
(An attempt at) Ranking Matthew Vaughn's Films
Quite frankly I love every single one of these. Matthew Vaughn and Edgar Wright are amongst the few directors who have never made a film I didn't love. But in any case here's an attempt at a ranking.
5. X-Men: First Class
Despite a short production time to make it work, Matthew Vaughn made the best X-Men film ever making fantastic use of a stellar case, with a more balanced portrayal of the various superhero characters than ever before. I didn't quite buy into the final act on first watch, but upon a second watch I came to see so many fantastic little details that I had to put my grade up to an A.
4. Stardust
A wonderful fantasy story with an awesome villainous performance from Michelle Pfeiffer. Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman bring to life Neil Gaiman's interpretation of genuine fairytales (with the original darkness before they are Disney-fied). Actually they still make the story a little more sweet and cheerful than the original short story and I think it's the right decision. Beautiful, funny and visually exhilarating; this is awesome.
3. Layer Cake
After producing Guy Ritchie's first two films "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells" and "Snatch", it felt like a bit of a hollow boast when all the trailers for "Layer Cake" promised to be "from the producer" of those other two films. So it was a big surprise when, unlike Guy Ritchie's subsequent efforts, it turned out to be utterly brilliant. In actual fact, I find "Layer Cake" to be superior to Guy Ritchie's initial efforts, possibly indicating that Matthew Vaughn's influence on those earlier projects was greater than you might expect. Daniel Craig gets to show off some of the talents he would later use in his role as James Bond, including one part where he gets to show off Bond-style with a gun. Looking back, I couldn't help but feel "well of course he became James Bond!"
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service
It was especially hard to work out which film should have the top spot. But in the end, I feel that Kingsman is a return to the 'Mark Millar adaptation' style, meaning that it's not quite as fresh and new as the last time it was done. That being said, with such incredible action sequences and a similarly amusing and exciting storyline, part of me wanted to give this the top spot.
1. Kick-Ass
Released in the same year as "Iron Man 2" when Marvel hadn't quite dominated the superhero genre, but when superheroes were already big in the public mindset all the same, came an adaptation of an independent Marvel project satirising the genre. Kick-Ass takes a similar "what if superheroes were real" premise to "Watchmen" yet committing to the realism rather more consistently even while playing the whole thing for laughs. The main appeal here is actually Hit-Girl, a performance which first introduced us to the now highly respected Chloe Grace-Moretz. It was such a bizarre idea that it really captured imaginations. (Though apparently in the Marvel movie universe Black Widow was working for the KGB before she even turned 8, so perhaps we can expect to see a similar kind of character in the more straight-laced superhero films.) Meanwhile the protagonist is an ordinary guy whose only superpower is that he is a bit more resiliant to pain than most people, which hardly seems likely to make him equipped to take on the mob. More than anything else, this turned out to be a great showcase for Vaughn's colourful palette and expressive visual style, with action, humour and a knowing wink.