A Mess But A Matthew Vaughn Mess

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2015)

After seeing LAYER CAKE all these years ago I was instantly struck that a new and important director called Matthew Vaughn had arrived on the British film making scene and Vaughn was a name to keep an eye out for , same as Danny Boyle was from a decade earlier. Since then Vaughn hasn't made enough films and the ones he has made are entertaining enough mixing black comedy and violent but live up to the cliché of close but no cigar and KINGSMAN continues the Vaughn resume in the Vaughn style
So what's KINGSMAN about you ask ? How about "Bond deconstructionist comic book adventure done in a British tongue in cheek style" ? Maybe not an entirely accurate description but KINGSMAN is a very difficult film to pigeon hole . In feel it's similar in some ways to KICK-ASS but in many ways it isn't similar and I wonder if I mentioned KICK-ASS down to the same production team being responsible for that film ? The story itself revolves a lower working class nobody called Eggsy who lives on a dead end London estate and is recruited by an offshoot of the British secret service to foil the plans of an international villain called Valentine . It's not all that original and the tone of the film isn't entirely successful or consistent but like LAYER CAKE the story itself is a bit of a mess . This is hardly surprising for a film that often veers from meta-fictional Bond or Bourne far fetched globe trotting adventure to a British grief porn kitchen sink drama . What stops it all falling apart is the sense of fun and kinetic energy Vaughn injects in to the film in general and the cast in particular . Any movie that has Firth , Caine and Jackson as the leading lights is worth watching for that reason alone and that trio don't disappoint though Mark Strong's annoying unconvincing Scottish accent is a distraction .
We occasionally hear rumours about a big budget silver screen version of DOCTOR WHO and I wonder if Matthew Vaughn would be the natural choice to direct that quirky , unique and uniquely British show ? And some of the plot turns are so far fetched they wouldn't be out of place in DOCTOR WHO . Colin Firth as The Doctor versus Samuel L Jackson as The Master ! Sign me up for a ticket now , though please no swearing and get Russell T Davies to do the screenplay instead of Jane Goldman Regardless of what Vaughn does in the future he's still a name to keep an eye on and here's hoping he's making films for years to come