Everything You Hope For And More

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 2015)

Part of the genius of Matthew Vaughn's films is his ability to blend genres. Whether it was First Class, Kick-Ass, or even The Debt, he has time and time showed just how versatile he can be. This film is straight up awesome. I found myself laughing at just how ridiculous it was, but it worked. The film is also incredibly funny by itself make no mistake about it. It's also very self aware, much like the Fast & Furious franchise, in that it toys with the fact that it knows it's insane and has fun with it.
I have to say though, I didn't have high hopes when they announced the film a few years back. Why would Vaughn leave Days of Future Past to work on some film called Kingsman? Luckily, both films turned out to be terrific. The casting directors also deserve a lot of credit for finding Taron Egerton. Talk about a young kid who should probably be looked at for the new Peter Parker, man does he have talent. He also has something that other possible candidates don't necessarily have, which is comedic chops. This film has more laugh out loud moments than the recent SpongeBob film. Samuel L Jackson gives us many of those humorous scenes, as this is probably the best he has been in quite some time. His trusty Bond villain-esque sidekick is also a bright spot. Or perhaps the cinematography and special effects crew should be credited for just how seamless these action scenes are. This is likely the closest we will ever get to a non Gareth Evans Raid film.
The film is also impeccably unpredictable. It's refreshingly to see the action genre get revamped a little bit. Even the best action films can be predictable at times. It's funny because I feel like I should have seen some of the twists and turns coming, but it's a tribute to Vaughn's directing that I didn't. Some may say that the action can be a little bit too over-the-top even for a film that acknowledges it's own boundary-pushing. There was one moment where I thought it probably didn't need to take it that far, but it was still immensely entertaining. I really do hope that this spawns a franchise. Egerton has a lot of potential, and this world deserves to be explored further. It's a film that even my sister, who isn't particularly a fan of these types of films, really enjoyed the experience. It's a much better choice than that one other film people are seeing this weekend...
+Egerton's surprisingly good performance
+Samuel L hasn't been this entertaining in years
+Unpredictable
+Over-the-top action works
+Potential franchise
-Don't get too obsessed with that ridiculousness
9.3/10