REVIEW: Independence Day: Resurgence

We will not go quietly into the night...

In the current climate of reincarnating and rebooting beloved movies, 1996’s seminal disaster movie Independence Day gets a sequel 20 years later – and probably at least 15 years too late. Original director, Roland Emmerich (Hollywood’s go-to guy for disaster movies) wants a piece of the reboot pie – and brings back (most of) the original cast and some new characters to the fore. However, it seems that to make a sequel, Emmerich thinks that by hiding a very weak (and convenient) story behind mindboggling special effects, a blockbuster it will make.  To a certain extent and to a certain type of audience this may well be true, but for the rest of us, we have a weaker sequel desperately out of time, hanging onto the coattails of a ground breaking original.

I loved the first movie and using talent like Will Smith, Jeff “The Goldblum” Goldblum and Bill Pullman was brilliant as they are all fantastic actors. Sadly, Will Smith doesn’t reprise his role as we are suggested to that his character has been killed in a test flight and is no longer part of the team. However, those who are disappointed in this can be rest assured that they have cast a suitable replacement as his son – who is basically a cardboard cut-out likeness of a younger Smith but without the sass and Smith-ness that we come to expect from him. However, we could have had Jayden Smith as the heir to the character, but based on his previous performances in other movies I think we dodged that worry.

New cast members are younger, as if taking the reins from Goldblum and co. and such whippersnappers include Liam Hemsworth. He heads up the next generation, fresh from the Hunger Games and does a good job. The remaining young ‘uns are all there to tick off boxes really – token black guy (the Will Smith dude), hot Chinese girl for the geeky sidekick and the girl who becomes the love interest for Liam’s character. Goldblum and Pullman reprise their roles and great comic relief from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Brent Spiner add some gravitas and links to the previous film, but although it goes some way to smooth the ride, it’s still not enough to let it stand aside its predecessor.

The story goes that 20 years on, Earth has learned to put aside its differences after winning the war against the aliens – and we have been using their technology to bolster earth should they return (which Goldblum is convinced they will). As we need something to happen in the story, of course, they come back! However, the technology is better and we are again in a hopeless situation – and what follows is what you would expect – and that is where the film isn’t as good as it could have been.

The biggest problem is that the movie is a basic paint by numbers of a disaster movie/sci fi invasion movie with overwhelmingly convenient moments to help the main characters out.  And, like previous Emmerich movie 2012, the characters face certain doom on multiple occasions but the 1% chance of survival ALWAYS comes through. As a result you are left with an ‘on the edge of your seat’ style movie without the tension because you know the characters will always survive. It also has an undercurrent of patriotism and a little bit too much of “yay, America” -this sentiment might have worked in the 90’s but the world has moved on from such isolated views (maybe).

Overall though, even though it has its faults, it’s an enjoyable sci-fi/action adventure – a bit predictable but very exciting even so. Worth a watch, I reckon.

POPSCORE: 7/10

What am I talking about? Independence Day: Resurgence movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/independence-day-resurgence
If you liked this try: Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012 (oh hang on they are all Roland Emmerich movies ain't they?), Mars Attacks, San Andreas

Anything else?

Will Smith isn't in this one, though you might see his picture on the wall of the White House.

REVIEW: Deadpool (15)

After many, many debates on whether this movie would be made, Deadpool finally hits our screens and hits it does. Ryan Reynolds has stepped up to the plate twice now in his attempt to break into the superhero genre as a superhero himself. As well as featuring for Marvel in Blade II as Blade’s sidekick, his first real outing was actually as Deadpool in the luke-warmly received X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie. Although it was generally in the lower rated echelons of superhero movie opinions, the Deadpool portrayed there had his mouth sewn shut and was a complete waste of a character much loved by many. As if to rub salt into the wounds, or maybe take a distance from Marvel, Reynolds defected to DC to star in similarly panned Green Lantern which may have had a decent run as a franchise if it wasn’t so badly made and relied on too much CGI. Although Ryan Reynolds is a likeable guy and a great actor – he plays smarmy, arrogant or wisecracking as you require it. So he would be the ideal choice for Deadpool. But, he’s already had two strikes – this one needs to be the home run. And do you know what? It is!

 

This new Deadpool movie is all what you would expect from a movie and more and is full of blood, guts, gore and one liners. Some of the insults are both creative and zany, and with the inclusion of X-Men’s Colossus, it adds a flair to the proceedings. Poking fun at everything it can and highlighting it via quips and jokes about poo, death, blood and just about everything else, Deadpool is a Marvel movie unlike any other but also as you would expect.

 

Once again, as expected, this introduction to the character is an origin movie and charts the wise-cracking Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) in flash back format from two-bit mercenary for hire to the Merc With the Mouth. The film slams straight into the action as Deadpool takes on a multitude of enemies and proceeds to tell backstory while doing it. Once up to date, Deadpool carries on from where we left off in the most basic story of revenge, but the quips, special FX and soundtrack (which includes some Wham! and Salt 'n' Pepa to name but two).

 

Even though it is a very different Marvel movie (the closest to it would most likely be something like a Blade movie or The Punisher) and not yet a part of MCU, all the hallmarks of a Marvel movie are there – ties to other movies (in this instance the X-Men) and, of course, Mr Stan Lee features as a cameo. With added self referential items – which without giving anything away do include said X-Men mentioned above among other things, this movie is all a Deadpool fan would want. With a strong supporting cast and a funky soundtrack to boot, strap in and enjoy the ride as Deadpool is your host on this Marvel’s version of Taken. It’s a great start to 2016’s bumper crop of superhero movies to come but it’s set the bar high.

 

Of course, you have to stay to the end of the credits because it’s a Marvel movie isn’t it?

 

Deadpool is out now at all good cinemas and it’s dead(pool) good.

POPSCORE: 9/10

What am I talking about? Deadpool movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/deadpool
If you liked this try: Any of the other Marvel movies but especially Blade II, The Punisher and possibly the Daredevil (Netflix series), Ghost Rider and also the latest X-Men Movies but ...
DEFINITELY NOT X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE OR GREEN LANTERN!

Anything else?

Ryan Reynolds has been Deadpool before in X-men Origins: Wolverine and there is at least 3 sequences in the movie where he makes a reference or there is a reference to this.
Colossus, one of the X-Men, features in this movie.
This movie is not officially part of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) because, like the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, the movie rights currently belong to Fox.

REVIEW: American Ultra (15)

American Ultra stars contemporary starlets Jesse Eisenberg as Mike Howell and Twilight's Kristen Stewart as his long suffering girlfriend, Phoebe Larson. In a small town, Mike Howell is in a "perfect" relationship with his girlfriend. He works at a small convenience shop, is pursuing his dream of being a comic book artist and everything is going great. Great, until a new director of the CIA comes into play and decides that Mike is on his hit list to be eliminated. The former director takes umbrage to this and decides to warn Mike about his impending doom. Then the story unravels to find that Mike is actually a highly trained and genetically modified super soldier that has been deactivated. So, naturally when the CIA goes after him, the former director reactivates him. This then gives him heightened senses and abilities - not bad for a guy who likes to get drunk, stoned and suffers panic attacks.

What could be best described as Trainspotting meets Salt, American Ultra has the graphic violence of a manga comic or anime with a black comedy undertone. I found Eisenberg's character hard to like, and spends most of the time running away or cowering in the corner. But when he does fight it is both gruesome and quite gripping. What could have been an edge of your seat action flick becomes more of a run and hide operation and we only see flashes of this guys abilities. He is almost a superhero in his own right but we don't get to see enough of that.

Topher Grace plays a fantastically smarmy bad guy as the CIA director Adrian Yates and is as smarmy as he is dangerous. The ever reliable John Leguizamo is fantastic and basically plays himself - which is what he always does and it's great. It's also nice to see Bill Pullman in the mix too. Eisenberg plays a decent Mike - but the character himself doesn't really have much going about him. Kristen Stewart doesn't do bad acting here and is sometimes (I said sometimes) endearing but generally joins in the with run and hide/getting caught mould for most of the movie.

Although the movie is full of bloody violence, drugs, sex references and bad language there is one awesome moment where one of the head henchman called Laugher, has a moment with Mike after trying to kill him. He asks Mike who controls him. Mike replies, "No-one," and Laugher shows some real humility by replying innocently - "that must be nice." It was a fantastic and moving piece of cinematography which was probably one of the highlights of the film. The other spark of brilliance was when Mike is pinned down by a gun man in his own house and he throws a pan in the air and shoots a bullet to ricochet off it. It's things like this that make you think a bit more thought and this could be downright awesome!

The zero to hero storyline and the basic premise have been seen a million times before, but the movie is really strange but I can't put my finger on why. It's seems to be a bit all over the place and I was desperately trying to think what score I could give it and I found it difficult. I though 6/10 but that is totally doing it an injustice because it's actually ok as an action movie. Then 7/10 is being too generous. Even 6.5/10 is not quite right so, for the first time ever I'm giving a movie:

POPSCORE: 6.8/10

What am I talking about? American Ultra the movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.americanultrathemovie.com
If you liked this try: The Bourne Identity, Salt, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Hot Fuzz

REVIEW: Sense8 (18) (TV Series - Season One - Netflix)

Netflix are going the right way to become some sort of TV power house. They are investing in making their own TV shows – but not wobbly cardboard backgrounds with silly scripts and dodgy acting, oh no! These can take on the likes of ITV, Sky, ABC, CBS or whatever. Dubbed as ‘Netflix Originals’ these shows are becoming hits in their own right and are becoming household names. Shows such as House of Cards, Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul and Marco Polo (oh yeah and Orange is the New Black) there seems no sign of them stopping. They’ve recently sided with Marvel too – and are now are releasing shows like Daredevil and the soon to be broadcast AKA Jessica Jones. However the latest fanfare approach is the ‘Netflix Original’ Sense8 by the Washowski siblings and, you know what? It’s actually pretty good.

So many times we have a show or movie where there is a fantastic idea and it’s executed so badly that the piece of inspiration that grew it struggles to develop. Well, you’ll be pleased to know this is not the case here.  

Sense8 is about a set of 8 individuals who are vastly different and live in different parts of the world. However, they can all share the same consciousness. One of the other 8 can either appear next to the other – in which case appear a bit like Al in Quantum Leap. This means that they can communicate and chat with the other person but no one else can see them. If an onlooker sees them talking it looks like they are talking to themselves. Alternatively they can inhabit their body and thereby gaining the skills of the other person to allow them to achieve a goal or do something cool.

Scattered across the 8 are all in different situations. We have a cat-burglar called Wolfgang in Germany, a closeted Mexican gay actor who is in a relationship with a man, but has a public persona as a ladies man. There’s Riley, a young DJ of Icelandic descent based in London, Will (a police officer in San Francisco), Sun (a Korean business woman who is particularly talented at kickboxing) and Nomi, a trans woman in a relationship with another woman. The final two are a black African man in Kenya who is constantly searching for medicine to treat his mum suffering from HIV and finally, but by no means least, an Indian girl who is due to be married and is a chemist. All 8 eventually meet and when they do it is to fight a bigger force at work. It is then that all of their skills come into play. For example, the guy from Kenya is under attack by the town crime boss and the Korean kickboxer goes into his body and fights all of them on his behalf, even though one is in Kenya and one is in Korea. Who needs FaceTime?

As a creative writer myself, I have thought about this whole mind melding storyline before but it was only with 2 people in a relationship. But to take 8 very different people and meld not only their minds but the story is a big ask and they do it very well. Merely explaining the people who are in this show is madness – what an operation to try and get the locations and actors all together to do this – it’s ambitious to say the least! All of the characters mentioned above are (in the main) played by real life actors of the nationality or situation. They guy who plays Wolfgang is actually from Germany. The trans woman is actually played by a trans performer, etc.

I loved this show – it’s great, creative and the characters are great, The acting is good, the stories are engrossing and it’s such a fresh new idea. However, I found it very slow to begin with and it doesn’t really pick up until about episode five. When they are all working together in the later episodes you can see how great this programme could be.

The Washowski’s have been riding on the coat tails of The Matrix for many years now – and like this, was a work of genius. However the Matrix sequels and some of their recent endeavours have been met with poor critical reception. Cloud Atlas was okay, Jupiter Ascending was good but not right, and let’s not mention Matrix 3. Just don’t.

If you have Netflix, it is worth a watch and I eagerly await season two. Well done Washowski siblings. Well done Netflix. Keep it up.

POPSCORE – 9/10

What am I talking about? ‘Netflix Original’ – Sense8 (TV Series)Where can I find out more? https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80025744

Anything else?

This first season features 10 episodes and all are available on Netflix now. However, you do have to be a subscriber to get this.

REVIEW: Chappie (15)

Short Circuit meets Robocop in Neill Blomkamp’s latest movie. From the director of District 9 (and this movie has a definite feel of that) Chappie (voiced by Sharlto Copley) is set in a world where robotic police men work with real humans to tackle the crime in South Africa. Although there are many actors in the movie – there is also the appearance of Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver within the movie.

The movie starts with series of police robots going into battle against some of the gangland underworld and at one point one of the ‘droids get fired upon by rocket launcher and is damaged badly and gets sent for scrap. Meanwhile a group of designers – Deon (Dev Patel) and Vincent (Hugh Jackman) vie for the best robots. Deon provided the world with these police droids whereas Vincent Moore has an ED-209 style attack droid that can blast, fly and destroy anything in it’s path. Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver), boss of the company, declines Moore’s combat droid in favour of the police droids.

While the invasion occurs with the police droids, Deon goes home and his long term research of creating a robot with sentient abilities comes to fruition. He heads back to work the following day to ask Michelle for permission to try it out and she gives him a big no – something Vincent Moore is used to.  

Over the other side of town the gangland thugs are in deep debt with a rival boss and owe him millions. One of the crew Yolandi suggests commandeering the robots and using them in a heist to get the millions they need for the underworld kingpin. Ninja (another thug) decides this is a good idea and they think of a way to get one.

As “Scout 22” is sent for scrap, Deon decides to take destiny into his own hands and steals “Scout 22” and goes to take him home to get him all Johnny 5’d up. But when the thugs intercept him and take Deona dn the droid to their headquarters they force him to create the robot there. Suddenly the robot comes alive, and a curious and scared as a baby he develops his own personality and learns about life the hard way.

 The movie is both thought provoking an entertaining – and the special effects are amazing. Jackman plays a great role as Moore and his distain for Deon being more successful than him. Chappie himself is a vulnerable naive character and it shows you quite graphically of what a child might experience growing up in sucha an environment. The movie is littered with f-bombs and not as family friendly as it may seem. The movie is well made, actors are great and the finale is great too. Chappie is immediately likeable and we want to see him do well but as he is fooled and lied to by various people and treated badly by others you can feel the emotion even though he’s just a robot. The ending is worth waiting for, and once again, Blomkamp has an interesting, thoughtful critique of modern society and it consequences of people’s actions.

POPSCORE – 8/10

 What am I talking about? Chappie (movie)Where can I find out more? http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/chappie/
If you like this try: Short Circuit 1 & 2, Robocop, District 9, Ex Machina or I, Robot. You could also argue Big Hero 6 to a certain extent.

Anything else?Neill Blomkamp is the director of District 9 which also is based in South Africa.

REVIEW: John Wick (15)

Mr Keanu Reeves is back on our screens after a number of mediocre movies - but is this one any better? Looking a lot more mature these days, Keanu is John Wick, an ex-assassin who has retired from that world and settled down with a beautiful wife and wants a peaceful life. However this all gets turned upside down when the son of his former employer, Iosef Tarasov, steals his classic car and kills his dog a few days after his wife dies.

Basically this is a revenge thriller over the killing of a puppy.

To sum up the movie in one sentence such as this would not do it justice though because, when all is said and done, it's not actually a bad movie. The first few moments define his really boring new life and I defy you not to fall in love with the adorable puppy. His wife is beautiful too, but both adorable characters are killed off within the first ten minutes of the film. After a brief Top Gear style rag around of his car on an airport runway (for no apparent reason) the movie knocks up a notch into the revenge movie territory where John Wick goes after the son of his former employer. We know nothing of this man at this point except a) he's cut up over his wife dying, b) he doesn't let his dog sleep on the bed and c) he makes a decent cup of coffee. When the ex-employer, Viggo Tarasov, finds out that his son has killed John Wick's dog, he merely goes "Oh" and hangs up. In this movie phone calls are very one sided. It pretty much puts the dampener on everything when he explains that John Wick is the man you call when you want to get the Bogeyman. Cue this very man going after this man's son and him too. In order to save his son from total annihilation (Wick's use of a gun is very good indeed - he doesn't waste bullets) he puts a bounty of $2million to anyone who can kill him. A few people step up to the plate (including the son who at his best runs through a night club in a towel screaming) to try and claim this bounty. Among them are Wick's friend, Marcus (Willem Dafoe) who agrees to kill him for this ransom but instead decides to put the sniper gun to good use to help him. There's also half a gangster squad and the very beautiful Ms Perkins (Agent of SHEILD's Adrianne Palicki) who goes to get him too. A few other famous faces pop up over the time including Ian McShane and John Leguizamo to round off quite a good talented cast. The story is good enough and some of the visuals are interesting to say the least. Subtitles that are in English when the gangsters speak (I believe it is a form of Russian) are scattered across the screen in different colours but are affected by what's on the screen. For example there's one scene where there's a sniper leaning against a slanted wall and the subtitles are slanted to reflect this. Also certain scenes in certain places are hues colourfully as if a lens or Instagram filter has been placed on the screen. Although it doesn't really detract from the movie, these  are little touches that give it a bit of character. The film itself is a generally dark thriller with some interesting fight scenes and gun toting.

Overall this movie is worth a watch - there are better movies out there, but it's good enough to keep you interested and pass the time.

John Wick is out now at all good cinemas in the UK and is actually out to buy if you are over in the US.

POPSCORE: 7.8/10

SECOND OPINION:

Clare came to see it with me and she says:

John Wick .............. very good, not excellent..... Keanu looking very fine! .............. rating = 8/10. :-) ;-) & let's not 4get Keanu was river phoenix's best friend! ; -) POPSCORE: 8/10 

What am I talking about? The movie John Wick

Where can I find out more? http://www.johnwickthemovie.com/

If you like this try: Taken (mainly the first one, but possible the second and third), The Equalizer (the Denzel movie), Run All Night, Constantine

Anything else?
It's Keanu Reeves' sixth time playing a role named John.

REVIEW: Wild Card (18)

Wild Card is the latest Jason Statham film to be released and sadly it's just like every other one I have seen - naked girls, guns and violence. There is a certain style Jason Statham has fallen into and is doing quite well in it - but the problem is is that it is now getting very formulaic. Having said that, this movie starts out with some promise.

Wild Card focusses on Statham's character Nick Wild, a sort of gun for hire who is in the protection business in Las Vegas. The story is so written that we do not get much in the way of exposition - in the first 15 minutes we see him portrayed as a complete A-hole only to find out a few minutes later it was all a rouse - and the character he seemed to have a fantastic relationship with is never seen again in the movie. There is not explanation of how he came to be in Las Vegas nor the reasoning behind his on going dream of owing a yacht. Meanwhile, Holly (who again is not really explained) is raped and beaten by a gang of three. Moaning Nick's name while in hospital (which had no bearing on the story at all) she phones him up to see if he can help him wreak revenge on the rapist and his likely lads. Initially Nick refuses but seems to fall under her spell due to their history (explained in one sentence - "you know all those things I said to you - it meant I love you") and helps her retaliate. Showing off his combat skills he takes down the men easily (even though at least two characters advise him against it) and she get to act out a squirm worthy sequence involving pruning shears and a man's sexy bits.

This sets the three men to go after Nick and in the meanwhile he is head hunted by a visiting rich kid who wants to learn to be brave from Nick himself. The story loses steam here and plods along and at this very moment there are at least two points that the film could have finished but didn't.

The cast is strong - there's some well known names here (like Anne Heche and Sofia Vergara) - that make up for the mediocre performance from Statham and his growly voice and impressive fighting skills. Stanley Tucci is name dropped in the credits at the beginning but you have to wait 8/10ths of the movie to see his 2 minute performance and steals the scene for all the time he is in it. Statham is good enough to keep you looking at the screen but only just. The fighting scenes are fantastically choreographed, realistic and bloody and are one of the films best features.  

While watching the movie I followed it okay, but now I'm trying to relay the story back to you it is very difficult to do because I'm now thinking about it and some of it was not explained. But I think that sums up this movie - if you lay back and let it happen it will be one of those movies that will fill the time one boring evening or a good one for the lads to come round and watch with a takeaway where you don't have to think about anything.

Wild Card is out at all good cinemas now.

 

POPSCORE: 6.8/10

 

SECOND OPINION: Claire came to see this with me and initially thought the first quarter of the movie looked promising but then lost it a bit throughout the rest of the movie. She had a very good point about the story being a bit slow and a bit hit and miss. Although the fight choreography was great, it seemed that was the part that the creators put the most work into. The story was clearly secondary and left many questions unanswered. - POPSCORE: 5-6/10

 

What am I talking about? Wild Card movie

Where do I find out more? Check it out on IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2231253/

If you liked this, try - The Transporter, Crank, The Mechanic, any other Jason Statham movie really.

REVIEW: Kingsman : The Secret Service (15)

In 2015, the day of baddies dressed in garish colours plotting to rule the world has but all been forgotten. It's been a long time since the big bad guy captured the hero, plonked him in a certain death trap that was impossible to escape and then proceeded to tell the hero his intricate world domination plans. It's been a long, long time since the hero conveniently escapes from certain death and foils the megalomaniac bad guy at the last minute.  Here you have the old school spy movie.

Nowadays in the name of Bond and Bourne, they are gritty realistic heroes and fight dirty, drink from the bottle and are injured, scarred and mentally affected - but still get the girl and save the world. Here you have the modern day, nu skool version.

It's a dangerous thing to look back at those old movies and attempt to recreate them because I believe they were a product of the time. This has tried to be done with Mortdecai, the recent release starring Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow, and from what I've heard it didn't work out too well. However, I still have yet to see the movie and refrain from making any judgement of it until I have seen it. The last time it was done well was Mike Myers' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - and that was a spoof; a parody if you will.

So where does that leave Kingsman? Well they certainly pay homage to the Bond's of old (as well as a number of other spy shows and movies) but put a spin on it to make it very contemporary. Although there are a couple of nods to these movies and films, as they clearly state in the movie - it's not one of those type of movies. 

The movie starts with a fantastic credit sequence which brings us to some dusty desert where Galahad (Colin Firth) is quizzing a terrorist with his elite spy team. One of the team realises that the terrorist has a bomb strapped to his chest and jumps on top of him - shielding the blast from his teammates. Both the spy and terrorist die, but Galahad survives and escapes with his team. Cut to a small boy and his mother and Galahad visiting them. As the film moves on we realise that the spy killed in action is the father of the main character Gary Unwin (Taron Egerton) who's nickname is Eggsy and is referred to as such through the whole film. Galahad hands Eggsy's mother a trinket which she declines and instead gives it to Eggsy. The trinket is a necklace with a phone number on the back. Galahad says he owes the family a favour since his father saved him and the team, and will return the favour.

We find that Galahad is actually a Kingsman - who are all named after the Knights of the Round Table and his real name is Harry Hart. The boss of the Kingsman spies is codenamed Arthur (Michael Caine) and they are elite secret agents who serve and protect Queen and country.

One day, when he is older, Eggsy finds himself heading to prison as his life wasn't going too good. Mum has moved on from Dad and is in an abusive relationship with an alcoholic step father and even worse step brothers.  Then he takes someone elses car for a joyride and is arrested. He phones the number on the necklace he has been wearing for the last few years and gets off scott free. Meanwhile there is a vacancy in the Kingsmen as spy Lancelot was killed by a mysterious lady with blades for feet when he was trying to save a university professor (Star Wars' Mark Hamill) who had been kidnapped.

Cue Galahad appearing to recruit Eggsy for the Kingsman ranks - resplendent in a bulletproof suit, guns, grenades - and an umbrella. Blade lady is working for Richmond Valentine, an evil computer billionaire bent on taking over the world. Samuel L. Jackson makes a welcome appearance as the garishly dressed colour-coded villain who is more a genius than  a soldier.

The movie is well made with a good turn from all the acting talent that has been employed within the movie. Special effects are spot on and the soundtrack and cinematography is great too. Firth is brilliant in the role of the John Steed-esque Galahad and little known actor Egerton plays the chav Eggsy and the Kingsman Eggsy remarkably well - though when he was wearing glasses for some scenes didn't fit quite right with me.

The movie itself moves along at a great pace and is well written. The dialogue is suitably contemporary and there is a notable shift in dialogue from when Eggsy and his contemporaries are talking in their West End council estate to the RP and suaveness of the Kingsman spies.

I really enjoyed this film, as I love my Bond movies, but I think anyone who likes a good action adventure would love this too. The only real issue is that it has an awful lot of swearing in it - it's reflective of real life and gives it that little bit of kudos, but if younger viewers will be watching then it may not be suitable for them - discretion advised.

I recommend to go and see this - it's an old school spy movie with nu skool values and is very entertaining to boot. Kingsman : The Secret Service is out now and is rated 15.

POPSCORE:  8/10

 

 

What am I talking about? Kingsman: The Secret Service movie

How do I find out more? http://www.kingsmanmovie.com/
If you liked this try... Mortdecai (2015), any James Bond movie pre-Daniel Craig, any of the Austin Powers movies, The Avengers (60's TV series but please avoid the 90's movie!)

Anything else?
The song as the credits roll is TAKE THAT - GET READY FOR IT which is out on single now and features on their latest album III. This is their third soundtrack song in recent memory. They also had tracks for two other recent movies - LOVE LOVE for X-Men: First Class and, of course, RULE THE WORLD for Stardust.