Recollection Reflection Review: 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'

I'd just like to let all my readers know that normalcy is near for this blog. I hope to get caught up with all my Throwback Thursday Reviews as soon as possible, starting with that infamously delayed Inception review (it's now been nearly two and a half months)... Following up that review will be a Triple-R over Interstellar and Throwback Thursday Reviews for Stand By Me, The World's End, The Shining, the 1990 It miniseries, Batman (1989), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Risky Business (1983). I'll be watching each before writing the review (as per usual) so it may take a while for me to get completely caught up, but I intend on doing so in the next few weeks. Most of these movies tied in to a recent release in some way, shape, or form, but I'll explain that in each respective review. Anyways, I'm looking back at Kingsman: The Secret Service to see how it's held-up since the sequel comes out this weekend and I can't currently release my thoughts on Kingsman: The Golden Circle (For an explanation, see Fall 2017 Important Update). 

'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Review

Recollection- 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Review

Reflection- I can recall not having the highest of expectations for Kingsman: The Secret Service when it was released and being blown away upon leaving the theater. I went in hoping for an entertaining spy flick, and was surprised to see a rapturing R-rated spy flick worth the buzz that also happened to be one of the best action movies released that year. It's really rare for an action movie to unexpectedly knock your socks clean off (the most recent example I can even think of would have to be John Wick). I'll get into the nitty-gritty in a moment, but I genuinely think I find more to love about Kingsman: The Secret Service every time I sit down to watch it! I'm revisiting the film, because my first go at reviewing Kingsman: The Secret Service only skimmed the surface of my opinion. This review will include slight spoilers by the way, so you've now been warned and may now read at your own risk.

Review- Kingsman: The Secret Service accompanies Eggsy, a bright but troublesome delinquent, as he's selected to train alongside a host of expert youth competing for an available slot in an international intelligence agency known as the "Kingsman." The Kingsman are unlike most spy organizations because they don't tie themselves to any particular government or bureaucracy. They remain anonymous due to their public position as tailors and draw inspiration from the Knights of the Round Table, bequeathing each member with a designation matching one of the knights (ie. Lancelot, Galahad, Merlin). Meanwhile, a maniacal mastermind's sick schemes put the planet in peril.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is directed by Matthew Vaughn, who adapted Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons' comic book series into a feature length screenplay with the aid of Jane Goldman. If you follow my blog relatively regularly, you may be familiar with the phrase "style-over-substance" when I've discussed films like Atomic Blonde, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, or just about any live-action Transformers movie. Well oddly enough, Kingsman: The Secret Service is actually the ideal union of the two. Vaughn's stylized action sequences service the story, and vice-versa. This is a franchise that's unapologetically out-there as being a racy, outlandish take on Bond and it's bloody brilliant. 

One of the things I love about Kingsman: The Secret Service is that it's a film with no boundaries. Vaughn's never afraid to push the envelope with something too risqué, and the film never feel quartered to mandate a specific MPAA rating. The celebrated "Free Bird" church massacre sequence is the perfect representation of this. That set piece is absolutely nuts and dared to leap far beyond any preconceived ethical notions, where other filmmakers would have just walked as far away from that line as possible. As the film progresses,Vaughn ratchets up the insanity somehow manages to make the most perverse plot-points enjoyable to watch. 

Kingsman: The Secret Service literally blew people's minds. The film dared to detonate the actual head of America's head of state at the time of release for goodness sakes! The only other place you'd find something that bold and committal would be in some political propaganda piece! I still laugh out loud watching this sequence because of it's paired perfectly with Edgar Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance." 

On top of all that, the script is sharp with an audacious edge. Vaughn and Goldman's screenplay verges on a sense of self-awareness when the spy and villain are in a room together discussing their situation's similarity to the classic spy movies. At its heart, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a love letter of-sorts to the Bond films of the past. Vaughn and Goldman pay respect to tropes of the genre with a wink and a nod, while also providing a fresh spin on it all. Kingsman: The Secret Service doesn't simply relish in the past, but manages to pave a way forward that keeps with the times. 

In other departments, the visual effects hold up quite well under scrutiny, the costuming and production design suit the lavish sense of style associated with the gentleman spy, and Henry Jackman's score interjects a suave, sophisticated sound that surprisingly works wonders coupled with the assortment of catchy tunes compiled on the soundtrack.

As for the cast, Taron Egerton still astounds me to this day with his take on Eggsy. Egerton exhibits all the makings of a modern movie star with charisma aplenty and a rugged exterior to match, enabling him to share scenes with the more experienced actors and match them line-for-line. Sophie Cookson also makes an impressionable breakout as Roxy, accentuating a resourcefulness and determination that allows her to come across as a convincing friend/rival to Eggsy. Meanwhile, classically trained actors including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, and Michael Caine weigh in on the fun and each have their own time to shine as Harry Hart, Merlin, and Arthur. Firth, in particular, goes above-and-beyond as another aged action hero that steals the limelight whenever he engages in fisticuffs. 

Elsewhere, Samuel L. Jackson was clearly having the time of his life playing such an eccentric, unconventional antagonist. Jackson wrings out ample personalty from Valentine's minor character traits and projects an egotistic charisma that's larger-than-life and totally befitting of the character. Sofia Boutella also manages to stand out among the stacked cast as Gazelle, Valentine's lethal hench-woman with weaponized powerbocks for legs. Boutella imbues Gazelle with enough menace to make the character more memorable than most hench-man have any right to be. 

When it's all said-and-done, I admire Kingsman: The Secret Service most for transcending the genre and adapting a light-hearted spy affair relevant to today when so many spy movies these days take the darker route. It doesn't hurt that Vaughn's direction allows the sillier scenes to flourish and the cast put forth quality performances all around. To sum-it-up, Kingsman: The Secret Service is funny, endearing, and most importantly incredibly entertaining. What more could you want from a spy action-adventure flick?

Film Assessment: A+

'Atomic Blonde' Review

Atomic Blonde pits audiences in the thick of the Cold War. Pre-eminent MI-6 agent Lorraine Broughton has been sent into Berlin to work alongside ambiguous agent David Percival and retrieve a list containing classified intel on several secret agents that could compromise them all and potentially prolong the lasting international anxiety.

Atomic Blonde is directed by skilled stunt-coordinator and stuntman David Leitch with Kurt Johnstad spearheading the screenplay based on Antony Johnson and Sam Hart's graphic novel The Coldest City. Leitch has worked on many renowned action films over-the-years including the likes of The Matrix trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and The Bourne Legacy but he's probably most well-known for co-directing John Wick alongside Chad Stahelski. Earlier this year, Stahelski struck out on his own to direct John Wick: Chapter 2 solo, but now it's Leitch's turn.

Leitch is currently set to direct next year's Deadpool 2, which is deep in the production process at this point (but you never know what could happen with all the director drama as-of-late), and after watching Atomic Blonde I'm fairly confident he'll be able to handle things on his own there. In Atomic Blonde, Leitch turns up the stylistic flourish that propelled John Wick to prominence but the film overall winds up feeling more akin to something like Hardcore Henry, another unique European-driven action film that couldn't help but succumb to the tropes of the genre.

Lorraine may be British, but she's definitely more Bourne than Bond. Leitch takes his years of stunt experience and utilizes it to offer Theron an unwieldy and unrestrained visceral fighting style that's simply thrilling to watch. It's such a relief to be able to see what's happening onscreen in an action movie because much of the last ten years has been dominated by gratuitous shaky-cam. However, the con to this was that Focus Features took note and plastered these sequences all over the marketing. I didn't ever go out of my way to watch an Atomic Blonde trailer. I saw the marketing material for the film almost exclusively in theaters and maybe once or twice as an ad in front of a YouTube video but while watching the film, I felt as though I'd seen nearly all the action already.

There was one brutal, bare-knuckles fisticuff in a staircase that I had not already seen a glimpse of that was so intense, even I felt a little winded when it was all over. As you can probably tell by now, Atomic Blonde rests its hat on the extraordinary execution of its action. I kept hoping something would rise to challenge the action, but nothing ever did.

Atomic Blonde's story is nothing special. I can guarantee you've seen this premise at least a dozen times before. The idea of a list leaking that could jeopardize an entire agency is nothing new and I'd be totally fine with that if the surrounding circumstances were more interesting. Everything about the plotting of Atomic Blonde just felt like every other generic action movie, the only difference being I had no idea why anything happened when it was all over.

In a spy movie you expect a number of double-crosses and surprises, but it was unfathomable to me how the motivations fueling all these characters were incredibly unexplainable. When the movie was over, the friend who joined me at the screening asked if I understood exactly what happened at the end and I was unable to provide an answer. I realized I had absolutely no idea because none of the plotting made a lick-of-sense. Information will inevitably be withheld from you during a spy film, but even with the additional information I couldn't quite piece everything together.

I think even poor plotting can be excused if you still manage to invest yourself in the characters, but I even had difficulty doing that. Atomic Blonde puts an outstanding amount of effort into make the viewer think Lorraine is cool by having her confidently smoking cigarettes, drinking vodka, and kicking butt like nobody's business. Unfortunately, none of that really worked for me as Charlize Theron was as insipid as Scarlett Johansson in Lucy. Theron's performance isn't bad per-say. It's simply soulless. In trying to be cool, Theron played things straight but to such an absurd degree that Lorraine lacks a personality all together. In comparing Lorraine to Johansson's other infamous agent Black Widow, you'll find shades of a complex past buried within both individuals but only Romanov exhibits a shred of humanity. 

Sofia Boutella strides in to redeem herself from The Mummy (2017) and add further credence that her scene-stealing turn in Kingsman: The Secret Service was no fluke. Boutella's French agent's an interesting side character who doesn't have quite enough screen time to fully flesh her character out, but she serves her narrative purpose well.

In the meantime, James McAvoy runs away with another outstanding supporting turn as David Percival. Percival's an unpredictable kooky agent that held his screen presence well opposite other seasoned performers and McAvoy proves his powerful performances aren't coming to an end anytime soon.  

 

Filling out the cast, John Goodman and Toby Jones fulfill the need for governmental entities and Eddie Marsan's Spyglass was a surprising standout. One last interesting thing to note is Atomic Blonde's unabashed use of '80s hits to fill the atmosphere. It's not exactly integral to the story like the soundtracks fueling Baby Driver or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but it's a fun mix nonetheless.

In summary, I think you can wait to catch Atomic Blonde on cable or home media and your money might be best spent seeing some of the diverse selections that have emerged in the past month such as Baby Driver, The Big Sick, Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, or Dunkirk. Atomic Blonde, much like its proverbial heroine, boasts some slick style but can't carry the necessary, underlying substance. The film reminded me of Bond's favorite alcoholic beverage once it was over; shaken around quite a bit, but not particularly stirring.

Film Assessment: C+

'The Mummy' (2017) Review

The Mummy follows reconnaissance officer Sergeant Nick Morton and his partner Chris Vail as they galavant across the Middle East looting any antiquities they can find to sell on the blackmarket. In the midst an Iraqi firefight, Nick and Vail unintentionally discover the tomb of an Egyptian princess. Reinforcements soon arrive along with anthropologist Jenny Halsey, who wants to explore the crypt and retrieve any interesting artifacts the team may come across. The group stumbles upon the sarcophagus of Ahmanet and upon extraction accidentally unleash an ancient evil.

The Mummy is yet another attempt to launch a shared cinematic universe following the footsteps of Marvel Studios' startling success. Other ongoing efforts include Warner Bros.' DCEU and Legendary's Monsterverse (Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island). Anyways, Universal Studios intends to dust off their library of classic creature movies and reboot each character to revitalize one of the very first shared cinematic universes around, Universal's classic monster universe. Their proposed rejuvenated world is being dubbed the Dark Universe and Universal intends to fill it with iconic monsters including the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, and the Invisible Man to name a handful.

I believe Dracula Untold was originally intended to be the foundation of this universe, but after that film flopped the burden shifted to The Mummy. Naturally, Universal quickly went to work assembling as many A-list actors for their franchise as possible, recruiting the likes of Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, and Javier Bardem. Therefore, Universal has a lot riding on The Mummy if they want to actually get this universe off the ground in one piece.

Alex Kurtzman helms the monster movie as his second feature length film and the end result is an unfocused, tonally inconsistent film. On one hand, Kurtzman deserves praise for successfully piecing together some cool action sequences in his first big budget affair. It's well known that Tom Cruise is one of the most dedicated action stars around today, always insistent on performing the most outrageous stunts and the insane set piece this time around is a plane crash that was actually filmed in Zero-G. However, Kurtzman doesn't really allow for these stunts to appear as though they were actually filmed in-camera. The way cinematographer Ben Seresin shoots the action and editors Andrew Mondshein and Gina & Paul Hirsch splice things together doesn't provide Cruise the guise of authenticity he's offered by his Mission: Impossible antics. 

For example, in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol it is quite apparent that Cruise is a lunatic for actually dangling off the side of the world's tallest building. You can feel the sense of unease because Brad Bird allowed for longer takes and fewer cuts. The Zero-G sequence on the other hand, looks as though it were edited by a spastic five year old. 

Accomplished technical elements that are scattered throughout The Mummy include an exceptional union of visual effects, costuming, and hair and makeup utilized to fabricate Ahmanet's aesthetic. The technical crew managed to grant Ahmanet an unsettling, commanding appearance that works exceptionally well for the purposes of the film. Elsewhere, the surrounding vfx felt hastily made with a rough unfinished look (even though they're light years ahead of the 1999 version) and the score from Brian Tyler was forgettable to say the least. 

Where The Mummy fails most however is in prioritizing world-building over quality stand alone storytelling. The script simply had too many writers working on it with credits to a screen story developed by Jon Spaihts, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and screenplay credits for David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman respectively. The screenwriting team were well intentioned in trying to incorporate elements of the overarching Dark Universe in The Mummy but it simply compromises the standalone nature of the story.

Imagine if Iron Man had been bogged down by constantly informing viewers other superheroes existed instead of telling a dedicated origin story for Tony Stark and simply teasing the viewer with the possibility of The Avengers in its infamous post credits stinger. The Mummy spends way too much time with needless exposition, much of which is repeated multiple times over the course of the one hour fifty minute runtime. If the overabundant exposition doesn't freak you out, then get ready for painfully unfunny one-liners and weak characters you aren't liable to care about.

Tom Cruise commands attention from the get-go as Nick Morton, throwing himself into the mix as he would in any Mission: Impossible installment. It's exceptionally rare that Cruise doesn't deliver a dedicated performance and thankfully that's not the case here. If anything, Cruise is held back by limits the screenplay places around his character. Annabelle Wallis' Jenny Halsey is unfortunately relegated to the confines of being the damsel-in-distress and spouting out anthropologist jargon but she makes a decent love interest with what she's provided.

And it is with a heavy heart that I declare Jake Johnson's Vail character to be the most annoying sidekick imaginable. Johnson was one of my favorite parts of Jurassic World so seeing him be written as an obnoxious obstacle here was incredibly disheartening and I hope to see him bounce back.

Sofia Boutella strides forward as Ahmanet and showcases an unwieldy creepiness, that's only amplified and accentuated by her undead army. Boutella brings out the most with what she's given but is portrayed with an over sexualized characterization that simply wasn't necessary. Rounding out the cast, Russell Crowe plays an enigmatic genius and entrepreneur heading up a shadowy society and is definitely the Nick Fury of this franchise (I won't reveal exactly who he's playing in case you haven't heard).

In my mind there's no question about it, this weekend you should definitely check out Wonder Woman if you haven't already or watch it again rather than digging up this mediocre monster movie. If you're dying to get wrapped up in watching The Mummy, then I'd advise not paying any more than matinee ticket price.

To wrap things up, The Mummy had plenty of potential to be an interesting standalone feature but it sacrificed that goodwill to establish future Dark Universe entries. Perhaps The Mummy would have been better left buried, but I'm admittedly intrigued by everything the Dark Universe has to offer.

Film Assessment: D+

'Star Trek Beyond' Review

Nominated For: Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Star Trek Beyond picks up with the crew of the USS Enterprise three years into their five year voyage of uncharted space and the long journey has taken it's toll on each of the crew members respectively but that all has to be put on hold when they must investigate the scene of a distress signal only to find themselves under attack from an enemy they didn't see coming, can't predict, and have no hope against, Krall. With the crew now divided on a foreign planet they must use their wit and their will to reunite and stop Krall from waging war on the Federation. That's the basic setup and all you need to know going in for Star Trek Beyond.

Star Trek Beyond has been a worrisome development coming off the heels of the latest/most divisive film in the franchise Star Trek Into Darkness, and the first trailer for the film didn't do it any favors drawing comparisons to Fast and Furious and Guardians of the Galaxy, a complete deviation from the philosophical core of the franchise. Many worried that since Justin Lin was taking over the directors chair he would bring with him the nonsensical action featured in his most notable works from the Fast and Furious franchise (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast and the Furious, Fast Five, and Fast and Furious 6). Many feared how this cast would fare with the absence of J.J. Abrams, who kicked it all off with 2009's Star Trek and had his hands busy with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but the tide turned in favor of Star Trek Beyond with the release of it's subsequent marketing material and I'm overjoyed to tell you that Star Trek Beyond is a blast. 

Lin takes over the helm from Abrams bringing along with him the amusing action sequences from the Fast and Furious films and thankfully ensures Star Trek Beyond is not dumbed down to level of the Fast and Furious with the help of screenwriters Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. Pegg and Jung split up the crew, pairing up characters we typically don't see with one another and the writing duo manage carve out a nice story that explores not just the cosmos but but  crew of the Enterprise themselves. 

The visual effects in Star Trek Beyond are remarkable as the Enterprise looks illustrious traversing the final frontier and is even more beautiful when it engages in warp speed. The make-up, costuming, and production design is top notch creating authentic alien worlds, creatures, and space ship interiors. I must commend the work on Idris Elba's Krall prosthetic that looked magnificent in the first act. The action sequences are infectiously fun featuring exciting space ship combat, a thrilling motorcycle sequence, and the destruction of the NC-1701 that was undeniably awesome to watch. This Trek flick once again boasts engaging futuristic sound design and another one of Michael Giancchio's adventurous scores.

The star-studded cast step onto the Enterprise once more and this time around they feel like they've transitioned more into the personalities that make the Enterprise crew what they are. Chris Pine's Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock are provided engaging character drama as they must deal with significant events in their life. Pine brings out a charming captain in Kirk and finally seems to be a responsible leader as opposed to the rebellious daredevil.

Meanwhile, Quinto walks the fine line between reason and emotion, never leaning too heavily on either side, proving he makes for a terrific Spock. Karl Urban's Bones has a substantially larger role in this installment proving to be hilarious when paired with Quinto's Spock as the juxtaposing personality clash brings several laughs with it.

Simon Pegg's Scotty is once again comedic relief for the crew and has his most substantial role in the franchise yet. Zoe Saldana and John Cho still aren't given much to do as Lieutenant Uhura and Sulu but they fit the roles nicely and have a few of their own moments. Saldana's Uhura is primarily there for her relationship with Spock but gets to kick some butt once again and there's a very controversial decision made to portray Cho's Sulu as gay and I will say that it's present but merely a simple moment that doesn't pull focus away from the film.

Anton Yelchin brings perfect comedic timing and a convincing Russian accent to Chekov getting to primarily play off Pine's Kirk as they're stranded together and it was a very interesting dynamic. Sadly this will be Anton Yelchin's final voyage onboard the Enterprise because the actor tragically died in a car accident a few weeks ago. The film also address Leonard Nimoy's passing in a touching and respectful way and I think both Trek actors would have been very proud with the finished product.

Elsewhere, Sofia Boutella is a welcome addition to the franchise after proving herself in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Boutella's Jaylah makes for an awesome addition to the franchise as she can carry an action sequence and stands as a compelling character in her own right. It was fun to see her work off of the various crew members but especially delightful to see her chemistry with Pegg and Pine. 

My only real qualm with Star Trek Beyond lies in it's villain. Idris Elba's Krall is exceptionally malevolent, proving to be an exceptional strategist and overlooking threat to the crew and for the first two acts of the film stayed the course, but his motivation was still unclear. Elba is terrific in the role injecting gravitas and weight to Krall, but once all Krall's secrets are divulged I found myself scratching my head more than feeling a sense of relief. The reasoning behind Krall's actions made sense, but the reveal didn't elaborate enough for me to fully comprehend how he became what he was and if anything detracted from his antagonistic ambiance, a similar problem plaguing many a Marvel villain right now.

I saw Star Trek Beyond in IMAX 3D and felt that the experience was worth the price of an IMAX ticket so I'd recommend it for anyone willing to pay the extra dough. In conclusion, Star Trek Beyond proved to be a wildly entertaining science fiction adventure with fresh direction, astounding visuals, and a remarkable ensemble cast. Star Trek Beyond is bold and dares to go where J.J. Abrams hasn't gone before, crafting a Star Trek movie worthy of adopting the Trek monicker in it's 50th year while embracing the fun of a summer blockbuster.

Film Assessment: A-