74% on Rotten Tomatoes
I remember that when I first watched the trailer for this, I thought it was going to be really stupid, like some sort of Johnny English copycat, where the humour would be over the top, the characters would rely on exaggerated slapstick movements and facial expressions, and the spy aspects would be disappointing.
Fortunately, as it got closer and closer to Kingsman's release, there was more hype, more praise and, more importantly for me, more interviews with the cast to persuade me to watch it.
And yet, you don't even really need this hype, or much knowledge about the film, to enjoy it. Walking in, I didn't really know what was going to happen except that it's like a comical James Bond, with more adult humour, with Colin Firth training up this young teenager to be a spy. That's pretty much all I can say to sum up the film. Sure, there's Samuel L. Jackson, who plays an atypical villain with a lisp and who doesn't like seeing blood, and there's some sort of a plot going on, but you're too distracted by how comical and how great this film looks.
Honestly, you don't need to be concentrating that hard to enjoy this film, especially on the big screen. The humour was definitely not over the top; it was clever, it was entertaining, and it was expressed even as simply as seeing Colin Firth, of all people, being a badass. However, the humour is definitely NOT for kids, which I mistakenly assumed it to be, so I was pleasantly surprised at how the humour was aimed at older people.
In the end, I would say that this is a must-see, especially in theatres.
A few side notes:
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
This film looks at the lives of two young adults that live on completely opposite sides of the social spectrum. On one hand, you have Sutter, a cocky, alcoholic, party lover, and on the other hand you have Aimee, an innocent girl who doesn't swear, doesn't drink and doesn't do much except go under-appreciated after helping her mum out all the time. The two meet and then begin an unlikely relationship where each is able to learn from, and grow because of, the other person.
I had only seen the trailer for this once well before I watched the film, but I had heard quite a lot of positive reviews on this film.
At first, the film seems to be like a typical romantic drama, where troubled boy meets innocent girl, then troubled boy does something stupid, innocent girl breaks up with troubled boy, then troubled boy changes himself, and the two live happily ever after.
But it wasn't this at all. Halfway through the film, you start to realise that this isn't your typical love story. And because of that, the first part is a bit slow, but the film gets much better as it continues.
Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller were great in this film, which was really weird since their characters in Divergent are complete enemies. Nonetheless, they have great chemistry here.
What I loved about this was that it showed how both characters were able to help the other person grow. Sutter was able to help Aimee discover her assertiveness and independence, while Aimee was able to keep Sutter grounded.
There are also a few unexpected turns this movie takes, allowing you to see the full extent of the characters' growths (or lack thereof).
I especially loved the part towards the end where Sutter's boss asks of him to promise something, and yet Sutter, knowing fully well what he is and isn't capable of, replies, "You know I can't promise you that". It's such a heavy moment where you realise this troubled boy is not troubled enough to lie about his problems, and yet he is too troubled to do anything to change it.
Overall, I think this movie is quite enjoyable. It's a bit slow at the beginning though, and if you're not really into romantic stories I'm not too sure how you'd react to this.
28% on Rotten Tomatoes
Now for something completely different.
You know when I first saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (the first one) in the cinemas, I thought it was pretty cool, but then when rewatching it just recently, I realised how terribly cringe-worthy the dialogue was. It was just trying so hard to be really funny, but then it was just overdoing it.
The same happened with this film.
The plot was okay, and it's an alright film to watch if you're bored and just want something to do to pass the time. It's got The Rock in it and it's not a terrible film, but it's not something that you'd remember much of in the end.
However, whenever they weren't talking was a plus, so the action sequences made it worthwhile to sit through the terrible dialogue. The mountain scene was an interesting fighting sequence that my parents loved especially.
All in all, this movie counts as one of those ones to only watch when you're really bored.
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