Residue (2015)

Summary
An unnamed UK metropolis. The future. Renowned photojournalist Jennifer Preston is investigating the aftermath of a terrible explosion that ripped through the city on New Year's Eve. Known simply as 'The Catastrophe', this shocking tragedy has left behind a festering wound. The city is on edge, thousands have evacuated and a sprawling, militarized Quarantine Zone has been erected around the epicentre of the blast. The 'QZ', as it becomes known, is a network of empty buildings and abandoned streets, shrouded beneath clinical plastic and fenced in behind impenetrable barricades. Heavily armed security units ensure that nobody goes in and nobody comes out. As unexplained and increasingly bizarre acts of violence erupt across the city, Jennifer begins to notice strange, ephemeral phantoms in her photographs. What begins as an artistic documentation of The Catastrophe's lingering aftershock soon becomes an obsession with 'The Phenomenon'.

Genre : Horror/Mystery
Country : UK

Cast :
Natalia Tena : Jennifer Preston
Iwan Rheon : Jonas
Jamie Draven : Levi Mathis

Director : Alex Garcia Lopez

My opinion 

“Since the explosion, since the construction of the Quarantine Zone, my photographs are different.
We're different.
Is it despair?
Confusion?
Rage?
Fear?
Everything's changed.
Maybe forever.”

Not knowing what was waiting for me and whether it was worth to watch this alleged horror / mystery (the content seemed interesting to me though), this film visually impressed me afterwards. At the end credits, I was somewhat irritated because the ending made no sense at all and left me with a lot of question marks. Ultimately it was a huge open ending with everything still as mysterious and unexplained as in the beginning. Afterwards I found out that this was a pilot for a brand new television series. What a disappointment ! As a fervent opponent of anything that even resembles a serial, the further course of this nevertheless very intriguing story will be completely unknown to me. However, I am sure that by the third season everything will be very confusing and complicated, because the writers are completely lost and are forced to invent new storylines. That's nothing for me.

The whole story revolves around a massive explosion that occurred in an underground dancing somewhere in futuristic London. According to the government chemicals are released, which leads to evacuating part of the population and a perimeter is established around the disaster area. Jennifer (Natalia Tena) and Jonas (Iwan Rheon) witness this explosion and gradually see their part of the city mutate into an area with military control. Jennifer is a photographer who starts to make photos of local residents after the incident and who discovers that these individuals experience a personality change. They get suicidal and turn out to be downright murderous. Jonas is someone who works for the organization who have closed the area in question (all the buildings in this area are covered with plastic, which creates some surreal images) and gradually he becomes aware that there is more to it than an explosion. And finally there is also Levi (Jamie Draven), a police detective whose daughter died in this explosion.

  
"Residue" is a fairly depressing film. Not only because of the futuristic story, but also because of the atmosphere and the used color palette. Everything looks bleak, gray and with no future. In retrospect I understood why the film was so slow without really shocking or relevant incidents. That's of course because this is just a long intro to a multiple seasons full of episodes. Only the artistic image fragments are momentary attention grabbers. For the most part it's just observing the main characters wandering around and looking for answers to their questions. After that there's something paranormal coming up. This makes it a little more interesting. So, are you a TV show freak, then I think this one is worth to watch. Instead, I'll stick with my addiction to caffeine and nicotine ... and I'll still eschew the "soapine" for the moment!

 

My rating 5/10 
Links : IMDB

Big Game (2014)

Summary
When Air Force One is shot down by terrorists leaving the President of the United States stranded in the wilderness, there is only one person around who can save him - a 13-year old boy called Oskari. In the forest on a hunting mission to prove his maturity to his kinsfolk, Oskari had been planning to track down a deer, but instead discovers the most powerful man on the planet in an escape pod. With the terrorists closing in to capture their own "Big Game" prize, the unlikely duo must team up to escape their hunters. As anxious Pentagon officials observe the action via satellite feed, it is up to the President and his new side-kick to prove themselves and survive the most extraordinary 24 hours of their lives.

Genre : Action/Adventure
Country : Finland/UK/Germany

Cast :
Samuel L. Jackson : U.S. President William Allan Moore
Ray Stevenson : Morris
Onni Tommila : Oskari

Director : Jalmari Helander

My opinion 

"Not political, not religious. He is just a certified grade-A psychopath." 

I thought "Why the hell not ?" after seeing the poster of "Big Game". An adventure film, clearly aimed at a younger audience, with Air Force One crashing down somewhere in a Finnish forest and with the US president trying to saving himself with the help of a Finnish boy who just happens to undergo a local ritual so he can prove himself to the male population. And after I saw that Samuel L. Jackson also took part in this movie as the missing president, I didn't hesitate for a second. It's true that Jackson played some minor roles before this ("Oldboy", "Reasonable Doubt" and "Robocop"), yet I was pleasantly surprised by his last performance in "Kingsman: The secret service". So I went on the assumption that this was going to be a likeable youth film, full of unabashed and not too far-fetched action.

Boy oh boy. I didn't expect this to be such a crappy movie full of improbabilities, ridiculous situations and coincidences. Admittedly, it's indeed aiming for a younger audience, filled with teenage boys, who can have nice dreams that same night after watching such a film and imagine themselves acting as such a hero. But I'm convinced that most of them will shake their heads out of disapproval, while wondering if the makers of this film actually were convinced that they are really so naive.

First lets start with the positive aspects. The scenery is matchless and breathtaking beautiful. I had no idea that Finland looked like that and I was tempted immediately to choose this country as a destination for my next holiday. Onni Tommila, a youthful Finnish actor, performed properly and does his job as the Finnish guide Oskari remarkably well. The entire film is clearly a homage to earlier films with youthful heroism as a central theme. It's a kind of film like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in which Short Round plays a prominent role or a typical Spielberg film like "Empire of the Sun". It brings back the nostalgia of fathers going to the cinema with their son to enjoy a cool film for guys. A prerequisite for such films is that the youthful contribution should smoothly transcend the ingenuity of the adults. In other words, the adults are presented as utter fools.

What bothered me the most about this movie, were the totally absurd situations that arose. I admit, when you look at it from the perspective of a young person and you don't take it too serious, it comes across as an entertaining movie. A sort of "Home Alone" in a forest, where you're always a bit smarter and faster than the bad guys. But there are limits. Firstly I would like to purchase the brand of freezer they used here, because I think this hightech-wonder-equipment is indestructible. Swinging under a helicopter, mowing through the woods, tumbling from a mountain, splashing into a lake and afterwards popping up out of the water like a purebred Russian submarine. And this "undamaged" ! Now that's what I call solid quality. But beware ! Make sure you don't end up inside this miracle appliance, because apparently it can't be opened from the inside. The number of accidental meetings is huge. Coincidentally, the probe with the POTUS is landing where Oskari made his camp. The freezer pops out of the water where Air Force One incidentally crashed. And you just need to follow a suspicious helicopter on satelite, and you end up looking at POTUS. The criminal Hazar (Mehmet Kurtulus) apparently isn't such a hot-shot criminal afterall, because he doesn't even know how to load an automatic rifle. And the way the satellite images are used in the Pentagon to follow the president, is just hilarious.

I admit, It shouldn't always be that serious and occasionally a lightly youth film is also welcome, but there are limits to follies and ridiculous situations. As a boy I'd fall for this blindly. But as an adult, who started watching this film unprepared, it gradually began to annoy me more and more because of the series of stupidities. The final image full of patriotism and heroism ultimately, was a bit too much for me.

You gotta cock it, Motherf …. Oops.

 

My rating 1/10 
Links : IMDB

Haunt (2014)

Summary
A mother and father and their three teen-age children move to a new home that was the scene of a "personal tragedy". The son meets a mysterious neighbor girl and together they experiment with an old radio they find in the attic, that can be used to communicate with the dead. Something is unleashed that brings new horror.

Genre : Horror
Country : USA

Cast :
Jacki Weaver : Janet Morello
Liana Liberato : Sam
Harrison Gilbertson : Evan Asher

Director : Mac Carter

My opinion

“So you want to hear a ghost story?
Well, every ghost story begins with a house... and a tragedy.
And so we begin with mine.”

The beginning really feels creepy. The rest of the film looks typical. Just another haunted-house topic with a whole range of already used elements from similar films. For the real horror fanatics it's nothing new or surprising. Expect creaking doors, manifesting entities , scary sounds behind every door and in every corner, looming shadows and sudden scares. This film contains them all and therefore looks like a hodgepodge of already used ideas. Except for that impression-making start wherein an original device is proposed : an old-fashioned looking device composed of transistors and radio lamps that can be used to communicate with the deceased. The tormented and desperate person who wants to use it to get in touch with his children, soon will experience the consequences. They are less pleasant than he had expected.

The Asher family moves into an old house of which there are rumors that it's haunted. The Morello family who lived there previously, was decimated cruelly. The only survivor was the matriarch Janet Morello (Jacki Weaver) who shows up while the Ashers are moving in, saying that she forgot to take something with her. During her brief visit she talks to Evan (Harrison Gilbertson), the son of the family Asher, telling him that her son died when he was Evan's age and that the attic was his bedroom. The moment Evan meets the rebellious teenage girl Sam (Liana Liberato) during a nighttime walk, a close friendship grows in between them. Before he realizes it, Sam snuggles into his bed at night. After a while they start to experiment with the strange device that they found (the one you saw in the opening scene) in a side room in the attic (actually Sam knew it was there anyway). A dangerous game that opens the door for not so friendly ghosts.

  

Ghost stories with an old, possessed house as a central subject, is an eagerly used topic in the horror genre. Think of "The Conjuring", "The Woman in Black", "The Amityville Horror" or "Poltergeist" and you know what to expect. The old clichés aren't shunned. Everytime there's an appearance, lights start to flicker again (in the same way as you saw in "Deliver us from Evil") There's even an entity that looks as if it came straight out of the movie "The Ring". And events from the past are shown in a creepy way in black and white. Unfortunately there are also the ridiculous-looking clichés. Like the fact that the new family happens to have the same composition of family members as the previous unfortunate family. Despite terrifying apparitions and confrontations, everyone just continues as if this is the most normal thing in the world. Even worrying gibberish of the youngest daughter ("If there’s really a ghost in Evan's room, l think he should make friends with it.") doesn't bother anyone. And of course at that time the parents leave the entire household behind, so they can visit a few colleagues.

Despite the obvious events, apparitions and paranormal states, I was still a bit surprised by the final denouement. Visually and in terms of atmosphere they could have created a really eerie and creepy film. The ghost part isn't so bad because they are surely scary at times. But the storyline is certainly not that exciting. And the performances are pretty one-dimensional. Parents are more absent than present, the older daughter was totally unnecessary and the younger sister lived in her own world. Gilbertson and Liberato formed a sympathetic couple but Gilbertson's naivety is hugely irritating. I enjoy an old-fashioned ghost story once and a while. Such a film that gives you the chills at times. The only chills I got while watching "Haunt", were those of the cold because of an open window in the middle of the night.

  

My rating 4/10 
Links : IMDB
 

The Living (2014)

Summary
A man hires an ex-con to kill his sister's abusive husband, but the desperate act sets into motion a shocking series of events in this intense indie drama.

Genre : Drama/Crime
Country : USA

Cast :
Fran Kranz : Teddy
Jocelin Donahue : Molly
Kenny Wormald : Gordon

Director : Jack Bryan

My opinion 

What I do isn’t about the people that die.

It's about the people that are left alive.
They get the short end of the stick, as far as I'm concerned. 

"The Living" is a basic revenge film in which the reprisal turns out quite differently than initially intended. A social drama about domestic violence and alcoholism, although I started wondering after a while how critical this alcohol problem was. The evolution to this violent abuse wasn't discussed. How could it come to this? Were there already signs of an oncoming problem? And were there cases of domestic violence already in the past? You're kept in the dark when it comes to these relevant considerations.

The first image, accompanied by music from The de Luca Brothers, is that of some empty beer bottles scattered around on the ground and an unconscious Teddy (Fran Kranz), who apparently is sleeping it off. Upon awakening he finds out he has a bloody hand and his wedding ring is missing, after which he becomes aware something terrible happened the previous night. The fact that his young wife Molly (Jocelin Donahue) is no longer present in the house, confirms his suspicion. Molly has fled to her parents' home where her mother Angela (Joelle Carter) and brother Gordon (Kenny Wormald) still live. When Teddy arrives there and Molly returns with him despite everything that happened, Angela threatens to use her shotgun and shoot Teddy. Simultaneously she's also furious about  Gordon defending his sister in a lax way. Pissed off about what happened to his sister, Gordon takes the advice of a workmate (who knows someone who also knows someone else who could teach a person a lesson), and he goes looking for this person to solve the problem once and for all.

Unfortunately this is, despite some brilliant performances, a fairly banal story with a predictable storyline and no surprising conclusion. The whole film actually just shows the emotional relationship between a few people. First, the fragile and broken relationship between Molly and Teddy. Molly makes it clear to Teddy that he has to do everything to make up for the incurred suffering. What bothered me in this part of the story, was twofold. Teddy doesn't really resemble a typical alcoholic who tends to use violence against his wife. He looks remarkably fresh after an evening of heavy drinking (with a solid blackout as a result) and seemingly he doesn't have problems with staying away from booze. And Molly didn't need much time to forgive him again. Teddy didn't have to pay enormously for his actions. But I'm convinced this is most common in this kind of situations.

  

The second relationship arising in this film is that between the timid, uncertain Gordon and Howard (Chris Mulkey), the psychopathic killer who isn't afraid of murdering someone for a few dollars. This subtle interplay between these two opposites was the most fascinating of the whole movie. Magisterial acted by both. The realization that slowly grows to Gordon that he may have took the wrong decision. Howard is someone who is straightforward and clearly takes matters in hand to finalize it. There's a key moment in a restaurant where I thought the film was going to escalate into a spiral of violence. But to my surprise it remained to that single moment and the impact was limited to the fact that Gordon was more uncertain and scared to dead of Howard. Mulkey is brilliant as the crazy killer. Top performance.

 

But as I mentioned earlier, these superb performances can't cover up that the essential substance of this film is kind of feeble. A succession of obvious events and a simple story with no undue risks taken. Domestic violence is usually a complex psychological story. In "The Living" this is elaborated rather simplistic. Even the injuries Molly had after the quarrel, didn't exactly look realistic (it was more a result of a makeup party that got out of hand). Thanks to the charismatic Mulkey, this film was worth to watch.

My rating 4/10 
Links : IMDB

The Stranger (2014)

Summary
A mysterious man arrives in a small Canadian town seeking his wife, though his presence plunges the community into a bloodbath.

Genre : Horror/Mysterie
Country : Chile

Cast :
Lorenza Izzo : Ana
Cristobal Tapia Montt : Martin
Ariel Levy : Caleb

Director : Guillermo Amoedo

My opinion 

"The Stranger" is a typical example of a film with an original approach to an already widely used subject, that initially creates a momentary excitement, which then  however is nipped in the bud by a pace that claims some patience, dark settings (although in this case that's quite obviously) and mostly lousy renditions by some members of the cast. In the beginning I had the impression that this story took place somewhere in South America. Afterwards I was quite surprised when it turned out it was situated somewhere in Canada. The Chilean director Guillermo Amoedo sought most of his cast among the Chilean population. Hence the confusion. Besides, the sounding title "Eli Roth presents The Stranger" isn't a reason to get excited immediately. Just as in "Clown" his name is prominently mentioned on the cover. But this isn't an insurance for a high quality end result.


The main character Martin (Cristobal Tapia Montt) appears one evening at the door of a shabby house that's inhabited by Peter (Nicolas Duran) and his mother Monica (Alessandra Guerzoni), asking if they know where his ex-girlfriend is. The simple answer he gets, leads him to the local cemetery where he's looking sadly down at the grave of Ana (Lorenza Izzo). Moments later the local hooligan Caleb (Ariel Levy) and his mindless friends bump into him. Martin doesn't even bother to defend himself while these loafers brutally molest him. It looks like he's sick of life and he's actually left behind for dead. Caleb's father, Police Inspector De Luca (Luis Gnecco), tries to cover up the crime and hides the corpse. Peter, who witnessed the whole thing, takes Martin home to take care of him. Apparently it's not so obvious to kill this stranger and afterwards it seems that his blood, as he declared furiously, is contagious.

The only feeling I had after watching "The Stranger" was an unsatisfied one. The subject was inventive and had potential to make something interesting out of it, but that wasn't realized. The film is painfully slow and in terms of action it's not that impressive. The obvious theme of vampirism shines through the film even though it's not explicitly named. But the fact that Martin is in need of consuming blood and can't stand sunlight clearly points in that direction. His only goal is to get rid of similar people, including himself. Therefore there's this ever-present morbid, depressed and violent atmosphere around him. And then there is the phenomenon of healing blood which really distances this film from all the other movies with blood-sucking creatures of the night. But attempts to differentiate itself from the older movies where Dracula and associates flutter, are nullified because the most common clichés of this genre are still valid. For example, a sun cream with factor 100 is indispensable for Martin.

Cristobal Tapia Montt really was wonderful in his role. The constant inner struggle. The destructive attitude on the one hand and the role as martyr which he appropriates himself. At times I even thought he looked a little bit like Jake Gyllenhaal. Nicolas Duran's contribution was also acceptable on some level. Although I'm still impressed how quickly he managed to overcome his drug addiction. Furthermore, the rest was filled with the familiar, clichéd characters. But also there were some abominable interpretations. At times it seemed as if the dialogues were read directly from the script. Among other Alessandra Guerzoni made use of overacting in general. And Luis Gnecco appeared not to master the English language and it looked as if he was dubbed sometimes. Even Ariel Levy's performance wasn't that impressive from time to time. Although his appearance at the end was fairly successful.

"The Stranger" isn't exactly a masterpiece and has some flaws. Yet Amoedo succeeded in creating an eerie atmosphere with some horror moments and downright brutal, bloody fragments. This film brings nothing new in the familiar horror genre, but it's still worth the effort to give it a try. And although the ever-present darkness isn't exactly an advantage, ultimately this creates a dark and grim atmosphere.

 

My rating 4/10 
Links : IMDB

  

American muscle (2014)

Summary
John Falcon did 10 years of hard time in prison. Now he's got 24 hours to get revenge on every person who had a hand in sending him there.

Genre : Action
Country : USA

Cast :
Nick Principe : John Falcon
Robin Sydney : Darling
Todd Farmer : Sam Falcon

Director : Ravi Dhar

My opinion 

“You owe…you pay.”

"American Muscle" is a simple revenge film (the terms exploitation and grindhouse are commonly used) and you certainly won't expect a creative storyline and memorable performances. The only purpose of such a type of film is to create a violent flick as quickly as possible and with a limited budget. There certainly is an audience for such films and I myself sometimes like watching such a go-for-it-without-thinking pulp film. This gritty film also focuses on brute force, bloody settlements and some female nudity. But what annoyed me the most after a certain time, was the totally nonsensical and vastly simplistic content. Most of the characters their muscle development isn't proportional to the development of the brains. Sometimes the shown stupidity in here, made me laugh spontaneously.

 
The story is dead simple. John Falcon (Nick Principe) has been released after a prison sentence of 10 years. As soon as he leaves the gate, he has only one goal and that's to take revenge on those who ensured him to end up behind bars. He also wants his wife Darling (Robin Sydney) back by his side. Darling is a naive girl with a drug problem. Despite John's attempts to keep her from the deadly stuff, it seemed as if she's the one who caused that John received those years of imprisonment. The path John's following, leads directly to the members of the responsible gang of which his brother Sam (Todd Farmer) is the leader.

So what we get to see is a seventies-looking brutal film full of unfussy sadistic violence and massacres. The fake blood gushes through the film, the bloody bullet wounds are imaged frequently unscrupulously and you can gawk almost every 5 minutes at some female nude. Frankly however, most of them better left their clothes on, because they weren't really appetizing to look at anyway. Besides the desirable-looking dancers in the stripteasebar where John walks in during his trip, most look like unkempt sluts who get drugs as a reward after they've let themselves being used. John's concern about Darling wasn't really sincere in my opinion, since he has sex with every woman he come across his path (It seems to me that in that area there are living a bunch of women who aren't hard to get at all. Or they lack something in certain areas, if you catch my drift). Apparently the love between him and Darling isn't something he takes too seriously.

Nick Principe needs no effort to look unsympathetic. He's a real badass, with a body the size of an antique wardrobe and with pumped up, tattooed muscles. He isn't very talkative. His conversations are usually limited and his dialogues concise out of a few phrases he pronounces muttering. He rumbles through the desert scenery as a terminator. Nothing and no one can stop him. The fact that the intellectual level of his opponents isn't higher than that of a cactus that has been standing all day in the blazing desert sun, helps too of course. For sure the most dumb ones were the biker gang members, who accepted the assignment to kill John and send him to the happy hunting grounds. They could as well have a target cell painted on their obese body, while carrying a sign with the slogan "Please aim below in the bull's-eye." The only one who gets an award for the most courageous person of all, is one of the bimbos from Sam's entourage (an old-fashioned alternativo with a huge, inverted brush on her head), who despite being a light weight and having a muscle-less stature, takes it up against John. Respect. 

 

The real fans of this genre will probably enjoy this film. However this rugged film was a bit too simplistic and at times completely idiotic. Some fights were nicely put on the screen (despite the amateurish shooting skills again) and other scenes were plain ridiculous. Most dialogues are negligible and meaningless (the toilet scene is a typical example). The reason for the entire revenge expedition and the cause of John ending up in prison wasn't obvious. However, there are some positive points. The playing time is roughly 77 minutes long so it's really a film you can watch in between. The best fragment was in the desert landscape where iron works stood around. But sadly enough, this was ruined by a lousy, silly-looking shoot-out. "American muscle" looks much like the scantily dressed women in this film. There is the attempt to make it look interesting, but ultimately the end result is ugly, insignificant and only good for a one time use.

My rating 3/10 
Links : IMDB

Kingsman : The Secret Service (2014)

Summary
Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Genre : Action/Adventure/Comedy
Country : UK

Cast :
Colin Firth : Harry Hart
Taron Egerton : Gary "Eggsy" Unwin
Samuel L. Jackson : Valentine

Director : Matthew Vaughn

My opinion

I am offering you the opportunity to become a Kingsman.
A tailor?
A Kingsman agent.
Like a spy?
Of sorts. Interested?
You think I've got anything to lose?

I'm not a big fan of Bond films. Too clean, too boring and too stiff. And there was always Q who came up with some new inventions and coincidentally they came in handy in that movie. I would love to own his crystal ball. Also, every movie was stuffed with action, but you'd never see a speck of blood (Before all Bond fans react furiously: I admit that I haven't seen all Bond-movies. So I could be wrong on that part). And in every film a bunch of gorgeous ladies paraded around, but I've never seen a millimeter of offensive nudity. "Kingsman : The Secret Service" feels like a James Bond flick, but then provided with all these last-mentioned facts and an excessive dose of humor.

Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is a member of "The Kingsmen", an espionage organization, which is even more secret than the secret service itself, that gets all the dirty jobs from MI6. Hart is a genuine Englishman and looks more like a distinguished businessman or banker than a master spy. During an operation in the Middle East, the father of Gary "Eggsy" (Taron Egerton) got killed, after which Hart gives this toddler a medal that could be useful in the future. 17 years later, during the kidnapping of a professor by the multi millionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), another secret agent is killed during the rescue operation. Hart recommends Eggsy (grown up, unemployed and no prospects) as a candidate to join "The Kingsmen ".

The whole film has the atmosphere of an old spy movie like James Bond or "The Avengers", a popular series from the 70's with John Steed as a secret agent who faithfully wore a bowler and was equipped with an ordinary umbrella with all sorts of ingenious gadgetry. Compared with the civilized manners in those days, "Kingsman" is rather brutal and radical. Don't get me wrong. Hart is an example of courtesy and attempts to be as reserved and correct as possible, regardless of the situation he finds himself in, as befits a true Brit. But it's mainly the dissolute tone and graphic violence that makes the difference. The film sometimes tends to take on Tarantino-like proportions. The fragment in the local church is such an example. 3 Minutes of rage swirling across your screen with Hart acting as a purebred John Wick. Or the scene in the local pub where he demonstrates equivalent fighting techniques as "The Equalizer". Colin Firth doesn't look particularly like a well-oiled fighting machine and some movements look rigid, but all in all this 55-year was convincing enough. He proves that besides serious roles full of drama as in "Devil's Knot" and "The Railway Man", he's capable to handle lighthearted, action-packed roles as well.

When Eggsy begins the grueling training, with annoying rich kids as opponents, I was afraid it would lead to a kind of "Ender's Game" or "Divergent" story. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. The whole training proceeded under the watchful eye of Merlin (Mark Strong). The only thing that was a bit unbelievable for me, was the fact that an inexperienced teenager as Eggsy, whose most exciting life experience so far was peeing against an electric cattle fence, can grow out into an experienced parachutist in such short period. However I tolerated this since this action comedy doesn't take itself seriously in the first place. And also lets mention Michael Caine, as the Godfather of all Kingsmen, who perfectly took upon himself the role of ancien.

In a real spy movie, a bad guy shouldn't be missing obviously. This part was played with visible pleasure by Samuel L. Jackson as the lisping multimillionaire Richmond Valentine who worries about the future of the earth. In particular, the global warming, concerns him. For this, however, he has devised a diabolical plan. Only the implementation of this plan is inadequate. Jackson is peerless in this role (About time after a few feeble performances) as the eccentric Valentine who can't stand seeing a drop of blood and tends to lose consciousness in that case. To avoid this, he has a graceful assistant called Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). A true fury and fighting machine with razor-sharp legs with the necessary amputated limbs as a result. Finally, also a honorable mention for Hanna Alström as the Swedish princess. She didn't need much acting talent, but her graceful butt was prominently displayed in the end.

"Kingsman: The secret service" is a must see movie. Do you enjoy a touch of dry English humor, overly bloody action moments and all of this with a wink to the great spy movies of yesteryear ? Surely this film is made for you. Brace yourself for this espionage which contains brute force as well as humor. And it doesn't avoid well known clichés, but still brings them in a different way so that you actually won't notice it really. Magistrale movie !

My rating 8/10 
Links : IMDB