A Return to Post-Apocalyptic Road Rage

Tom Hardy in "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Between 1979 and 1985, director George Miller gave us an inventive vision of a world that descended deep into anarchy, all of which was chronicled in the “Mad Max” series.  These films told the story of a police officer, played by Mel Gibson, doing what he can to combat the dangers that crossed his path.

Now, 30 years later, Miller returns to the franchise with his gloriously crazy action-thriller, “Mad Max: Fury Road.”  In a film that’s absolutely intense and relentlessly fast-paced, Miller continues his series in a spectacularly bonkers fashion and has made what may be the best entry in the “Mad Max” series.

In the future, where a global catastrophe has left civilization in ruins, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) lives his life in constant survival mode.  When he’s captured by a group known as the War Boys and brought to the citadel of their leader, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played main villain Toecutter in the first “Mad Max” film), Max is locked up and forced to provide blood for an ill War Boy named Nux (Nicholas Hoult).  Soon after, citadel resident Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is charged with the task of driving a rig to collect some gasoline from the nearby Gas Town.  Immortan Joe soon realizes that she has actually led the escape of his Five Wives (Rosie-Huntington Whitely, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton), a group of women he uses for breeding.  When Max eventually meets up with Furiosa, he decides to help the group flee to a safe haven, while Immortan Joe sets out on a violent pursuit to get back his wives.

Similar to Gibson’s approach to the character (particularly in the second and third films), Tom Hardy portrays him as a battle-hardened, brooding loner who has been through the worst of humanity.  Although his character doesn’t have much of a personality, it works for the film because of how much suffering Max has experienced before the beginning of the film, reducing him to a man who doesn’t have anything left to lose.

Charlize Theron offers her role the sort of action-heroine strength that we saw from Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.”  She fiercely displays her character’s unflinching fearlessness and perseverance, but also shows a bit of motherliness as she commits herself to protecting the Five Wives.  With this, Theron’s performance is a prime example of how female roles in action films should be handled, and is something to be emulated in more movies like this in the future.

Hugh Keays-Byrne gives a very intimidating performance as the citadel’s relentless leader.  Keays-Byrne was memorable as the villain in the first film, but he is now given an antagonistic role that’s a huge step up from Toecutter.  With his deep, overlord voice, nefarious glare, and freaky mask, he’s a fitting adversary to our heroes in the film’s wasteland setting.

 Although the screenplay by Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris is light on an overall story, the film is compensated by how gorgeously done the chase sequences are.  Yes, I know “gorgeously” is a strange word to use when describing the action scenes of a “Mad Max” film, but once you experience this movie, you’ll see how positively stunning they are.  Despite the movie being mainly a series of elaborately choreographed chase sequences, there are still moments between these scenes that allow us to get to know a little bit about these characters.

Despite the 30-year gap between “Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome” and “Fury Road,” Miller clearly hasn’t lost any of his ability to stage explosive and beautifully structured action sequences, and he isn’t afraid to go big early on in the film.  Within the first third of the narrative, we’re given one of the most breathtakingly filmed chase scenes in quite some time, one that culminates with a sandstorm that brings you into its near-suffocating intensity.  Although that may be the most memorable sequence of the film, there is certainly aggressive competition to be had with the final chase, which is so wonderfully excessive with its vehicular chaos that you’ll be left exhausted in your seat from its visual, action-packed power.

While it can be a risky venture to revive a franchise from years ago, “Mad Max: Fury Road” succeeds and makes the most out of today’s filmmaking technology to expand the world of the series.  While you don’t have to see the other three movies first to understand what’s happening in “Fury Road,” you should consider giving them a view afterwards because you’ll get a sense of how much this franchise has evolved from its modest, low-budget beginnings.  

As far as summer movies go, you certainly couldn’t ask for a better cinematic ride than the one gifted to us from George Miller.

Final grade: A-

The Team Returns to Fight a New Evil

From left: Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey, Jr., and Mark Ruffalo in "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Warning: This review contains a few minor spoilers.

Big things have happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and big things will continue to happen; it’s just the way it’s always been.  With every new film, our favorite superheroes battle evil, more characters are introduced, and major events shape what will come next.

After directing the first “Avengers” film three years ago, Joss Whedon returns to bring cinema’s famed team of superheroes back to the forefront of adventure.  In “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Whedon delves into his love of the Marvel Comics lore once again and delivers a satisfying sequel.

After fighting their way through the stronghold of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), the Avengers, which include Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), manage to steal the mystical scepter of Thor’s adoptive brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston, though he doesn’t appear in this film).  Realizing the power that this item contains, Tony Stark (Iron Man’s alter ego) decides to use it to finish his “Ultron” defense program.  

Once Ultron (voiced by James Spader) awakens, he realizes that, because of all of the destruction that humans have done to each other throughout history, the only way to save the world is if humanity is extinct.  Discovering that Ultron and his army will stop at nothing to achieve their plans, the Avengers assemble once again for battle.

As with the previous Avengers film, the six main cast members have the connection that you would come to expect from a superhero team this big.  Each Avenger possesses their own wildly different persona, all of which mix into a role-call of a very fun and heroic team-up. 

James Spader offers memorable voice work as the film’s main threat.  He’s definitely better than most of the MCU’s antagonists, and he falls within the ranks of Loki and the Winter Soldier.  With Ultron’s character, Spader makes him equal parts sinister and darkly comical, a villain who’s filled with personality.

One of the most notable accomplishments with Whedon’s screenplay is how he gives the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye considerably more material to work with.  When you look back at the first “Avengers” film, it definitely seemed like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America were the big three in the group.  In this sequel, the other three members are given their chance to break out with a blossoming romance between the Hulk and Black Widow, as well as the discovery that Hawkeye now has a family.

The screenplay by Whedon doesn’t waste anytime in setting up the story; he just places the audience right into the propulsive action, and it’s because of this that you’ll definitely want to catch up any MCU movies you might not have seen yet, just so it’s easier to follow the story.  He begins the film with the Avengers’ raid on Baron von Strucker and his army, and then the story keeps building from there.  Although the film follows some of the same story beats as the first, it does enough world-building to compensate.

Speaking of world-building, there’s a factor in the film that has its positive and negative sides, and it’s the fact that it offers so much in terms of other Marvel stories, those from previous films and those that are coming soon.  The upside is that we’re getting tastes of what we can expect in other films as the MCU continues to expand as it goes from movie to movie.  The negative is that it all seems cluttered at times, and the MCU has the potential to get more crowded as it continues to introduce more and more characters as Phase Three begins next year.  Either the MCU will have to start letting some characters go, or it will really have to form a strategy on how to handle so much interconnected material because, if it isn’t careful, everything will get bogged down by all of the new additions.

As a director, Whedon expresses the same amount of enthusiasm and knowledge for these characters that he displayed with the first “Avengers” film, and he stages some all-out thrilling action set-pieces, particularly the exhilarating opening scene and the epic fight between Iron Man and the Hulk.  Whedon has done much to bring the two biggest chapters of the MCU to life, and his dedication to this mythology is clearly seen.

The Avengers will be back together in May 2018 and May 2019 for the two-part “Avengers: Infinity War,” but Anthony and Joe Russo will replace Whedon as directors.  The Russos have helmed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which is one of the MCU’s best films, and will direct May 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” a storyline that is hinted in Whedon’s film.  Although Whedon will be missed, the Russos will surely make him proud when they bring the heroes back for their next battle.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” is the penultimate chapter in Phase Two of the MCU, with “Ant-Man” capping it off this July.  Until then, this sequel will surely appease your hunger for knowing where the Avengers are now and where they will go next.

Final grade: B+ 

As Technology Continues to Advance, Can a Human and Robot Ever Connect?

Alicia Vikander as Ava in "Ex Machina" 

One of the powers of science-fiction movies is that they can visualize how far technology can go.  These movies predict how we would use it and whether those uses will help us or hurt us.

In director Alex Garland’s sci-fi psychological drama, “Ex Machina,” he focuses on the topic of artificial intelligence and how disturbingly close we might be to having it become part of our reality.

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a young computer programmer who wins a weeklong trip to the mountain home/research facility of his reclusive boss, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac).  Nathan reveals to Caleb that he was brought to this home to be a part of an experiment to see if he and Nathan’s humanoid AI, Ava (Alicia Vikander), can form an emotional and romantic connection.  While their interactions start off innocently enough, Caleb soon learns that there is more to this experiment than Nathan is letting on.

As the protagonist, Domhnall Gleeson instantly strikes you as a loner, which perfectly fits with the middle-of-nowhere location where he spends the whole movie.  Gleeson’s character is someone who seems to have a bigger connection to technology than to actual people, and he calls to mind Joaquin Phoenix’s character from the 2013 film “Her.”  With Gleeson’s portrayal of Caleb, there are some questions that arise that we have to ask ourselves: Are we supposed to feel sorry for him that he can connect to a robot better than to a person?  Or, should we be happy for him that he has found someone that has both human-like and technological qualities that make Ava his ideal mate?  These are inquiries that will surely have you change your opinion of his character a few times.

Oscar Isaac provides his role with a mad-scientist quality, but not in the sense of having the disposition of a lunatic.  Instead, there’s an eerie calm about him that cloaks the unsettling and obsessive genius behind him.  Right from the beginning of the film, you know there’s something off-kilter in his character, and the more we learn about him, the more we begin to question if his contributions to science are helpful or harmful.  

Alicia Vikander projects a striking vulnerability and soft-spoken personality as Ava.  Being kept behind glass walls, she is like a high-tech zoo animal on display to be studied and tested on, but has human desires glowing in her eyes.  Vikander expertly has her vocal intonations and mannerisms teeter on the line between humanlike and robotic, all of which culminates in a haunting performance, especially because of how believably genuine Vikander brings out the “human” side to her character.

With Garland’s screenplay, you eventually start to think that its ending is going to be fairly obvious, but the story changes your expectations entirely for the final 15 minutes.  After your first viewing, you might even want to experience it again to see how the film wasn’t as deceptively simple as you might have thought earlier on when watching it.

Similar to Garland’s screenplay for the 2010 film “Never Let Me Go,” he works with a narrative that places a seemingly impossible romance within the backdrop of a questionable scientific breakthrough.  He encourages you to debate the possibility of such a relationship that is depicted in the film and how a humanoid with artificial intelligence would assimilate into today’s society.  Given how technologically advanced we are, would it even bother us?  Or, would we be troubled by it?   

Garland sets the film almost entirely within the walls of Nathan’s research facility, so this helps the viewer in feeling the sensation that Caleb has when being ensnared by this building.  We become highly familiar with his surroundings and constantly feel the entrapment and uncertainty that Caleb experiences throughout his stay with Nathan.  

For the film’s location, Garland constructs a clever juxtaposition between the technological world of Nathan’s lab with that of the outside world.  Beyond the lab, you have the surrounding natural environment where there isn’t any sign of technology, recalling a world before machines, but then you have the imprisoned Ava, a symbol of how far the world’s technology can advance.

Garland is known best for his screenplays in the sci-fi and horror genres, and in his directorial debut, he displays an ability to blend elements of these two genres and shows that he’s capable of handling these elements as a director every bit as well as he can as a writer.  With a small cast and confined setting, Garland employs highly effective use of these components and extracts everything he can from them, making “Ex Machina” a cautionary tale that’s not to be missed.

Final grade: A 

As a Target of Vengeance, This Road Crew is Ready with its Engines Revving

From left: Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, and Chris Bridges in "Furious 7"

You really have to hand it to the “Fast and the Furious” series for making it this far.  Who would have thought that the original film from 2001 would gain this much popularity and eventually reach a seventh installment?  I certainly didn’t.  When you think that these movies have already been coming out over a span of 14 years, it’s actually quite impressive.  

As the series goes on, you just have to embrace the fact that the car stunts are going to become more and more over-the-top, requesting that you accept these films for the fun ridiculousness that they are.

In director James Wan’s “Furious 7,” he continues the trend of the films one-upping each other in the high levels of enjoyable absurdity that this franchise can muster, thereby creating the most out-of-control and crazy installment to date.

Following the events of “Fast and Furious 6,” the villainous Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) is left in a coma after his confrontation with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), and their crew, prompting Owen’s assassin brother, Deckard (Jason Statham), to set out for revenge.  Before Dom and his group can take down Deckard, however, they are asked by a secret-ops leader (Kurt Russell) to obtain a computer-hacking program known as the God’s Eye and save its creator (Nathalie Emmanuel) from mercenary Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou).  If they accomplish this, Dom and his group will be allowed to use this coveted hacking tool to track down Deckard.  This will lead them on a globe-trotting mission that will prove to be more dangerous than anything they have dealt with before.

It goes without saying that you don’t go to these movies for the acting, and while the performances are passable, there isn’t much to them.  However, a positive you can say about the cast is that their chemistry is as strong as it was when this series first began.

Seeing as Jason Statham is one of today’s modern action-movie stars, I was hoping for there to be a little more to his antagonistic role.  I know this series doesn’t prioritize in writing layered characters, but I wish Statham had a little more included in his part.  Except for a couple of scenes where he has some dialogue, he usually just shows up on screen to continue his rampage against Dom and his crew, and then leaves until he’s ready to appear again.

The screenplay by Chris Morgan, who has written all of the films in this series since “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” mainly just has the crew going from location to location in order to set up the next big action sequence.  What you have to understand about the stories in this series is that the writers know that factors such as characters and decent narratives come second to the action scenes.  While that is something I’m normally against, this series has built its reputation on these sequences and acknowledges how unapologetically and gleefully preposterous it all is.

“Furious 7” marks the final film appearance by Paul Walker, after his passing in November 2013, and the movie does a moving tribute to him in the film’s final scene, one that really expresses the deep friendship between Walker and Diesel’s characters.  In a series that was never really required to have much emotion in its stories, this sequence adds a refreshingly good deal of it.

Although most of director Wan’s filmography has dealt heavily in the horror genre, he shows that he doesn’t have any problem handling an action film as big as this.  Wan fully delivers on the spectacle in the film’s three big set pieces, especially in the final showdown in Los Angeles, which actually manages to top the fun absurdity of the climactic runway scene in “Fast and Furious 6.”

At this point, it’s difficult to tell how many more entries in this franchise we’ll be getting.  The brotherly connection between Walker and Diesel is the center of these movies, and because “2 Fast 2 Furious” only had Walker and “Tokyo Drift” had neither of them (except for Diesel’s cameo at the end of the latter), those two installments ended up being my least favorites, so I’m not sure how an eighth film will fare without Walker.  Although it would be best to finish the series with “Furious 7,” the film’s ending sets up the franchise for another sequel, which is set for an April 2017 release.  At this point, I guess all we can do is wait and see where the series can go from here.

After this franchise brought the main group back together for the fourth installment, which was the first time that was done since the original, a lot of my excitement for these movies returned.  I’ve certainly been enjoying this series ever since, but I think it will very soon be time to put this franchise in park.

Final grade: B

Going Out on a Date, Returning with a Curse

Maika Monroe as Jay in "It Follows"

In terms of horror movies, we’re in a time where a well-made horror film can be difficult to come by, and most of the time, we have to resort to re-watching the classics if we want to get our share of horror that will stick in our brains and make us quiver.

In David Robert Mitchell’s “It Follows,” he brings a horror movie that does more than set out to scare us, but one that wants to have us talk about it with our friends long after it’s over.

One night, college student Jay (Maika Monroe) goes on a date with her new boyfriend, Hugh (Jake Weary).  After they drive to a deserted area of town and get intimate in his car, he knocks her out with chloroform.  When Jay wakes up tied to a chair, Hugh reveals that he passed on a curse to her, which will haunt her and kill her unless she finds someone to make love to and pass it to that person.  Jay soon recruits the help of her friends to find a way to defeat this mysterious curse.

Maika Monroe’s performance is one that effectively displays her character’s fear and courage concerning her dilemma.  She presents her character as a very innocent young woman in the film’s beginning, serenely relaxing in a pool and looking like she’s at ease with everything around her.  This makes us feel all the more sorry for her when she’s suddenly thrown into this strange and terrifying situation.  Similar to other female protagonists of classic horror movies, Monroe’s character is proactive in trying to defeat the evil that’s chasing her and becomes braver as she goes further into her task of fighting off the curse.

Michael Gioulakis’ cinematography makes great use of long takes, especially in the film’s very unsettling opening shot, where we follow a girl as she’s running from an unseen paranormal terror.  The use of long takes as they linger on their subjects gives the disquieting feeling of stalking the characters, similar to the curse itself.  In some instances, Gioulakis also employs 360-degree panning shots that give us the sensation that the terror can come from any direction.

The movie has a distinct ‘80s horror-movie feel, and the score by Disasterpeace certainly contributes to that.  The menacing and dreamlike score is certainly one of the most unsettling we’ll hear in any modern horror movie, and it adds considerably to the highly eerie atmosphere.

Although the screenplay by Mitchell has a premise that could strike people as a very B-movie plot, it’s handled with a great deal of cleverness as it takes the familiar horror-movie element of teen intimacy and adds an intelligent twist to it.  As we’re watching the film, it’s obvious what the curse is a symbol for, but we walk out of the movie with a couple of theories pertaining to the directions in which this symbol can go, and it’s bound to have viewers analyzing it, especially when it comes to the ending.

Mitchell applies some jump scares occasionally, but the film doesn’t lower itself to overusing them.  Instead, it relies on aspects such as camera movements, music, and mood, and he knows how to utilize these moviemaking tools to make us nervous with dread of what might happen next.  

With “It Follows,” he provides horror fans with a film that’s both enjoyably chilling and has the ability to open up a dialogue among viewers.  So, check out this film with your horror-fan friends and join in on the discussion.

Final grade: A-

A Robot with Feelings, a Film Without Much of Them

Chappie (Sharlto Copley) in "Chappie"

After only his first two movies, director Neill Blomkamp became a mixed bag for me.  I was immersed in the gritty world of his 2009 debut feature, “District 9,” which was then followed up with 2013’s misfire, “Elysium,” a film that became weighed down with its social messages, as well as by Jodie Foster’s bizarre choice of an accent, of which I’m still confused as to how Blomkamp allowed her to keep that up during filming.

He now brings us his third science-fiction action adventure, “Chappie.”  As with his last two films, he offers interesting ideas, but, just like with “Elysium,” presents them with a decreased effectiveness, another step down from his commendable first full-length film.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, Tetravaal is a weapons manufacturer whose latest success is the distribution of robotic police officers, which have proven helpful in reducing crime.  Inventor Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is praised for his work on the success, while Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is envious that his own law-enforcement robot, MOOSE, has had its funding cut.  Deon soon creates a prototype artificial intelligence that can feel emotions and plans to test it on a defunct robot officer (Sharlto Copley).  When Deon is kidnapped by a trio of gangsters (Watkin Tudor Jones, Yolandi Visser, and Jose Pablo Cantillo), they force him to program the robot to fight for them in order to help them steal money that they will use to pay back a local criminal for a job gone wrong.  Naming him “Chappie,” Deon and the three gangsters will soon experience the impact of this technological breakthrough, while Vincent will do what he can to bring it to a halt for his own gain.

The motion-capture performance by Sharlto Copley, who has collaborated with Blomkamp for all three of his films, is one of the only reasons to consider maybe watching this film.  The work he does as the titular character calls to mind the brilliant combinations of motion capture and voice acting from Andy Serkis, and Copley wonderfully communicates the emotions that his character is experiencing.  This is very evident in one scene where, as a method to help toughen him up, Jones and Cantillo’s characters drive Chappie to a rather empty section of Johannesburg and leave him there to fend for himself against a gang, and, despite being a robot, the pain he expresses is on a very human level.

Speaking of humans, the rest of the cast isn’t memorable at all, particularly Sigourney Weaver, who plays Tetravaal’s CEO, and Hugh Jackman, whose characters are both completely bereft of development.  Seeing superbly capable actors reduced to roles that are well below their talent is one of the film’s biggest flaws.  Jackman’s character, despite his threatening physique, comes off as a pathetic loser within the company, and Weaver’s role is just a depthless authority-figure role.  

Although Dev Patel does an okay job with his character, he needs another movie that can allow him to show the dramatic talent he displayed six years ago in “Slumdog Millionaire.”  

Then, there are South African rappers Watkin Tudor Jones and Yolandi Visser thrown into this, casting choices I still don’t entirely understand.  Sure, they have that urban aura about them, which is maybe why they were chosen to portray these gangster characters, but Blomkamp could have easily given these roles to actors who have experience in movies, rather than try to turn rappers into actors.

The screenplay by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, which is based on the former’s 2004 short film, “Tetra Vaal,” isn’t as thought-provoking as a film about artificial intelligence should be.  The fault of this goes to under-developed human characters and an uninteresting plot.  The only time I was somewhat invested in the story was in the last 10 minutes, but by then, it became too late for the movie to be saved. 

Given how his second and third films declined in quality after the wonderful “District 9,” I’m even more worried about him handling the next “Alien” sequel.  It’s probably too late to take the reins away from him now, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

At first, “Chappie” looked like it would be a worthwhile and emotional journey, but it just ends up running on a low battery.

Final grade: C-

After a Life of Crime, a British Youth Turns to Stopping Crime

Colin Firth (left) as Harry Hart and Taron Egerton (right) as Gary
"Eggsy" Unwin in "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

The spy sub-genre in film has enjoyed decades of popularity with movies, such as those of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Austin Powers.  Given how long this type of film has been succeeding in cinema, there isn’t any wonder as to why this sub-genre keeps on going.  Director Matthew Vaughn, having two superhero movies as his previous films, now gives us his own spy adventure with the outrageously fun “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”

Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) is a rebellious English teenager who spends his time committing petty crime.  When he’s arrested for stealing a car, he gets off the hook with the help of Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a member of the Kingsman secret service organization.  Having known Eggsy’s father and feeling responsible for his death during a mission years prior, he offers Eggsy the chance to be a candidate for the organization, in order to fill a spot for an agent who has been recently killed on the job.  Once in the training program, Eggsy will have to go up against a group of other candidates who are vying for the same position.

Meanwhile, billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) wants to stop global warming, but means to do so with dastardly and deadly methods.  It will soon be up to the Kingsman organization to foil Valentine before he can achieve his plans. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the character of Eggsy because I thought at first that he was going to be a purely comedic character.  Although he does have some humorous moments, his character also has some surprising dramatic depth, and Taron Egerton handles both sides of his character wonderfully.

One of the film's most entertaining aspects is Colin Firth's performance.  I never thought I would see him in a film such as this, especially after watching him in dramatically heavier films, like “The King's Speech” and “A Single Man.”  Seeing Firth involved in some of the film’s big action scenes puts him in a very fun and different light.

The screenplay by Jane Goldman and Vaughn, who both collaborated as writers for the latter's last two films, comes to us from the pages of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons' comic-book series, "The Secret Service."  We get to know the characters and see the training of the Kingsman candidates during the first two thirds of the film, and then we have the mission to stop Valentine taking place during the final third.  The film doesn’t rush us into seeing Eggsy saving the world, but rather takes its time to develop his character as we watch him change his life around.  The training portion allows us to see the growth of Eggsy’s character as he goes from a street thug to a respectful agent.  Having most of the film focus on Eggsy’s training and how he becomes an agent has us see a full transformation of his character, and we’re then able to become more invested in his journey when he finally sets out to bring down Valentine.

Director Vaughn has experience with comic-book movies, having directed “X-Men: First Class” and “Kick-Ass.”  He equips his latest movie with many intricately and dazzlingly choreographed action scenes, similar to what we saw in “Kick-Ass,” and these sequences also call to mind the frenetic action in the films of Edgar Wright, such as his “Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy and his 2010 film, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.”  Regarding the action scenes, there are some standouts, particularly a massive brawl at a Kentucky hate-group church and an exhilarating and tense skydiving scene during the training portion.  All of these are filmed with George Richmond’s energetic cinematography, which adds true visual vigor to these scenes.  

Although the film’s running time could have been cut down a little bit, the amount of liveliness that Vaughn injects into the film is so high that this minor flaw is easily forgivable.  

In what is shaping up to be an uncontrollably entertaining year at the movies, 2015 is already fulfilling that goal with “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”  This could be the most fun you have at the cinema until the summer movie season arrives, so do yourself a service and go on this wildly enjoyable mission.

Final grade: A-