Solo at the Movies: "Kingsman" at AMC Dine-In

Theater Info:

AMC Dine-In Theater Marina 6

13455 Maxella Ave, Marina Del Rey

Cost: $12.79 for an 12 p.m. matinee showing

Movie Stats:

Released 2014 (USA)*

British, in English (some Swedish, both translated and not, and some Arabic that I can’t remember if it was translated or not)

Director - Matthew Vaughn

Stars - Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Taron Egerton

Plot Summary:

British Secret Service agent Harry “Galahad” Hart (Firth), and his protege “Eggsy” Unwin (Egerton), take on American billionaire Valentine (Jackson), who is bent on causing worldwide destruction.

Warnings:

Blue language; extreme violence; brief female nudity (butt only); very explicit reference to sexy times, although no actual sexy times.

Bad Stuff:

The references to sex toward the end were very jarring. There’s not the barest mention of sex nearly the whole film, not even a minor love story, and then, bam, out of nowhere they’re talking about [SPOILER] doing anal [SPOILER] and I’m like, “Where the heck did that come from?” I don’t mind sex in movies, but it felt so out of place in relation to the rest of the film that it actually made me uncomfortable.

I thought it was weird that the movie singled out Obama (although they never say it’s him, it’s clearly meant to be him) as the only world leader shown to be shady. It’s certainly implied that other leaders are, but the way that it was done made me feel like someone involved in the film has a beef with him, which, once again, felt out of place and also, in my opinion, inappropriate in a movie like this. (As I’m typing this, I’ve come up with a theory about it. You can ask me in the comments if you want to know.)

Good Stuff:

All of the acting is great. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Firth do a bad job, but he seemed like he really enjoyed himself making this, and it was nice to see him play an action hero. Jackson was definitely out of type, playing a total goofball, which was funny and he was good at it.  Egerton was the breakout star though. I was very impressed with his accent work, especially after discovering that he’s Welsh.

It was surprisingly deep, posing a lot of interesting questions about wealth, class, and right-to-life, but not in a way that felt preachy.

It was so much fun!

The Verdict:

The thing that surprised me the most about it is how violent it is. I’ve seen plenty of violent films, but for some reason I just wasn’t expecting this high level of violence for this particular film. It made a lot more sense later, after I discovered that Vaughn also directed “Kick-Ass” (It was a definite “Ohhhhh!” moment). At any rate, I wouldn’t say it was off-putting for me, just surprising. Regardless, I enjoyed the heck out of it. It was way more fun than any Bond movie I’ve ever slogged through. Loved all the actors, loved the story line, loved the action, loved how clever it was. The only thing I didn’t love was the ending.

I give it 4 stars.

About AMC Dine-In Theater Marina 6:

I like this movie house. Located inside Villa Marina (a shopping complex), the parking is plentiful and free. The service is okay. The seats are comfortable (and they recline). I went once before and may or may not have gotten a touch of food poisoning from my meal. This time, I had a burger and it was great (I can hear Samuel L. Jackson in my head saying, “Mmmm, that IS a tasty burger!”). Of course, because it’s a dine-in theater, the tickets are expensive, but I feel that the food is fairly priced. I’ve spent nearly as much on just popcorn and a soda before, so getting a burger and fries for that price instead is great by me. I would definitely go back, although probably for a date night rather than alone. 

*According to IMDB, this movie was first released in 2014 at the U.S.'s Butt-Numb-a-Thon festival, which was a detail too hilarious for me to not mention in my review. However, its worldwide release was in 2015.