Spy X Family Season 2: Overview

Summary

A spy, an assassin and a telepath pretend to be a happy family this time with added cruises.

I think this second season is even better than the first, in many senses the series really hits its stride here and gets into what you want to see from it.

The world building on display is solid and we get to find out a lot more about the lives of the characters we met in the first season and though there isn’t as much high stakes action as in the first season I think the character work here is stronger and that makes up for it. Also Yor’s fights on the boat more than match any of the action scenes we got in the first season.

The family boat trip is easily the best part of the entire second season, not only do the a and b storylines work really well together, it feels like an epic event as it spills out over so many episodes, and the final of the mini arc where they get to enjoy a nice family day out at the island is one of the most wholesome things I have seen on tv in a long time.

Overall, a fantastic follow up season with my only real complaint being that it is a lot shorter but hey at least we are getting a film fairly soon.

4.5/5

Pros

It is wholesome

It ups everything that worked from the first season

It has great action

The boat mini arc is my favourite so far

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

It is too short

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Argylle: The Matthew Vaughn Formula Has Gone Bad

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A best selling novelist, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, finds herself at the centre of a spy mystery.

I like Matthew Vaughn, his style, even his second Kingsman film, but I didn’t like this.

I had two major issues with the film. Firstly, I thought it felt tame, the violence was bloodless and secondly I thought the twist was incredibly obvious. I think for me the worst moment of the film was the big final battle at the end when rather than having a bloody shootout which is what you want out of an action film you have instead bright colours and smoke and they are dancing and shooting and you just go who is this for? Meanwhile the twist that Bryce Dallas Howard is in fact agent Argyll was so on the nose that you could have guessed it blind without having ever seen the trailer.

My pros of the film come with the fact that the cast is good and likeable and you do like the characters even if the story itself is played out and repetitive. I think Bryce Dallas Howard did a good job leading the film and that Sam Rockwell and Henry Cavill where good in their supporting roles.

Overall, this film deeply misunderstood its audience its all very well doing a spy spoof film but people still want to see bloody gory violence and not a colourful dance number.

2.5/5

Pros.

Howard

The wider supporting cast

It is very watchable

Cons.

The mystery is obvious

It has been done better before

It feels incredibly tame

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Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One: It Is The Hobbit All Over Again

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, is back for another go around the sun.

This was disappointing, not majorly hence the score but I just thought it could have been so much more. I think the decision to split the film into two parts was a bad idea and led to this one being far too light. What I mean by that is that if this was a tighter narrative and crucially one film then a lot of what happened would have been much quicker and less drawn out. As it stands there are scenes like the one set in an airport for example, that first introduces us to Hayley Atwell’s character, that just drag on. To be tighter and better these scenes could have been cut in half.

Moreover, whilst I liked the plot of the film and the idea of them facing off against a rogue AI and people from Hunt’s past I thought that the decision to overlook a lot of the franchise’s recurring character’s in favour of Hayley Atwell’s newcomer was a poor decision. Don’t get me wrong Atwell’s new character was fine, but we barely got to see any scenes with Hunt and his side men or find out really what had been going on with them between films. I think the biggest missed opportunity on this front was Ilsa, played by Rebecca Ferguson. We do get some insight into what she had been doing and she is in a sense pivotal to the plot, but I just feel like we barely get any time with her before she is killed off, this very act cost the film a point form me because within the last two films she had been the most interesting character so to see her die midway into the big two part finale was a bad decision.

The action was good and what you would expect, the stunts I would say were a little lacklustre when compared to the previous films in the franchise but again they had written themselves into a corner, there are only so many things they can feasibly do and there has been a lot of these films at this point.

Overall, it sets an interesting tone for going into what I assume to be the final film, however by ignoring its side characters and out and out killing Ilsa the film left me disappointed.

3/5

Pros.

The action

It is serviceable

The plot has a few interesting dimensions and sets up for an interesting finale

Cons.

Ilsa

The pacing is awful

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Assassin Club: Give Noomi Rapace More Action Roles Please

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An assassin, played by Henry Golding, must kill his fellow assassins before they kill him.

The premise is very worn, many films have been there before and this one doesn’t change it at all, who know right where it is going and every twist and turn is completely guessable.

However, the enjoyment of this film comes from its surprisingly good performances. Noomi Rapace steals the show as her unhinged villain Falk, but the real power of her performance comes from how well and distinguished Rapace plays both Falk and her day time persona of a government agent. The duality in her performance is palpable, and you really do feel as though she is playing two different characters. Moreover, Daniela Melchior is also a very welcome addition to the cast. After impressing in The Suicide Squad a few years back I like what she did with the role here, and think that she elevated it beyond simply being the girlfriend in distress. Golding of course was a capable leading man, but I would say that Rapace acted circles around him at every turn.

Another thing to give this film credit for is it’s fight scenes. Though at times they were a little choppy the fight scenes were well done throughout and some of them felt really quite intense and bone breaking which is nice when thinking about the sea of mediocre fight scenes that exist within the action genre.

Overall, don’t watch this for something new because it isn’t . Instead it takes the familiar and repackages it in a fairly enjoyable way with good performances and strong action. Not a must see.

3/5

Pros.

Solid action

Rapace

Melchior

Cons.

Familiar

Easily guessable

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Operation Fortune Ruse De Guerre: The Incredibly Eccentric World Of International Espionage

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Guy Ritchie teams up with Jason Statham yet again, this time to tell a spy story.

I had been looking forward to this film for so long, but with the delays I was beginning to question if I was ever going to see this film and now that I have I can say it was mostly worth the wait.

The main thing I enjoyed about this film was its sense of humour. This film can and does at times have an incredibly eccentric sense of humour, some of the lines of dialogue feel like improv on top of improv but in a good way. The spy story being told is strange enough that the fact that Statham’s character needs a private plane and certain vintages of wine to calm down seem to fit within this world well.

Moreover, the supporting cast are excellent. Hugh Grant, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone and Aubrey Plaza each have their moment to shine and come together to really make this film something special. I would say the character I liked the most was Plaza’s Fidel mainly because she had a lot of the funniest lines and was the most entertaining to watch.

My two issues with the film, which admittedly are each fairly small, are that having Ukrainians be the baddy in the current climate is a bad look, they should have changed that in reshoots, and also that the pacing of the film is atrocious, it feels like it is on for double its runtime and though most of the time is fun to watch I still wouldn’t want to watch 4 hours of it.

Overall, fun but with terrible pacing.

4/5

Pros.

Plaza

Statham

The eccentricity

It is fun

Cons.

Framing Ukrainians as the villain in the current year is a bad look

The pace

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True Lies: Abducting Your Wife And Forcing Her To Almost Cheat As You Think She Is Cheating On You

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A husband, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, become tied up in the spy game.

An Arnold Schwarzenegger action film whilst he was still roughly in his prime is an inherently appealing prospect, however, this film feels deeply rooted in the Nineties and I don’t mean that in a good way. In many senses a lot of the cliches and toxic ideas of the decade do bleed through, the way Schwarzenegger’s character treats his wife is incredibly dated and borderline sociopathic yet the film wants us to think it is okay and justified.

The action of the film is fun in an over the top extremely macho sort of way, Schwarzenegger can break men’s necks with just a quick snap of the neck no struggle at all. Though I would say that the poor CGI does mean that some of these action sequences age poorly and come off looking like an early video game.

In terms of performance Schwarzenegger seems to be having a lot of fun, but Jamie Lee Curtis is incredibly one note and plays the bored yet still loyal housewife cliché, her character lacks any kind of depth.

Overall, fun but incredibly dated.

3/5

Pros.

Schwarzenegger

The over the top action

It is unintentionally hilarious

Cons.

Curtis

Incredibly dated

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Ava: A Movie We Have All Seen About 5 Times Before

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jessica Chastain plays yet another cold emotionless spy, but this time she is a girl boss. Oh we have seen this before from Chastain and just like her ill-fated venture with Simon Kinberg this too is a mess.

The clear feminist girl power vibes here couldn’t be any more striking it they reached through the screen and physically hit you in the face, there is nothing wrong with that but I do wish that this film and Chastain’s other feminist themed action films at least had something interesting and new to say.

Moreover, though no one can doubt that Chastain has action hero prowess, her performance here and in her other action roles feels just a little bit too try hardy and as though she is trying to prove something. We all know her credentials so she needs to have more of that laidback self-assured confidence that a lot of other action hero actors bring to their roles.

The plot is fairly uninspired, you have seen it before and the twists and turns are incredibly obvious from the outset. Chastain does a little to elevate the incredibly trite material but even then it can’t be saved, which is a shame as a lot of talented actors had their times wasted making this.

Overall, flawed and not really salvageable.

Pros.

Chastain is trying

A few well done action sequences

Cons.

Chastain is trying too hard

It has nothing new to say from a feminist/ gender studies perspective

It is bored and played out from the beginning

The pacing is awful

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The 355: Men Are Bad And Simon Kinberg Is A Hack

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of female spies must come together to get a McGuffin and beat up some men folk.

Until the final ten minutes this film is below average but passably watchable if you have nothing better to do, and then the lecture starts and the film drops down even further. When I say a lecture I am referring to Jessica Chastain’s Mace going on a long ambling rant to the camera about how men use woman, but how times are changing and how they are going to fight back, a message that feels both overtly hostile to a large portion of the target audience for this film as well as one that feels far too late. However, this isn’t the only questionable thing this film does in regard to gender as it also has all of the villains in the film be men, and those that aren’t get killed off, once again a not so subtle message and one that won’t score this film any points at all.

If all that isn’t enough to make you dislike this film it then also sneaks in a bit of sucking up to the Chinese regime, in order to open in China of course. There is a scene in the film when this all powerful McGuffin needs to be handed over to someone who will keep it safe and out of nefarious hands, so Mace gives it to a Chinese agent…….. Really? Was this some sort of meta joke?…….. Really?

I also think Jessica Chastain is deeply miscast here. Unlike the rest of the ensemble who actually do a good job Chastain sticks out for all the wrong reasons. In many ways her character reads like how America sees itself around the world dominant and in charge, but to everyone else entitled, self-involved and driven more by their own ego than what they should find right and wrong. Chastain’s character was honestly charmless and is probably the thing that sinks this film.

The other minor issues with this film are that it is terribly paced and becomes boring somewhere around the end of act I, furthermore the plot about scary internet hacking devices screams of being written by someone who doesn’t understand the internet or know anything about it.

Overall, this film is trash and you should avoid it at all costs.

Pros.

Cruz, Nyong’o, Kruger

Cons.

Evil men/ forcing its agenda down your throats

Pandering to China

Chastain

The pacing/ fear of the internet

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The King’s Man: France As A Country Just Doesn’t Exist I Guess

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A prequel to the Kingsman films set during the First World War.

Going into this I had heard mixed things, and after seeing it I come to you with mixed tidings. The film does somethings right it is by no means a bad film, but it also has several major issues that stop it from truly excelling.

Firstly the good. I liked the films anti-war stance showing the needlessness of the slaughter and how to die for one’s country is not noble or heroic but rather tragic and needless. I thought as far as social messages go it was very well delivered and important.

Moreover, the new characters here all work well, Colin Firth and the rest of the gang don’t make any sort of time travel like cameos here so we are given a fresh cast, of which Ralph Fiennes is the standout as a grieving and over protective father who has turned to outward passivism to protect his family from the world.

I also thought the comedy mostly worked, the jokes often made me chuckle, there was nothing side splittingly funny but I enjoyed it for the most part. However, the one noticeable exception to that rules comes with Rhys Ifans Rasputin who relies mostly on physical and gross out comedy for his comedic moments, these come across as unpleasant to watch and if anything succeed too well in grossing you out.

Continuing with the negative, the Rasputin sequence is far too dragged out and lasts for a good half of the film, you will be surprised to learn he is not the big bad of the film despite how prominently the film features him. As you might assume the film suffers from a terrible pace and long outstays its welcome.

Finally, two smaller nit picks that bothered me about the film. France is never mentioned in the film despite having a large role in World War I, which if I were French I might find insulting, why they decide to leave the French out is beyond me. Furthermore, I also dislike how the sequence is done after the death of Fiennes’ characters son, played by Harris Dickson, he moves on far too quickly for the scene to mean anything and it quickly loses any emotional impact it could have had.

Overall, better than some have made out but not quite good either.

Pros.

Fiennes

The anti-war stance

The comedy for the most part

Cons.

The pacing

The gross out humour

Leaving out France and not giving the character adequate time to morn.

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No Time To Die: The Ending Bond Deserves

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

-There are spoilers within so don’t read this until after the film.

Summary

James Bond has to come out of retirement to fight a new threat that is far closer to those he loves than he realises.

-HUGE SPOILERS

I can’t believe they did it. They actually did it. For months I have been reporting that this film would kill off Bond and for months people said I didn’t know what I was talking about. Looks like I was right. Yes, Bond is blown up whilst poisoned and severely wounded, there is no way he is shaking that off. I am impressed by the creatives for doing this, as it does bring the Bond franchise to a close but in a very meaningful and poignant way. I really do hope going forward the universe focuses on the other OOs rather than bringing back Bond from the dead; if they do that this becomes a much worse film.

I have never been a huge Bond fan, this and Skyfall were the only two of Craig’s tenure that I thought were good. I thought the emotional maturity of this film was a refreshing touch, Bond is flawed, he makes mistakes, he looks to others for approval, rather than just walking into the room and having everyone thinking he is great and then throwing themselves at him. In that regard I thought the humour in this film really landed for me, there were a number of good jokes that made me chuckle over the course of the film’s runtime and I appreciated that.

My criticism of the film would be that it is very long, and as a result has pacing issues. There is a lot to get through with this film and a lot of it is very dark and that creates a heaviness which makes the film hard to get through. I would say more comedy might have helped in this regard, or obviously shortening the length.

Overall, a good swan song for an aging franchise, please don’t bring Bond back.

Pros.

The humour

The ending

The emotional maturity

Craig

Cons.

Pacing issues galore

Rami Malek’s villain needed more development

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