The origins of an independent spy agency, set against the Great War. Messy and inconsistent prequel, showcasing series strengths (brio, some startling moments) and weaknesses (tonal awkwardness) in equal measure. A freewheeling approach to both history and emotion throughout render this flashy, but empty.
Here’s the trailer.
A retired Bond combats the threat of a stolen bioweapon. Last of the Craig-era pics, this is the Avengers: Endgame of Bond flicks, rounding out a loose five-film arc. Less successful as a stand-alone movie, but it tries something different, Craig and a guesting Ana de Armas are both great, and there’s neat moments aplenty among the bombast and soapy stuff.
Here’s the trailer.
A young programmer teams up with an elite security agency to retrieve a valuable energy device. OK series continuation that does precisely what you’d expect with no surprises whatsoever. Passable while it’s on; its best jokes are in the end credits, though.
A cockney youth is inducted into an elite British secret agency. Confident spy comedy from the graphic novel series, both spoofing and celebrating Bond and The Avengers in equal measure. Stylised and violent; not for everyone in its laddish glee. A sequel, expanding the universe, soon followed.
A veteran spy on his last day at the CIA works to protect a compromised asset. Slick and confident thriller balancing office politics, espionage and action moments. An entertainment in the sense of the kind of film Graham Greene might have directed in the 2000s.
A Russian ballerina is recruited by her uncle into an elite spy training programme. Good-looking but deathly slow melodrama which pretends the Cold War is ongoing. Plenty of solid character actors with silly accents in European cities doing double-crosses.
Kingsmen join with their American equivalent to battle a virus-wielding drug lord. Gleeful but over-stuffed, overlong and indulgent sequel, magnifying the first film‘s good points and its issues. Some fun to be had, tho, and Mark Strong gets a crowning moment of awesome.
A mild-mannered accountant teams up with a spy on the eve of their school reunion. Patchy action comedy, veering between sentimentality, shoot-em-up scenes, and improvised moments.
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