So how about it? Reviewing two films in one review. I do
like a challenge.
Ex Machina vs Kingsman. Sci-fi vs action. Where do I
start?
Well I do like top trumps so let’s start there.
|
|
Ex
Machina
|
Kingsman
|
|
Style
|
4
|
4.5
|
|
Storyline
|
4
|
4
|
|
Acting
|
4
|
3.5
|
|
Entertainment
value
|
3
|
5
|
|
Special
Effects
|
4.5
|
4.5
|
Ex-Machina starts out like we are going on an adventure.
And it is exciting. We feel we are making a great discovery. The inventor, Nathan
seems to have a bit of a drink problem but has also made the most interesting
invention of all time. An AI. Caleb is lucky enough to have been chosen from
Nathan’s vast empire of workers. He is here to see if he can tell if the AI can
think alone. For me, someone who has
studied psychology, I found this interaction fascinating. Who wouldn’t want to
try this? Test out an AI? I would be volunteering and first in line.
But I do have problems with this film. Firstly how much
Nathan drinks. I don’t believe anyone would choose to keep getting that wasted.
And he is sleeping with what turns out to be an earlier version of an AI. Tell me, if you are a man, making an AI and
there are no limits, would you not make a woman who had ‘Lara Croft’ sized
breasts? Be honest. Yes you would. I
felt this film had some good special effects but the women kept showing a huge
amount of nudity that didn’t really make any difference to the storyline.
The ending left me questioning what happened to Caleb? Is
he alive? Could he get to food? Would he slowly starve? How long could Ava (the
AI) survive without being identified in the real world?
So I left that cinema feeling frustrated and a bit
disappointed.
Kingsman. A modern day James Bond film? The film opened
to Dire Straits’ ‘money for nothing’ which really worked with the action
scene. It is a great action scene and
really tells us the story of what the Kingman are without needing to know too
much.
Eggsy’s dad used to be a Kingman but saved his colleagues
by sacrificing his own life. When Eggsy gets into trouble he uses his get out of jail free card and
meets Harry (played by Colin Firth) who is every bit a Kingsman. So you can tell where this is going. It has a
feel of ‘Men in Black’ about it but I still enjoyed the journey.
Every James Bond character needs its Blofeld baddie and
this is no exception. Samuel L Jackson gives a great performance with a lisp in
his character, Valentine. His number two
is called Gazelle. Not only by name but actually she has a disability and has
legs like Oscar Pistorius. Except her legs have swords on them and can easily
cut a man in two.
The film keeps a good pace and is really enjoyable – I like
the idea that Valentine is giving out free sim cards for free calls and
internet forever. I would never fall for a free card but many would. And of
course Valentine is the baddie; his idea to save the world is to cull the
amount of people. The cards can trigger a violent button in humans that makes
them all want to kill each other.
Spoiler Alert: How can they kill Harry? Could they not
afford to keep on Colin Firth for a whole film? It is such a shame.
I also wasn’t very impressed that Eggsy, who has a common
London accent, puts on a suit and suddenly speaks the Queen’s English!
But there are some great learning tips. Want to sleep
with a princess? Just let her out of a prison cell. (Yes James Bond has
probably done this) but then she ups the ante.
Save the world and you get to give it to me up the bum! Okay I am
paraphrasing, but you know he is gonna save the world! Not sure James Bond did
that!
Both films are great in their own unique way but for pure
entertainment I would say Kingsman wins by a tinsy bit.
Go and see both films. They are both worth your money.
And I’m off to Saville row just to see if the Kingsman
tailor really exists.
