Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
As a sequel is due out in September, I thought I’d revisit Kingsman: The Secret Service. Contrary to the movies titles and the implied homage seen in the various trailers, the film is not as clichéd as the genre it's set in. Nor does it draw too heavily from its graphic novel source material. As with Kick Ass director Matthew Vaughn has managed to smooth over the rough edges of this films antecedents and create a rather unique, stylised and extremely entertaining hybrid. It is a somewhat niche market undertaking and won't appeal to all audiences but if you like all out action, knowing satire and a liberal dose of gallows humour then this movie is most likely for you.
The Secret Service (1968)
The Secret Service is somewhat of an enigma, being the last Supermarionation show that Gerry Anderson produced. It was poorly received not only by critics but also by its own financier, Sir Lew Grade and was therefore given a limited broadcast upon its initial release. However, it marked the end of an era for Century 21 productions as they turned their creative attentions to film and live action TV after a decade of puppets shows. Subsequently, The Secret Service fell into obscurity over the following years and never gained the same degree of attention from the public, as previous Supermarionation shows had.