The trailer for this film made it look like it was going to be very funny so I went with my usual group of friends to see it.
The film started off in the manner I expected, at least until someone was chopped in half. Then it went back to the silly gentleman spy movie I was expecting for the most part (there was quite a bit of swearing but not masses). I laughed a fair bit and was generally entertained. The film really didn’t take itself seriously and there was even some funny product placement.
This is sort of when the film took a turn I hadn’t quite expected. Colin Firth walked into a church, the bad guy trialled his destruction machine. Then there was a scene filled with violence and mayhem that might have been watchable had it cut away sooner or been a little less obvious with the sick violence of it as well as about a tenth of the length. By the time I was a third of the way through the scene I wasn’t really watching anymore and was hoping it would stop, by the time I was two-thirds through the scene I was sitting in disbelief and starting to motion to my friends that I wasn’t comfortable. As it was we were starting to discuss leaving when it finally stopped.
We honestly hoped this was a one off and would go back to the gentleman spy spoof the trailer made us expect, but it wasn’t entirely and there were a few more distasteful scenes later as well, although they tried to make the gross violence funny. I actually wish I had left and never finished it, or even better, never bothered to see it, and I think there’s only about five films I’ve ever watched I wish I’d never seen.
It felt a lot like the film was going for the cheap shock of violence and gross fights to surprise the audience because the makers couldn’t be bothered to do so with the story and characters instead. And given who was involved in making it (something I didn’t realise until after) I’m not that surprised. They’re other films have the same feel.
In short I don’t recommend anyone seeing this, it was quite simply, disgusting.