Belle: What a delightful movie! While there were some pacing issues I really enjoyed it overall, what about you?

Ron: I had a grand time watching this movie; there were some twists I saw coming and a fair amount that I did not. I don’t think they were trying to be M. Night level ‘Ohhh, what a twist!’ but the twists that happened were really well done. I can see where you were saying it dragged a bit but for the most part it was pretty tight. At no point was I checking my watch to see what time it was, which is a big deal for me.

Belle: Yes! I was fully invested from the first scene.

Ron: At one point I realized I had stopped eating my popcorn because I was so focused on what was happening on screen. Honestly, my biggest issue was one of the final scenes. Without spoiling things there’s an amazing set piece that happens. However, because of that they get rid of a very interesting thing that I would’ve liked to know more about and also create a huge environmental disaster.

Belle: I hadn’t thought about that but yeah, you’re right and I wish they’d come up with a slightly different way to make that happen. Hell, even talking about that is almost a spoiler and I don’t want to spoil this film for anyone so let’s give a basic summary so we can talk about the performances: Elly Conway is a novelist who specializes in extremely well researched spy fiction. Think Tom King or Ian Fleming; however because everything she writes is so well  researched and accurate the wrong people start to think that, like the above mentioned writers, she actually is a spy and that brings all kinds of trouble to her and her beleaguered parents’ doorstep.

Ron: The movie is bright and colorful. The action never feels forced, comedy never feels out of place and the moments of genuine tension and pathos never feel artificially created. 

Belle: Oh, the tension. There’s at least one moment where I thought a character I had come to love was going to die. Not just die, but die bloody and in a way that was going to traumatize the rest of the good guys so badly they would not recover. The fact that I had genuine fear is a testament to how well the film was written.


Belle: Let’s talk about performances! This is such a departure from what Bryce Dallas Howard is known for. Not for what she’s known to direct, because if folx have been paying attention, some of the funniest and most action packed Star Wars series episodes have been directed by her. She has a great sense of humor and it shows, she’s a fantastic director but acting wise this is a huge shift for her and she’s freaking phenomenal in this role.

Ron: Going into this I didn’t know much about the film. I knew Bryan Cranston, Samuel L Jackson, Henry Cavill and John Cena were in it, so I was already in. I didn’t know she was in it! Because I knew we were invited to see it I didn’t even watch trailers or commercials for it so I had no clue. I spent the first 30 minutes going, ‘Who the hell is this lady? I know I know her, she’s awesome!’ before it clicked. I thought she was great and I thought her character growth throughout the film was phenomenal.

Belle: Yes, she has to do a lot of work in this film. A lot of heavy lifting. Her character is very complex and layered: she’s funny; she’s traumatized; she’s wildly confident in her abilities as a writer and she should be. When she’s talking about her work she’s a full on baddie but outside of that she’s socially awkward and emotionally stunted. The fact we get all of that from her is one of my favorite things about the film. It’s a testament to Jason Fuchs’ writing.  As a performer this is a dream role and Howard delivers.

Ron: It’s a spy movie. One of the tropes of that genre is you never know at any given time if the person you’re watching is the real version of that person. Every spy in this movie does a great job of switching personas, sometimes within moments, while still being true to who they are at their core. As an improv performer, when you’re playing a game that requires a lot of style/character changes within the game, I know how easy it is to get stuck in a character. To watch all of these actors do it so seamlessly, knowing how hard that is, was amazing. Now granted the cast is stacked but still it was great seeing them all do the damn thing.

Belle: One of the other things I really, really liked? Was the various, realistic, body types shown in this film. It shouldn’t be so unusual and yet, seeing people who have achievable, normal bodies, being absolute nightmares to fight against in the same way the obvious people like Cavill and Cena were was so refreshing. Sam Rockwell is a whirling dervish of murder in this film and it’s believable and I love it. The fact that every so often he’s like, ‘I cannot keep doing this’ as his back and joints crack in protest of whatever hell he’s just unleashed is both funny as hell and realistic.

Ron: Yeah, I really loved that Sam Rockewell looked like a normal person. He’s never been dumpy or lumpy but he is a dancer and he’s always been rangy and light so a: seeing that he didn’t bulk up for this and b: that he looked like a very in shape but still middle aged man was refreshing.
Belle: So many people were playing against type in this film. Not just against what we know of them as actors but also different from the type they’ve played in previous Matthew Vaughn films.

Ron: Cena and DeBose were fantastic and seeing them play the very specific characters they play opposite Henry Cavill, who is basically the giant goofball we know he is in real life was a treat. 

Belle: It really was, also shout out to Catherine O’Hara as Elly’s poor mom! She was clearly having the time of her life, as was everyone else, but that woman goes through it. Also, I really liked Dua Lipa’s character and, of course, Bryan Cranston and Samuel L. Jackson were the bosses we expect of them.

Ron: My biggest nitpick: We should, in no way, encourage Jheri Curls to come back, people! Unacceptable! Leave the soul glow in 1986! On another note, I would like to thank Matthew Vaughn and Jason Fuchs for redeeming the name Alfie after Michael Caine ruined it in the 60s. Every Alfie in this film friggin’ rocks!

Belle:  It’s so fun! The fact that the first thing you said to me after watching it was, ‘You have to bring your mom to see this movie!’ is all anyone needs to know, to be honest. It was very much a self-contained film but if this becomes a franchise? I wouldn’t mind it.


Belle and Ron’s final verdict: 4.5 Cat Carriers out of 5

Thank you to Allied Marketing, Universal Pictures and Apple+ for the advanced screening.
P.S. Stay for the stinger. It’s worth it!