CRIME 101 : Wednesday 18th February 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'CRIME 101' this week, and this UK and US Co-Produced crime thriller film is Written for the screen and Directed by Bart Layton whose previous film credits take in the 2012 documentary 'The Imposter' and 2018's 'American Animals'. This film is based on the 2020 novella of the same name written by Don Winslow. The film premiered in London at the back end of last month, was released here in Australia and the US last week, has so far grossed US$30M from a production budget of US$90M and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

Set in Los Angeles, Mike Davis (Chris Hensworth) is an elusive and meticulously disciplined jewel thief who carefully plans his robberies to avoid violence, and leaving any signs of his DNA evidence while escaping via US Route 101 (a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the USA). Intercepting a diamond delivery carrying decoy gems, he steals US$3M in genuine diamonds, but is shaken after being grazed by an unexpected bullet fired by one of the men he is stealing from. As a result of being somewhat rattled, he calls off a planned robbery on a high end jewellery store in Santa Barbara, but his fence, Money (Nick Nolte), enlists volatile young biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) in his place.

Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) links the diamond theft to Mike's string of unsolved robberies and suggests a lone suspect is responsible, but his theory is dismissed by his partner Tillman (Corey Hawkins) and his superiors. Preparing another heist, Mike pays Devon (Devon Bostick), a hacker, for information on Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry), a high-end insurance broker to the super wealthy. Long undervalued by her firm with whom she has worked for eleven years and has been promised a promotion to Partner, which never seems to eventuate, Sharon is further frustrated when a new colleague closes a lucrative deal with the wealthy Steven Monroe (Tate Donovan). After Ormon violently carries out the Santa Barbara job on his own, Mike cuts ties with Money, who instructs Ormon to intercept Mike's next heist.

The lonely Mike strikes up a relationship with an attractive stranger, Maya (Monica Barbaro), after she rear-ends his car, while he had stopped at a red light. He realises he is being tracked by Ormon, who threatens Devon into revealing that Sharon is connected to Mike's plan. Sharon rejects Mike's attempt to recruit her as an accomplice, and Mike spots Ormon, confronting him in a 24/7 convenience store after a high-speed chase; realising he had been sent by Money, Mike warns Ormon to stay away. Separating from his unfaithful wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Lou finds himself joining Sharon's yoga class in an attempt to get fit, and just to try something new, and rents a new apartment by the beach. He discovers the car Mike used in the diamond robbery, and a microscopic trace of blood inside which is a match to Mike's juvenile record with his birth name, James.

Denied a promotion once more, Sharon reluctantly agrees to help Mike. Demanding a US$3M share, she provides inside information on an illicit diamond purchase Monroe has arranged to make with US$11M in cash, for his upcoming wedding at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Lou is suspended for refusing to help cover up the Police shooting of another jewel thief, but continues with his investigation and tracks down Mike's foster mother. Ormon breaks into Sharon's apartment and viciously interrogates her, who turns to Lou for help and admits everything, and quits her job after openly criticising her boss in front of the new female broker. Wary of Mike's secretive nature, Maya ends their relationship after he reveals he will be leaving town for an undisclosed period of time on business, as a 'software developer'.

The briefcase of diamonds arrives with a courier and Mike takes the place of Monroe's private security guard, completely unaware that Lou is posing as the courier himself. Driving to the hotel, the pair strike up a conversation about cars. Mike admits that he prefers the older American cars of the '60's and '70's, cars with character stating that his favourite films is Steve McQueen's 'Bullitt' and his Ford Mustang. Lou confides that his favourite McQueen movie is 'The Thomas Crown Affair', to which Mike replies that he missed that one. Arriving at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel the two of them deliver the briefcase to Monroe and his fiancee in the wedding suite. Mike seizes the cash at gunpoint, but Lou retrieves a concealed gun in the briefcase and reveals himself as a Police Officer. Their standoff is interrupted by Ormon, disguised as a hotel Butler delivering room service. Demanding the case, he shoots and wounds Monroe, but Mike kills Ormon before he can shoot Lou. Lou allows Mike to escape albeit empty-handed, and tells him to get out of town and to not come back, and then forces Monroe and his fiancee to support his story as he frames Ormon for Mike's string of robberies. 

Later after the dust has seemingly settled, Lou meets up with Sharon at their yoga class. Having stolen the decoy gems taken into evidence from Mike's earlier heist, Lou swapped them with real diamonds from the briefcase, which he gives to Sharon to start a new life. Mike had sent a text message to Sharon with a photo and an address for 'The Cop'. Showing Lou the photo he comments that he doesn't know where that is. Lou arrives at the apartment block and takes the elevator down to the parking garage, and discovers that Mike has left him his vintage Chevy Camaro. Easily finding the keys behind the sun visor, he turns on the engine and gingerly drives it out of the garage and onto the street where he opens it up, with a big grin on his face. Mike sends Maya a childhood photo which she receives at her desk at her place of work, asking her for a second chance. Realising that Mike must be in the building she rushes for the door.

'Crime 101' doesn't reinvent the west coast USA crime thriller noir playbook, but it does pay homage to the some of the classics from yesteryear including 'Heat', 'Thief' and 'To Live and Die in LA'. The characterisation and their respective back stories are well realised; the performances by Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Keoghan, Berry and Barbaro are all on point; the action set pieces are well choreographed; the story is well conceived and entertaining enough, and the Direction and Cinematography are stylish and assured. At 140 minutes, however, I felt that this elongated runtime could have been shortened by fifteen minutes or so, particularly as the film seemed to drag it heels somewhat in the mid-section, but that's my only gripe. 'Crime 101' is certainly worth the price of your cinema entry, and if a modern take on classic crime noir is your thing, then you won't be disappointed.

'Crime 101' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

NEVER LET GO : Tuesday 1st October 2024.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NEVER LET GO' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this American survival horror film is Directed by the French filmmaker Alexandre Aja who made his English language Directorial debut in 2006 with 'The Hills Have Eyes' and which he would follow up with 'Mirrors' in 2008, 'Piranha 3D' in 2010, 'Horns' in 2013, 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax' in 2016, 'Crawl' in 2019 and 'Oxygen' in 2021. The film was released in the US in late September, has so far grossed US$10M from a production budget of US$20M and has generated mixed or average reviews.  

Here then, a woman known to us as only 'Momma' (Halle Berry) and her two young children Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) live in a cabin in a remote wilderness. Momma, tells her children that a supernatural force known as 'The Evil' spread across the world, causing it to end and leaving them as the only survivors. Momma is plagued by visions of supernatural entities while she sleeps and during her waking hours, that her sons cannot see, yet which they believe to be real. The family spends their days foraging and hunting for food. To prevent the Evil from touching them, which Momma says ensures possession, the family tether themselves with long ropes when they leave the house, connecting them back to the building. The boys must also chant a daily prayer to the house in thanks for it keeping them safe from the Evil.

One day, while out searching for food, Samuel and Nolan get into an argument and Nolan steps on Samuel's rope, causing Samuel to fall, get disconnected from his rope, and break his ankle. Nolan unties himself in an attempt to rescue Samuel before the boys are rescued by Momma, who encounters the Evil in the form of her mother although the children do not see it. As Samuel recovers from his fall, Nolan, who has started to disbelieve his mother's claims, questions him on what he saw but Samuel quickly dismisses his suspicions. Nolan's doubts continue to grow.

A brutal winter of heavy rains and bitter cold forces the family to use up just about all of their stockpiled food, resulting in them being unable to grow or hunt for any new food. Meanwhile, Momma's visions intensify, including seeing the boys' father and her husband, whom she killed, along with her own mother and father as well as that of a mutilated Nolan. Sensing discontent from her sons, Momma tells them about her old life in the city and shows them two old Polaroid photos she retained, and an old Polaroid Instamatic camera with one single photo left.

Now having completely run out of their reserves of food and forced to eat thinly shredded tree bark which Momma seasons with salt, pepper and maple syrup, she then states that they need to kill and eat the family dog. Nolan is horrified and, when Momma takes the dog into the greenhouse to kill him with her crossbow, he cuts Momma's rope and locks her inside, believing that she will see the Evil is not real. Instead, Momma encounters the Evil in the form of her mother, and so slashes her own throat with a shard of glass and commits suicide in front of Nolan. Samuel blames Nolan for causing Momma's death. As they continue to starve alone, Samuel's behaviour becomes more erratic and threatening.

Using the extra free rope from his mother, Nolan travels further out of the woods and comes across a deserted stretch of road. He screams for help. Returning to the house, he later encounters a hiker (Matthew Kevin Anderson) who has heard his calls for help. As the hiker grows increasingly concerned over Nolan's story and living conditions, Samuel confronts him with his mothers crossbow. Although Nolan and the hiker try to defuse the situation, Samuel shoots the hiker. Nolan follows the hiker as he calls 911 and succumbs to his wounds before retrieving his backpack filled with food. That night, a young girl (Mila Moragn) arrives at the property claiming to be the hiker's daughter and confronts Samuel. Noticing that Samuel has her father's torch, she flees as he chases after her, but Samuel's rope gets tangled around some trees, and so he untethers himself. The girl reveals herself to be the Evil and touches Samuel, as he becomes instantly possessed.

Back at the house, Samuel, now exhibits the same erratic behaviour as Momma had, and tries to kill Nolan. Samuel sets the house alight as Nolan is confronted by the Evil in the form of Momma. Nolan drags Momma into a small underfloor bunker in the house that gives shelter to the pair of them from the fire. The Evil sheds Momma's skin to reveal a snake-like creature that dissipates as Nolan clings on to it. The fire burns the house down and Samuel takes the last photo with the Polaroid with him in the foreground and the burning cabin in the background. Paramedics arrive and retrieve Nolan from the burnt out remains of the house. As he is flown away in a helicopter, Nolan asks where Samuel is and sees that he too has been rescued. The helicopter reaches a nearby town, revealing that Momma had been lying to them all along. Samuel quietly whispers to Nolan 'She loves me more' as the Polaroid he took is shown, revealing the Evil with its hand resting on his shoulder.

'Never Let Go' is not a horror film in the pure sense of the word, more of a taught and tight psychological thriller that delivers few jump scares or truly horror inducing moments, but there is nonetheless a sense of dread and fear woven into the atmospheric storyline. The film is however, saved by three stand out performances from Berry, Jenkins and Daggs, and when the ending comes it feels rushed and incomplete leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. That said, as recently as last month, Halle Berry confirmed the studio's plans to develop the film into a horror franchise, with the Actress expressing interest in the idea, while confirming that stories for a prequel and sequels had been written. 

'Never Let Go' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

JOHN WICK 3 : PARABELLUM - Wednesday 15th May 2019.

I saw 'JOHN WICK 3 : PARABELLUM' at an advance screening at my local multiplex earlier in the week and here we see the third and allegedly final instalment in the 'John Wick' fast paced neo-noir action thriller film series, that launched in 2014 with 'John Wick' then its sequel in 2017 with 'John Wick : Chapter 2' and now 'Parabellum'. All three films have been Directed by Stuntman and movie maker Chad Stahelski with the first two films in the franchise grossing US$260M at the global Box Office off the back of a combined US$65M Production Budget, and positive Critical acclaim. The films title 'Parabellum' is taken from a Latin adage 'Si vis pacem, para bellum' which when translated becomes 'If you want peace, prepare for war'. The phrase is used above all to affirm that one of the most effective means to ensure peace for a people is always to be armed and ready to defend oneself. Seemingly a television series spin off titled 'The Continental' based on the characters and safe haven location for assassins and hitmen of the film series is in the works with Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch Producing. Released in the UK, the USA and in Australia last week, the film cost US$55M and has garnered positive Press.

And so following hot on the heels of the last instalment we find John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run as he is being hunted down for a global US$14M open contract on his life, and for breaking a central rule - taking a life on Continental Hotel grounds. Wick's unauthorised victim was a member of the High Table - a Camorra crime lord, Santino D'Antonio, who ordered the open contract. John should have already been executed, except the Continental’s manager, Winston (Ian McShane) has given him a one-hour grace period before he’s officially declared 'excommunicado' ie. membership revoked, banned from all services and cut off from other members. In the pouring rain he runs half way across Manhattan with his trusted dog beside him, jumps in a taxi, and orders the driver to take him to the New York Public Library.

Concealed in a fake 19th Century Russian art book Wick retrieves a marker, a crucifix neck chain and five gold coins. After a brief one on one fight with an assassin looking to cash in on the cool US$14M (the 7ft3in. tall Serbian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, Boban Marjanovic), whom John dispenses with fairly quickly using his Russian art book, he returns the now bloodied tome to its place on the shelf, dusts himself down and promptly leaves.

Leaving the library, Wick is spotted by a group of Chinese assassins which leads them down some back streets, alleyways and eventually into a warehouse where are kept cases and cases of antique weaponry - swords, daggers, knives, axes, pistols, rifles, shotguns all neatly arranged in glass display cabinets. Here Wick takes on six or so men in very close quarter combat, and the knives are thrown thick and fast in every direction in one of the most impressive set pieces of the film series so far. Needless to say Wick survives while the others all perish from their multiple stab wounds.

Meanwhile across town, The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) a member of The High Table, turns up at The Continental wanting to meet with Winston (Ian McShane) the Hotel Manager of the past forty years. She orders Winston to relinquish his role at The Continental within seven days for allowing Wick one hours grace period before he was declared officially excommunicado. The Adjudicator also visits The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) because he gave Wick the seven chamber hand gun that he used to kill Santino D'Antonio on the grounds of The Continental. She delivers him the same message . . . or suffer the consequences. In the meantime Wick visits The Director (Anjelica Houston) a figure from his past who is also a member of the High Table. He hands over the crucifix necklace to her which acts as a form of currency so permitting him one wish which she is obliged to honour. Wick asks for safe passage to Casablanca.

Having arrived on a slow boat from New York to Casablanca, Wick visits a local branch of The Continental and meets with Sofia (Halle Berry) a former close friend and female assassin from his past who owes him a favour. Wick hands Sofia the 'marker' he retrieved from the library - a medallion which symbolises an unbreakable bond by one person to fulfil a task requested by another. Wick asks Sofia to honour the marker by helping him locate The Elder - the most senior member of The High Table.

After pointing a gun at Wick and some forthright words across the table, Sofia reluctantly agrees to take her former friend to see a local guy who might just be able to point Wick in the right direction. That mans name is Berrada (Jerome Flynn) who in a round about way provides Wick with the Elders location - a long walk in the desert and just when you have reached the point of exhaustion, you need to keep walking until he finds you, retorts Berrada. In exchange for this valuable, albeit cryptic, information, Berrada demands some form of compensation, which he wants in the form of one of Sofia's trusted dogs. She tells him that its out of the question, to which Berrada becomes quickly agitated and promptly shoots the dog. Luckily for the dog, it was wearing a bullet proof vest which also conceals a pistol. With the help of her two trained canine friends who are adept at biting, gnawing, leaping, running and jumping, Sofia and Wick fight their way out of the heavily fortified building in another bullet ballet set piece before venturing in to the desert.

Having honoured her 'marker', Sofia leaves Wick to continue his long walk in the desert alone, through the day and the night before collapsing due to exhaustion sometime the next day under the blistering sun. Needless to say John is found face down in the sand by a passing traveller and taken unconscious draped over the back of a camel to The Elder's lavish Bedouin like tent. The Elder (Said Taghmaoui) gives John a choice. He can either die or accept a mission to kill Winston, the long term Manager of The Continental and Wick's friend and ally, on behalf of The High Table in exchange for the removal of the bounty on his head which has subsequently been upped to US$15M. John accepts the mission and as a show of his commitment to The High Table, severs his ring finger and hands his wedding ring to The Elder.

While all of this going on, The Adjudicator recruits an assassin, Zero (Mark Dacascos), and his gang to act as enforcers for The High Table. They visit both The Bowery King and The Director, kill several of their henchmen before inflicting physical punishment on both of them as a consequence for helping Wick. Wick arrives back in New York minus a finger but donning a brand new suit of clothes. He is confronted almost immediately by Zero and his gang but manages to escape on a motorcycle. After killing the pursuing motorcycle riding gang members in another impressive chase and be killed set piece, Wick is followed in hot pursuit by Zero to The Continental where Wick takes sanctuary by placing his hand on the bottom step leading to the entrance of the Hotel.

Wick speaks with Winston who tells him he is aware that he is there to kill him. The Adjudicator arrives, however, Wick refuses to carry out the kill order and Winston refuses to surrender his position at the Hotel. Consequently, The Adjudicator declares The Continental as 'deconsecrated' with immediate effect, so permitting killing on the premises once again, before requesting an armed unit of killers elite from The High Table to converge on the Hotel armed to the teeth to take down Winston and Wick once and for all.

It's not long before two bus loads of heavily armed and armoured men with night vision eye wear and bullet proof everything converge on The Continental. With the help of the hotel's Concierge Charon (Lance Reddick), John takes on The High Table's forces inside the hotel with Winston's blessing and full and unhindered access to the hotel's private armoury, which contains all the latest cutting edge weaponry. 

Ultimately Wick, Charon, and various hotel staffers defeat the High Tables own private army, before Wick is confronted by Zero's gang once again. Wick eventually overcomes the two gang members in a fierce hand to hand, toe to toe, head to head battle royale eventually overcoming the pair, before facing off against Zero in the hotel's glass encased boardroom and killing him.

Seeing from her own private suite within the confines of The Continental that her now largely dead or dying team are no match for the one man army that is John Wick, The Adjudicator contacts Winston and offers to negotiate. Eventually she agrees to allow Winston to remain at The Continental, but states that Wick remains problematical. At a roof top meeting, Winston shoots Wick several times at close range. He falls from the roof of the hotel several storeys to the streets below. A short time later they observe Wick's body is gone, though Winston casually assures The Adjudicator that he won't get far. Wick's dog runs out of the hotel and catches up with the Tick Tock Man (Jason Mantzoukas), one of the Bowery King's men, who has retrieved Wick in a shopping trolley and brings him to the heavily scarred Bowery King - stitched up from the seven deep and potentially life threatening scars inflicted by The Adjucators enforcers. The Bowery King speaks to the injured, but still breathing Wick, saying just how pissed off he is with the antics of the High Table, and both express a desire to take it down once and for all.

I enjoyed 'John Wick Chapter 3' as much as I did the previous two instalments. This is a no holds barred fast paced in yer face actioner that owes its success to the vision of the stuntman turned Director Chad Stahelski as it does to the hard hitting keeping it real lead Keanu Reeves, who proves once again his action acting chops knows no equal, other than perhaps Tom Cruise. The action comes thick and fast and every fight sequence is choreographed in spectacular bloody, violent and creative fashion to the Nth degree. The antagonists succumb to Wick's ire in all manner of inventive ways - whether its death by book, by horse, by motorcycle, bullet, cartridge, knife, sword or axe the body count just keeps on rising and really makes you wonder how John Wick can possibly survive such a relentless and unforgiving physical onslaught - but he does, and that's what we pay our coin to see. And then of course there is the occasional gesture or one liner that adds a hint of humour to bring the action and gratuitous violence right back down to Earth. For sheer action escapism, high body count, expertly choreographed creative fight and chase sequences, and gun fu and knife play aplenty backed up by a strong supporting cast, you can't go much further than 'John Wick Chapter 3 : Parabellum' . . . . and the dog is pretty cute too! For lovers of the genre, catch it on the big screen - you won't be disappointed.

'John Wick : Parabellum' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE - Tuesday 26th September 2017.

'KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE' which I saw earlier last week, is the follow up film to 2014's first instalment in this growing action spy comedy franchise 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' which was both a critical and commercial success taking in US$415M from its US$81M budget outlay. Now some two years later Matthew Vaughn returns to the Director's chair for this hotly anticipated, eagerly awaited, much hyped sequel, on which he also Co-Produces and Co-Writes the Screenplay based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Miller and Dave Gibbons. Released in the UK and the US at the same time as in Australia, the film cost US$104M, has so far taken US$193M, and has garnered mixed Reviews from Critics largely about the ensemble of new characters, the heavily stylised action sequences, the overly long running time and the lack of originality that heralded the first film. Vaughn has confirmed that he has a treatment already in mind for a third film in the franchise and has indicted Dwayne Johnson might be the ideal candidate to play the arch villain next time around.

This instalment takes place some twelve months following the death of Harry Hart (aka Galahad) at the hands of Richmond Valentine in the previous film. Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) has subsequently taken on the mantle of Galahad and is shacking up in some well to do mews house in London with Princess Tilde of Sweden (Hanna Alstrom). The action ramps up from the get go with a kinetic car chase sequence as Eggsy's private Kingsman issue London cab is ambushed by former Kingsman trainee turned rogue Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft) who lost an arm and his vocal chords during the final climax that saw an end to Valentine and his plans. As the two wrestle in a well choreographed, albeit well over the top, car chase and in vehicle close quarter fight sequence across the night time streets of London, Eggsy is able to thwart his adversary and effect his getaway. He dispatches his adversary through the windscreen of his London cab, although far from dead, leaving behind his bionic arm attached to the hand grip above the door. Eggsy disappears into the River Thames as his cab assumes submarine qualities and enters an underwater subterranean access hatch deep within the bowels of Kingsman London HQ.

Hesketh's dismembered bionic arm however, can be remotely accessed, and so it hacks into the cabs on board computer system and downloads every piece of intelligence from the Kingsman's servers. While Eggsy is otherwise engaged with his Princess meeting her parents for the first time in Sweden, a co-ordinated missile attack takes out the Kingsman HQ and all of the Agents scattered around the British countryside. Only Eggsy survives having been out of the country, and Merlin (Mark Strong) whose pay grade kept him off the Kingsman files.

Following the Doomsday Protocol which Merlin is aware of, leads them to reveal a secretly stashed bottle of aged 'Statesman' Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. The pair drown their sorrows and toast their dearly departed colleagues downing almost the entire contents of the bottle, when the Kingsman insignia is revealed on the reverse side of the label. Seeing this as a vital clue, they head for Kentucky, recognising that there is some kind of connection here.

Arriving at the Statesman Whiskey distillery they are greeted by Agent Tequila (Channing Tatum) who treats them with suspicion and starts to interrogate them, revealing that Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is in fact alive having survived the gunshot wound to his head, but is suffering from acute amnesia. Agent Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) intervenes and confirms their identities as allies from Britain. In turn they are introduced to Champagne ('Champ' for short) (Jeff Bridges) who heads up Statesman and he briefs Eggsy and Merlin about a terrorist organisation known as The Golden Circle which they are investigating.

Tequila develops a mysterious blue rash that covers his body, and so is taken off the case and is replaced by Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal). Eggsy and Whiskey's first mission is to trace Hesketh's girlfriend Clara Von Gluckfberg (Poppy Delevingne) which takes them to the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and plant a tracking device on her. Mission accomplished Eggsy returns to Kentucky to see if he can get Harry to snap out of his amnesia. Eggsy manages to successfully trigger Harry's memories by threatening to shoot a Yorkshire Terrier puppy that reminds Harry of his dearly beloved former companion pet Mr. Pickles that has subsequently moved on to the great kennel in the sky.

Meanwhile, back in some remote Cambodian jungle hideaway sits Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) who heads up the largest single drug cartel in the world, is as a result the worlds richest woman and an aspiring megalomaniac, but is firmly off everyone's radar and she's not to happy about that! She broadcasts a message around the world that she has placed a toxin in every recreational drug available on the market and which she so successfully peddles. This toxin causes a blue rash to develop at first passing through another three phases - manic behaviour, paralysis and ultimately death most hideous. She has a fast acting antidote however, in plentiful supply, and offers it to the world if the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) ends his War on Drugs and offers her and her business interests immunity from the law. The President decides to quarantine every effected user across the USA by racking, stacking and packing 'em high in cages in stadia around the country. Included in those, is his Chief of Staff, Fox (Emily Watson).

Merlin intercepts a phone call from Clara to Hesketh saying that she is infected and has the blue rash. Hesketh orders his girlfriend to meet in Italy where he will give her the antidote. Eggsy and Whiskey infiltrate the mountain top hideaway where the antidote is being stored by the millions in single serve viles. There Eggsy steals a single sample for duplicating and in their hasty retreat down the snowy mountain in a cable car, he and Whiskey fall victim to Hesketh's remote control trickery as the cable car goes rogue, breaks free of its cable and plummets down the mountain towards a ski lodge. Needless to say Eggsy saves the day, and retreating to a safe house they are quickly discovered by Poppy's henchmen.

In the exchange of gun fire Whiskey causes the sample bottle to smash to the ground. Harry shoots Whiskey in the head at point blank range believing that there is something not quite right about that Statesman. Eggsy is mortified by Harry's actions and quickly administers an alpha-gel pack to Whiskey's head, as they did with Harry when he was shot, to preserve the integrity of the brain as much as possible and begin the healing process by using rapid acting nano technology. Later, Princess Tilde calls Eggsy in a state of desperate panic saying that she has developed a blue rash!

Later the three amigos discover the secret jungle hideaway of The Golden Circle at 'Poppy Land' in deepest darkest Cambodia, and so they fly via Statesman private plane to that destination - absolute first class all the way with all the amenities and 'toys' on hand. Upon landing Eggsy treads on a concealed land mine in the undergrowth on the edge of Poppy Land. Merlin rescues him using a freezing spray, but in so doing treads on another and has no freeze spray stuff left, and so chooses to do the noble thing and sacrifice himself while taking out the armed security guards in the process. It's a tearful farewell as Eggsy and Harry look on.

Storming the compound Eggsy and Harry first take out the numerous henchmen. Hesketh with his bionic arm confronts Eggsy, but ultimately the good guy wins the day, while Harry tussles with two fierce robotic canines that are Hell bent on ripping him to shreds. With Hesketh dead and the two dogs defunct, the two Kingsman turn attention to Poppy and retrieving the briefcase and the access code that will mobilise the drones around the world sending the antidote to rescue all those blue rashed individuals knocking on death's door. Eggsy injects Poppy with a stronger dose of her own toxin cooked up by Merlin, and as a result she succumbs to the accelerated effects very quickly and dies on the floor, but not before muttering the access code password.

Before Eggsy and Harry can activate the access code in drops Agent Whiskey, fully recovered from his head shot thanks to the fast acting alpha-gel treatment administered by Eggsy earlier. It turns out that Whiskey has an ulterior motive for working against the Kingsman and the Statesman in that he lost his pregnant wife to two drug users when she got caught in an exchange of gun fire, and now he is on a personal crusade working rogue to eliminate all drug users. Eggsy and Harry fight with Whiskey until the latter is man handled upside down into a meat grinder, coming out as prime mincemeat the other end. They key in the access code to the briefcase console, so activating thousands of drones around the world to carry the antidote to save millions of lives.

In the wash up, Chief of Staff Fox has the President impeached for conspiring to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale against all drug users, Champagne makes an announcement that the Statesman have purchased a Scottish whisky distillery to help rebuild Kingsman and in the process offers either one of them the opportunity to step into Whiskey's empty shoes, but they both decline. Ginger Ale steps up and is accepted as Whiskey's replacement. Eggsy marries his blushing Swedish bride, and Agent Tequila joins the Kingsman.

There's a lot to like about this film! If you're a follower of Saville Row gentlemen's fashion, kinetic over the top stylised action sequences, tongue in cheek wise-crack humour, spy type gadgetry aplenty, watching a couple of blokes get minced (literally) and another two cut/torn in half, a plot that has takes leave of itself, an A-list cast and all the spit and polish that a US$100M+ budget affords, then this film is for you. But, this films lacks the originality and the creativity of the first instalment that made that offering so fresh and such a success, and at a running time of approaching two hours twenty minutes it is easily twenty minutes too long. Seeing Colin Firth again playing against type is a joy it must be said and he does so with a suave debonair grace that harks back to Sean Connery's Bond, and Mark Strong's Merlin adds a touch of grounded realism to the unfolding proceedings. As for Taron Egerton's Eggsy he's all over the place and it's hard to take him seriously, and the American Statesman crew are all relegated to bit parts that really serve little purpose other than offer friendly and formidable hands across the Atlantic in a time of crisis. An enjoyable spy genre romp that riffs of 'Bond', 'Bourne', 'Mission : Impossible' and all others that have gone before, but fails to reach the dizzy heights of its predecessor. Also starring Michael Gambon, Sophie Cookson and Elton John.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-