Ranking the Films Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Over the past couple of months, I decided to watch all of Matthew Vaughn's films. Matthew Vaughn is probably best known for his work in the spy genre, particularly with the Kingsman franchise, but he has also explored a range of other genres, producing standout films while also helping launch the careers of several well-known actors today. I have found most of his movies to be very good and all of them to have a strong entertainment value. His style reminds me a bit of James Gunn, with a less serious tone and darker, crass jokes. With all of that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the eight Matthew Vaughn films.

8. Argyle

Argyle is the newest film from Matthew Vaughn. This movie was very goofy, but still very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. The first half of this movie plays as a self-aware spy movie that makes fun of various spy movie tropes. I found that the first part of the movie works very well. Sam Rockwell plays a fun action star, and the various action sequences and music are a lot of fun. The movie also has a stacked cast with Henry Cavill, John Cena, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson, and Bryan Cranston. I also thought most of the action sequences throughout the movie were very colorful and a lot of fun. Where the movie really goes off the rails is in the second half. It takes a hard left turn and just gets so goofy that it verges into parody territory. It just gets a bit too goofy and goes too hard in the new plot direction that it becomes a bit off-putting. Several plot points just don't make a ton of sense and come across as a bit dumb. In the end, while the movie does go a bit off the rails in the second half, it is still a lot of fun to watch and keeps me entertained in a so dumb it's fun kind of way.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

7. The King's Man

The King's Man is easily the weakest of Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman films. I like that we get a fresh setting taking place during WWI and that we get a different group of characters. I also thought it was fun seeing the characters and their missions tie into historical events during WWI, such as the assassination of Franc Ferdinand, Rasputin's involvement with the Russian rulers, and the U.S.A.'s eventual involvement in the war. I also thought the final mission was a lot of fun to watch and did a good job of establishing the Kingman organization. The main thing holding this movie back is that it is a bit clunky in the first half of the film. The first part of the movie feels very episodic, with the story just jumping from mission to mission with a very thin plot connecting them. The movie also takes a bit of a tangent when it follows the son character for 15-20 minutes, which I felt could have been pulled out of the movie entirely. Overall, while the movie does feel a bit choppy, it has enough good elements in it to be decent enough in the end.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

6. Layer Cake

Layer Cake was the first film from Matthew Vaughn, and not only launched his career but also caused Daniel Craig to be tapped to play James Bond. This movie is a slow-burning crime thriller where Daniel Craig plays a cocaine dealer on the eve of his retirement. I thought Daniel Craig was great in the movie, with his performance being a great demo of his abilities as the future James Bond. The movie itself isn't as fun as the other Matthew Vaughn films, but still has the same level of polish. I thought the second half moved a lot better than the first half once the big reveal took place. The main thing keeping this movie lower is that it is just quite a bit slower than his other movies. There isn't anything explicitly wrong with the movie, but if I am going to rewatch some Matthew Vaughn movies, this one will not be at the top of my list. In the end, while this is a well-made movie, it just isn't as fun as the others on this list.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

5. Stardust

Stardust is an underrated fantasy romance from Matthew Vaughn. If someone told me there was a large-scale fantasy movie starring a young Charlie Cox and featuring Michelle Pfeiffer as a witch and Robert DeNiro as a pirate, I would have thought it was made up, but here we are. This movie has great world-building to it, with both a real and a fantasy world being established and separated by a literal fence. I like how the movie brings a lot of fantastical concepts to the story, such as magical merchants and sky pirates. I also thought the romance aspect was decent and balanced well with the rest of the story. The movie reminded me a lot of The Princess Bride. The biggest issue I have with the film is that the whole royal family subplot felt a bit unconnected. I get that they are involved in the inciting incident for the story, but beyond that, whenever Septimus comes on screen, it feels unrelated to the rest of the story until he just randomly shows up for the climax. I think the movie could have come up with another reason for the star to fall to earth, and just cut out the royal family aspect completely. Overall, this is a nice underrated fantasy epic that has just one element that needed to be removed to make the story even better.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

4. Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a sequel to the original Kingsman movie and manages to bring the magic that made the first film great. The movie keeps going, which is what made the original so fun, as it brings both high-energy action and humor. I like how the movie takes things in a different direction so as not to feel like a rehash of the first film. The movie also does a good job of expanding the world of spies with an American organization in Statesman and a villainous organization in The Golden Circle. The movie also has a lot of fun cast members in it with Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Juliane Moore, Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal and even Elton John. The movie does a good job of adding direction for each of our characters to go, allowing them to grow as people and agents. The main issue keeping this film back was that I wasn't as much a fan of the villain as I was in the first film. Poppy is fine, but she doesn't have the screen presence like Samuel L Jackson does in the first film. In the end, this is a solid follow-up to the first film, but just doesn't have as good a villain as it deserves.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

3. X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class was Matthew Vaughn's big franchise film. This movie shows the origin of the X-Men and follows a young Charles Xavier and Magneto during the Cold War era in the USA. This movie is just a great blend of a Spy story, a superhero movie, and an origin story. We get to see how a lot of the famous X-Men came to be, as well as the beginning of Charles and Erik's relationship. There are a lot of solid action sequences and some cool historical tie-ins. I like how we get to see Charles hone in on his ability to teach mutants to control their powers. I thought the casting in this movie was perfect. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are as perfect as Charles and Erik. This movie also gives a great career bump to Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, as it was a breakout role for both of them. The spy aspect is probably my favorite part of this movie, as we get to see these mutants go on missions for the US government. The movie also does a great job of showing the opposition of Charles and Erik's beliefs and how that causes them to split apart. In the end, this is a great addition to the X-Men franchise with fantastic choices for the characters and a solid way to reboot the universe.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

2. Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass is the original superhero movie from Matthew Vaughn. The movie is very funny but also packs a lot of action. We get to see a very young Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz as the two main heroes but also get some Nicolas Cage as a more seasoned vigilante, which is fun. It is really funny how bad Dave is at being a superhero as he has no powers or training, and just how quickly he gets in over his head. I like how the movie plays into classic superhero tropes while also making fun of them at the same time. This movie reminds me a lot of James Gunn's style of superhero movies, with dark, crass humor and high-energy action. Overall, this movie is a lot of fun and I wish I could get more superhero movies like this.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

1. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a great modern-day spy action film. This movie makes it up there for me with other classic spy films like James Bond and Mission Impossible. The movie does a great job of building this world of spies that are unknown to the regular world. The training and onboarding aspects were a lot of fun and reminded me of Men in Black. Once you get past the fun of the training and building of this organization, the movie delivers an absolute blast with great action sequences. The whole church fight scene is just so fun with so much going on, but still fits so well together with great music. I also thought the final battle was a lot of fun, where we see Eggsy break into this bunker. The movie also does a great job of bringing in inspiration from classic spy stories like James Bond, with all of the gadgets and shootouts. In the end, this is my favorite Matthew Vaughn film and also just a great classic spy story.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-