Matthew Vaughn's Most Killer Scenes - Opinion
From Gal Balaban
To celebrate the Argylle hitting the multiplexes, let's look back at the most memorable scenes from Matthew Vaughn's career as a filmmaker:
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and the Kingsman films.
Voodoo Action - Stardust
Prince Septimus (Mark Strong) is the last of the royal brothers to meet his demise, but that doesn't mean the villanous Lamia (Michelle Pfieffer) is done with him yet. She uses a voodoo doll to manipulate his corpse in a swordfight against Tristan (Charlie Cox), all while Septimus' and his brothers' ghosts watch in agony.
Hit-Girl's Intro - Kick-Ass
The first time we meet Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), she saves Dave/Kick-Ass from near death. Mindy McCready has many badass fight scenes, but her first one is so brutally over-the-top and the background music is memorable and perfect.
Big Daddy's Fate - Kick-Ass
Later in the film, when Dave and Big Daddy are captured, Hit Girl uses night vision to rescue the two from captivity. The strobe effect and the "Surface of the Sun" score from John Murphy make the scene work so well, though Hit Girl is too late to save her father as he burns to death.
Rocket Launcher - Kick-Ass
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" says Kick-Ass as he launches Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) out of his own office and to his death, saving Hit Girl. What he didn't think about was the sequel he was setting up by leaving his son Chris alive...
Magneto Lifts the Submarine - X-Men: First Class
Did they never teach you in history class about how the X-Men helped stop the Cuban Missile Crisis? In this cathartic moment, Erik (Michael Fassbender) uses his metal-manipulating powers to lift an entire darn submarine out of the water. The slo-mo is only made better by what's probably Henry Jackman's best-ever piece of music composition.
Manners Maketh Man - Kingsman: The Secret Service
Sometimes, these pubgoers need to be taught a lesson. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) introduces himself to Eggsy (Taron Egerton) by taking out a few blokes picking on the poor guy, and with style!
Church Battle Royale - Kingsman: The Secret Service
In one of the most unforgettable scenes of the 2010s, Harry, under the influence of Valentine's brainwashing app, goes on a murderous massacre, killing dozens of churchgoers in the process. But come on, that was self-defense... right? Kind of?
Eggsy vs Gazelle - Kingsman: The Secret Service
Eggsy should've gotten a rookie of the year award for beating the metal-legged Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) in a fight -- and then blowing up a massive percentage of the population in one of the film's most laugh-out-loud scenes!
Country Roads - Kingsman: The Golden Circle
The Kingsman sequel ends our favorite character Merlin's journey with a bang. But he goes out like a champ -- singing John Denver's beloved song and taking out some of Poppy's henchmen with him!
Harry and Eggsy vs Agent Whiskey - Kingsman: The Golden Circle
But the fight doesn't end for our heroes with Poppy! In a surprise twist, Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) wants to stop the antidote from getting out, which would let all drug users in America die, out of revenge for his wife's murder. And with that, we get another long-take action scene that ends in a very meaty way, dare I say it!
The Kingsman vs Rasputin - The King's Man
This WWI-set prequel is easily the worst of the Kingsman films, but Rhys Ifans' take on Rasputin was delightful! This over-the-top action scene plays into Rasputin's seemingly mythical refusal to die, and shows him as a formidable fighter who puts up quite a challenge for the Kingsman's first-ever mission.