I called Matthew Vaughn’s 2015 original a ridiculously “profane and violent…James Bond-lite (and -like) romp”, and its 2017 sequel a “vertiginous frenzy of fast edits, tumbling camera work, and sub-sophomoric humor”. Alas, the downward spiral continues with this prequel/origin story starring Ralph Fiennes and Djimon Hounsou. Apparently, Vaughn couldn’t decide on a genre, a tone, or anything else that would help make this violent, sound-and-fury disaster worth watching. While it was in the process of being delayed and re-scheduled eight times over the last two-plus years, you’d think someone could’ve fixed it… or, better yet, make the smart decision to just shelve it altogether.
1/5 stars