Consider the gauntlet thrown. Matthew Vaughn has spent a good portion of his press run for "Kingsman: The Secret Service" declaring that his spy movie action/comedy/parody is a brazen return to fun at the movies that has been missing. He’s already described the first billion-dollar-earning Bond movie "Skyfall" as "pretty exhausting," and now he’s taking aim at fanboy fave Christopher Nolan.
"People want fun and escapism at the moment," Vaughn told SFX (via THR). "Look at the success of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ I think Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and I think people have had enough of it."
This isn’t the first Vaughn has declared his love for the Marvel movie, previously calling it "a fucking genius piece of filmmaking." But about his jab at Nolan? Well, we’d argue that audiences don’t care if a movie is a bit more gritty or freewheeling and loose, they just want something that’s entertaining, which doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be "fun." As long as the approach is right for the character and provides the thrills audiences expect when they buy a ticket, escapism can take on any form it likes.
But what do you think? Has Vaughn gone too far, or is he right that Nolan’s serious comic book style is already out of fashion? Let us know below.