Every Matthew Vaughn-Directed Film Ranked According to Rotten Tomatoes

The latest film from director Matthew Vaughn, The King’s Man has finally been released, after a very long delay. Vaughn has been directing films for most of the 2000s, starting with Layer Cake in 2004. His signature blend of action and light-hearted humor have resonated with audiences and critics alike

The aggregate site, Rotten Tomatoes take reviews from all over the internet and assigns a percentage to each film based on the reviews. Based on these reviews, the directed films of Matthew Vaughn show several years of consistency and then he seemingly fell out of favor with critics.

7 The King’s Man – 42%

Vaughn’s most recent film, The King’s Man, is also his worst reviewed. The third film in the Kingsman franchise serves as a prequel to the others, showing the origins of the Kingsman organization. Co-written by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek, the film brings the setting to World War I and sees the small spy organization go up against some of that period’s worst villains, such as Rasputin.

Critics didn’t take to Vaughn’s third outing in this universe, and with a 42% at the time of this writing, the film is one of two of his films to receive a “rotten” score. While the action is still fun to watch and Ralph Fiennes delivers a solid performance as Orlando Oxford/Arthur, many claimed the film was “tonally confused” and therefore didn’t sit well with everyone.

6 Kingsman: The Golden Circle – 51%

The highly anticipated sequel to his very successful Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle sees the Kingsman devastated with only Eggsy and Merlin alive to find the culprit, the drug lord Poppy. Forced to team up with their more successful stateside cousins, the Statesmen and a recently revived from the dead Harry Hart, the spy movie moved the franchise further into the ridiculousness.

This was Vaughn’s first film to receive a certified “rotten” score. While critics were happy to see that Vaughn hadn’t lost a step when it came to delivering high-octane action sequences, the thing that was missing was the creativity of the first film. The first film felt like a breath of fresh air, and this one just felt like it was riding off the first’s coattails, rather than trying to innovate. 

5 Kingsman: The Secret Service – 75%

The second film that Matthew Vaughn would produce was based on a comic written by Mark Millar, Kingsman: The Secret Service sees superspy Harry Hart recruit a young man named Eggsy to be the next Kingman agent. In the film, Harry loses his life and Eggsy is forced to go up against Valentine, the villain of the story whose goal is to kill more than half the population to “save” the planet earth.

Kingsman: The Secret Service came out at a time when critics were pretty much done with spy films. The Bond films were running on fumes, even if the well-received Skyfall had just been released years earlier, and critics and audiences were ready for something different. The first Kingsman film was the shot of adrenaline that was needed and comes in as the last certified “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes that Matthew Vaughn would so far receive.

4 Kick-Ass – 76%

Mark Millar found a kindred spirit with Matthew Vaughn. While his other adaptations were frustrating, Kick-Ass was one of the rare examples where the adaptation succeeded where its source material fell short. Kick-Ass follows Dave Lizewski as he decides to be a superhero and go up against the biggest crime boss in New York.

Even though Kick-Ass saw some early controversy thanks to a very young Chloe Grace Moretz cursing, the film was a big hit with audiences and critics alike. The superhero genre wasn’t as oversaturated as it is now and this one came in just at the right time. Critics praised its unique visual style and fun nature, which garnered another “fresh” certification for Vaughn.

3 Stardust – 77%

Stardust was Vaughn’s second go in the director’s chair and stars a pre-Daredevil Charlie Cox and a pre-Superman Henry Cavil. Adapted by Jane Goldman (one of his longtime collaborators) and Vaughn himself from a book written by Neil Gaimon, the story follows Tristan as he ventures across the wall that borders his village into a land of fantasy to find a falling star for the women he loves. After finding the star, and discovering it to be a young girl named Yvaine, he ends up falling for her instead.

Stardust really put Matthew Vaughn on the map for critics. His style was in full force in this film. Critics felt that Vaughn had faithfully captured the spirit of the story he was adapting while being able to juggle all the different genres and tones this film had to offer. 

2 Layer Cake – 80%

After Ridley Scott decided not to direct Layer Cake, producer Matthew Vaughn stepped in, even though he had no prior experience. Layer Cake, adapted from a novel of the same name, follows Daniel Craig’s unnamed character as he wishes to leave the world of drugs behind him. 

Without the very positive reception of Layer Cake, Vaughn might not have become as prolific of a director as he is now. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, critics sighted it as a stylized British crime thriller, the likes of which Guy Richie has made a name making. Sometimes making a very good version of something is enough to get critics and audiences on your side.

1 X-Men: First Class – 86%

Before he reinvigorated the spy genre with Kingsman, Matthew Vaughn breathed new life into the fledgling superhero franchise, the X-Men, with X-Men: First Class. After Vaughn had to leave the production of X-Men: The Last Stand, he and Jane Goldman told the origin story of Xavier and Magneto and how the X-Men came to be.

Not only is this Vaughn’s highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s also the third-highest X-Men film on the site. This film resonated with audiences in a way that was desperately needed if Fox wanted to keep the franchise going. Once again Vaughn’s stylish direction is cited as a prime example of something critics responded to, and it made critics and fans hopeful for where the X-Men could go next. 

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