Write up on the church scene from The Kingsmen

The church fight from The Kingsmen is probably the most well known and most talked about scene from the whole franchise. Not only because of its shock factor of seeing one of the main protagonists murder a church full of angry bigots but because of how well the whole scene is put together. 

The scene appears to be a long shot of Harry (Colin Firth) making his way through the church, however it is filled with hidden cuts. These will come in the form of muzzle flashes or characters diving right in front of the camera. The camera will move from high angles to show the whole church and then low angles to show Harry’s perspective. The camera will also cut to other characters and their reactions as they watch through cameras. Without any context of what is going on we can tell the characters intentions by the way they react to the chaos. The antagonists are pleased with the results and the violence whereas the other protagonists react in disgust or confusion as they don’t know why Harry is killing the people in the church. 

Another amazing aspect of this scene and a reason I find it so enjoyable is the stunt coordination. There is always something happening on screen and i think that is why the film makers decided to make the scene a long shot. If the scene was filled with loads of cuts we would not know what was going on and we wouldn’t see as much of the action. Making sure we see all the action and making is non-stop is what makes the scene so fast paced. Every time Harry kills someone its in a different and unique way. This is where the stunt coordination comes into play. The stunts in this scene are so well put together and thats what makes it flow. The stunt performer (Rick English) does a mixture of dives and different fighting techniques and I think that brings it to life as well. I also like how the action is back and forth, Harry is not always in control and sometimes he gets knocked down and this also adds to the scene. If it was just three minutes of Colin Firth killing people and not getting hit once, we would not feel any real sense of danger and therefor get less from the scene. 

Music is another thing that carries the scene. Before the chaos starts the music is slow and quiet, you can hardly notice it. When the build up starts and people start shouting the music starts to build and get louder. As soon as the first bullet is fired the music explodes into a fast, loud guitar solo. This pace is held throughout the whole scene and only becomes muffled when a grenade goes off and Harry loses his focus. At some points the action is in time with the music. This also helps the sequence flow and makes it more satisfying to watch.