In my review of [She Rides Shotgun](/reviews/she_rides_shotgun_2025_is_a_hidden_gem_of_near_perfection) I briefly commented on the performance of [Taron Egerton]() who you may know from the 2014 British Spy film *Kingsman: The Secret Service* by [Matthew Vaughn](). Today I gonna present to you a sort of half assed theory about how *Kingsman* happened due to a different Matthew Vaughn picture: 2004 *Layer Cake*. And alternatively how Tarantino brought to us the [Daniel Craig]() era of *James Bond*.

[Steven Spielberg]() wanted badly to direct a *James Bond* picture back in the 70s. He even approached the producers, offering his services. But they didn't want a director who's film ( Jaws ) was merely nominated for Best Picture. Undeterred he first made his own epic adventure film-series ( with his buddy George ) called *Indiana Jones*. And then in 2005, using his absolutely incredible senses when it comes to cinema, Spielberg made a spy picture about Israeli Secret Service Mossad called *Munich* where one of the spies is played by Daniel Craig. It was one year earlier than *Casino Royal* ( the first Bond film in the Craig era ). But it was also one year later than *Layer Cake*, which many regard as a kind of audition tape of Craig, for James Bond.

Watching *Layer Cake* you can see the James Bondness of it all. The ways Craig behaves on camera. They way he holds his gun. The way he dresses. All scream James Bond. But I wouldn't call this movie a Bond picture. I would not even call the character Bond-like, in any other way but the looks.

Before Matthew Vaughn directed *Layer Cake* he produced [Guy Ritchie]() films like *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* and *Snatch*, which I already discussed in multiple reviews, were sort of kind of, attempts at recreating [Quentin Tarantino]()'s success with *Pulp Fiction*. The film *Layer Cake* kind of feels like one of those Guy Ritchie movies. It is kind of a comedy. The plot is all complicated. The main characters are all gangsters. And yet instead of somebody like [Jason Statham](), this movie uses Daniel Craig.

The Craig's unnamed character in the film is in a way a mock version of [Al Pacino]()'s character from *The Godfather*. But like a mock-mock version. He is trying to be this cool ass smart guy, but is scared shitless from everything. And even the eventual becoming of the boss is immediately undermined with a joke that came out of nowhere just to ruin his day. This guy is no James Bond. But he think he is as cool as James Bond. If in *Casino Royal* Craig plays a cool motherfucker, in *Layer Cake* Craig plays a motherfucker who pretends to be cool. The resulting image looks the same, but the context is very different.

Funny enough, something that crossed my mind watching this film, was the fact that the previous film I reviewed was a [Guillermo del Toro]() picture, who won his Best Picture Oscar with a movie called *The Shape of Water*. And a horror film that I avoided this year was a little fucked up picture by the Philippou brothers called *Bring Her Back*. Both of those films had [Sally Hawkins]() who I didn't recognize at first in *Layer Cake*. At first I was like "Who the hell is she?" And then the film gave me the credit sequence and I saw the name Sally Hawkins. And I was like "Wait... this is the girlfriend of the amphibian man from del Toro's *The Shape of Water*?". Yeah... ah... In *Layer Cake* she is both too un-Sally vulgar, and kind of having not enough screen time, while still being totally Hawkins-like undeniably beautiful. She is one those strange examples of people ( another would be [Charlotte Gainsbourg]() ) who age like good wine.

So... let's say that Craig got the role of Bond due to *Layer Cake*. Let's say that Matthew Vaughn directed Craig to appear more Bond-like. So... Wait a second. Matthew Vaughn directed Craig to appear Bond-like? That is an interesting fucking thing. Maybe Matthew Vaughn wanted *Layer Cake* to be a sort of audition as a Bond director. Maybe Matthew Vaughn wanted the same thing as Spielberg. And like Spielberg who made his own things ( *Indiana Jones*, *Munich* ) so did the defeated Vaughn. And that explains why Matthew Vaughn's 2014 British Intelligence film *Kingsman: The Secret Service* has so many references to James Bond.

**Happy Hacking!!!**