Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
The Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
Based on the Graphic Novel by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons
It is safe to say that I had a complete blast watching Kingsman: The Secret Service. It is one of those movies that not only surprised me but left me walking out of the theater with a “great movie high.” It is a hell of a lot of fun! There is not a wasted moment or boring scene to be found. Immediately afterwards, I wanted to see it again. This is the first movie that I saw in 2015 that I was truly excited about. It is directed by Matthew Vaughn whose previous credits include films such as Stardust and Kick-Ass (both of which I highly recommend). And like Kick-Ass, Kingsman is based on a Mark Millar graphic novel. This is totally my cup of tea.
Colin Firth is Harry Hart (AKA Galahad), a Kingsman agent who looking for a replacement for a deceased agent (known as Lancelot). He comes across Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), the son of Kingsman candidate who saved Harry’s life years back. To repay the debt for this life, Harry recruits this boy to be among 7 or 8 other candidates to replace Lancelot. During the training process however, the evil Richmond Valentine (played hilariously by Samuel L. Jackson), moves forward a sinister plot (involving cell phone simcards) to wipe out the human race (or most of it anyway) to save the planet from… what else? Global warming! It is now up to Eggsy and other Kingsman to step up, put on a nice suit, grab an umbrella and deliver justice as only a British gentleman can.
This whole film is played very tongue-in-cheek. While it is kind of self-aware as to what it is, it’s also a loving homage to the British spy films of the 60’s and 70’s. Be it the gentlemanly manner of all the Kingsman, the clever gadgets, or the witty dialog, it’s all there. What also amazes me about this are the performances given.
Let’s start with Colin Firth. Any experienced moviegoer is used to seeing him films such as The English Patient (1996), Love Actually (3003), A Serious Man (2009), The King’s Speech (2010) and even a TV miniseries such as Pride and Prejudice (1995). Here, not only is he charming, funny and all around gentlemanly, he kicks so much ass and gets a body count to rival Sylvester Stallone or Reb Brown. The scene in the church in particular is something to behold when under the influence of Valentine, kills pretty much everyone in the building. That was all kinds of awesome!
Let’s now look at Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine. He is funny in this movie! He plays a megalomaniac who has a lisp and hates looking at blood. I can safely say I have never seen that before. Every time he is on screen, I smiled. He also has some good lines and some witty banter with Firth. I’ll be honest and say I couldn’t help but kind of like the guy.
And, of course, all the young actors in the film are great as well with Egerton, Sophie Cookson (she plays Roxy, another Kingsman candidate) and Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, Valentine’s bodyguard and lethal killer with leg blades.
The action is fast paced, intense and dare I say wonderfully bloody. Yes, this picture is violent but it is a very stylized violence and it is so over the top in many respects that it is downright comical. There was not too much shaky cam (a lot of time this can be an action movie kiss of death if not used correctly), it is edited competently and I could tell what was happening. There is a lot of bloodshed but I never saw a lot in terms of intense graphic gore or anything related but I would advise that those out there who are even the slightest bit squeamish should probably sit this one out.
I honestly don’t know what else to say. This movie rocks! Before the new film comes out go and check out this one for yourself. I strongly advise to go into this movie blind. What I mean is do not watch any spoiler heavy reviews (I have kept mine short and spoiler free) or Wikipedia entries of any kind and experience it as I and probably many others have. You won’t regret it. It’s bloody brilliant!
