Kingsman: The Secret Service is a film released in 2015, staring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophie Cookson and Sofia Boutella.
It is about a young man called Eggsy(Taron Egerton) who lives in modern day London with his mum, newly born sister and abusive boyfriend. Eggsy finds out his belated father was part of the Kingsman, the most well mannered spies around.Harry Hart (played by the most unsuspecting action hero Colin Firth) recruits him to join the Kingsman to stop Valentine(Samuel L.Jackson )from ending humanity.
Although the plot sounds generic, I’m trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible because when I was scrolling through Now TV and I thought it was going to be a generic action flick but this movie surprised me on so many levels and I want you who’s reading this to feel that experience as well.
Mathew Vaughn brings his signature style to this film with some slick action and great laughs to be had. This movie is more of a comedy then it is spy but the comedy and the performances are what make this movie work so well as it does.
Kingsman manages to pull off almost all of its humour well thanks to writer and director Mathew Vaughn and Jane Goldman with their great build up and pay off. The sense of humour is really funny and true to real life and doesn’t feel over exaggerated or unnatural. It all flows really well and it has some jokes taking a few disses at other spy movies which is great for anyone who has watched a few spy movies over the years.
Taron Egerton really surprised me and I’m glad he’s gotten more work. He was a relatively unknown actor and gave Eggsy humanity and motivations that made us as an audience connect with him and makes us feel for him when he succeeds or fails.
Samuel L. Jackson also is great as Valentine that has a lisp and doesn’t like blood and this adds so much humanity to his character and whilst he doesn’t go insane like Samuel L.Jackson usually does, he is still brilliant and very likeable even as a villain.
Sophie Cookson as Roxy also provided a friend side character to Eggsy and gets a good intense scene towards the third act of the movie and a good female protagonist but I wish there was more of her and Sofia Boutella as Valentine’s henchman was a great jab at spy movie cliches that the henchman have some body disfigurement but Colin Firth as Harry Hart took me by surprise.
When I saw him I thought, “Really, the dad from Mamma Mia? You’ve got to be kidding me!” but oh my goodness, did he surprise me: he was my favourite character and performer of the film. He has one really amazing scene which may be one of the best scenes of film I have ever seen. I’ll give you a hint, he is in a church with a hate group. Enough said.
Colin Firth also brings his swagger and and confidence to his character which makes him that much more entertaining to watch. Speaking of things entertaining to watch, the action is very well handled and fast paced. It barley gives you a moment to breath and that could be seen as a fault for the film but for me personally, the action was a pleasure to watch.
Mark Strong as Merlin is also very witty and just like with Roxy I wish we could’ve got more of him but he served his role really well and gets some great lines and interactions with other characters.
Kingsman is quite a cheeky film and I don’t usually associate the adjective cheeky with a film but Kingsman accomplishes that and it doesn’t shy away from the gore and some graphic moments so it’s safe to say it isn’t for the lighthearted. But I have to admit this movie is made for British people who understand British humour so some people overseas who watch it might not find it as amusing as British people do so that is a negative.
Another negative could be that it uses a cliché of training Eggsy for the first act with little action in there which whilst is entertaining and probably handled in the best way they could, showing how gruelling the tests are, it can be seen as a way to fill up time and it contrasts with the pacing of the film as a whole.
The camera work for the action is perfectly clear and follows who is fighting giving us a feeling of being involved in the action scenes which makes it more exciting and epic. Some of the wide shots of locations are very beautiful as well.
I also can’t forget about the gorgeous music: the theme for the Kingsman is epic and gives a true sense that something awesome is about to happen and the uses of the music are great and it knows when to kickstart the music to really loud and when to keep it quiet. Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson do a masterful job giving us a classic spy themes with modern spy music from today and they blend really well.
Overall, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a great achievement in the spy genre and for the director by diverting our expectations and making these fictional characters into real human beings. Mathew Vaughn definitely delivers a smart, well made, exhilarating film with a lot of humour and a lot of heart. I would recommend this to many British people. Although it might drag in the first act and some of the humour might not land for some people, to me, this movie is one of my favourite spy movies and I definitely wanted more.
9/10
WARNING: watch out for the end scene. If you are watching this film with a child aged 11-13 shield their eyes. You will thank me later.
