Kingsman: The Secret Service - directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson, Jack Davenport, Samantha Womack, Hanna Alstrom, Mark Hamill
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: R16 for frequent bloody (comic booky) violence and lots of profanity
I love a movie that firmly announces its intentions right out of the blocks and so I love this one because that is exactly what it does.
The tone is set very early with a slickly shot over the top credit sequence complete with flashy titles and a built in sense of its own ridiculousness.
This is after all a film from writer Jane Goldman and director Matthew Vaughn- the team who brought us "Stardust", "X-Men: First Class" and "Kick Ass".
And this one is far more like Kick Ass than the others on that list.
Therefore it is loaded with bloody violence and profanity - none of it to be taken at all seriously.
Not for even one second.
Based on the Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons comic book of the same name this film is single mindedly constructed to be good, harmless fun.
It is what Goodman and Vaughn are known for and they are without equal in this realm but this film packs in a secret sauce for extra flavour just in case.
Colin Firth.
If you are one of the seemingly very, very few people who don't consider yourself a fan of Firth this movie will make you one.
If it doesn't - nothing will.
It's not just that Firth is great (as usual) it's more that you have never seen him like this before.
He plays Galahad - a modern day James Bond type.
Galahad belongs to the Kingsman a private spy agency founded with money originally intended for the deceased heirs of wealthy Brits killed in World War 1.
Galahad and his colleagues- all named after Arthurian knights- fight for world peace armed with guns, hidden knives, secret surveillance gear and most importantly well tailored suits and heavily modified umbrellas!
Like I said- not to be taken seriously for a second.
In an early scene Firth takes out a pub full of louts without breaking a sweat.
He uses his surroundings and a host of gadgets in a flurry of tooth ripping, bone crunching knife slashing moves that Vaughn choreographs to perfection.
In the hands of a lesser director it could have been one of those awful over-edited and confusing messes the likes of which fill the overstuffed guts of most of the Transformers movies.
But it is merely a warmup for a scene late in the piece that is an absurdly, joyously violent kinetic adrenaline shot of a thing that will have you open mouthed in between squeals of glee.
If you've ever wanted to see a dapper English gent take to a Westboro Baptist styled church full of hatred filled racists then this is your movie!
It is one of the best action scenes of recent times. It is staged wonderfully well and throws in first person views, acrobatic hand to hand combat, John Woo level gunplay and enough blunt force trauma to fill an entire season of The Walking Dead.
As good as Firth is credit needs to be given to young Welsh actor Taron Egerton.
Effectively the lead as the street smart Eggsie he more than holds his own against some serious heavyweight talent.
He has scenes with not only Firth but Michael Caine, Mark Strong and Samuel L Jackson.
Eggsie is recruited into a programme to train as a Kingsman agent.
He is joined by the lovely Sophie Cookson as Roxy.
This is the one aspect that I didn't enjoy so much.
It's not that Cookson isn't good- she most certainly is- she is just grossly underused.
The character seems to be building up to big things only to peak and fade away.
At least it avoids the usual cliches of the genre when it comes to the pretty girl who ends up a useless mess awaiting rescue but still- she deserved more screen time.
It is a unusual complaint to level at screenwriter Jane Goldman who is terrific at creating well formed female characters.
It is really the only niggle that I can level at this film however.
"Kingsman" is a delightfully well crafted thrill show with a surprise around every corner.
If you've seen any of the pre-release trailers you know more than enough about the plot without me reiterating it.
However I do need to just mention The Swedish Princess and a finishing line from Mark Strong that is as perfect as the marvelous scene that it caps off.
You will know what I mean about both when you see them.
With a massive body count and numerous laugh out loud lines this film will satisfy all but the most joyless of folk.
Firth utterly owns it but it is the Vaughn-Goldman pairing that once again delivers the goods.
They serve up a rollercoaster ride of violent treats stuffed to the gills with jawdroppingly daring lines for the entire two hours plus.
Strong, Firth, Davenport and Jackson are clearly having the time of their lives playing their parts and that is exactly what you are more than likely going to do watching this movie.
A massive amount of fun.
Oh, and extra special mention for the great soundtrack that offers up some terrific eighties pop hits.
RATING: 88 / 100
CONCLUSION: A blast of manic fun loaded with wicked lines and audaciously over the top scenes - See this!!
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: R16 for frequent bloody (comic booky) violence and lots of profanity
I love a movie that firmly announces its intentions right out of the blocks and so I love this one because that is exactly what it does.
The tone is set very early with a slickly shot over the top credit sequence complete with flashy titles and a built in sense of its own ridiculousness.
This is after all a film from writer Jane Goldman and director Matthew Vaughn- the team who brought us "Stardust", "X-Men: First Class" and "Kick Ass".
And this one is far more like Kick Ass than the others on that list.
Therefore it is loaded with bloody violence and profanity - none of it to be taken at all seriously.
Not for even one second.
Based on the Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons comic book of the same name this film is single mindedly constructed to be good, harmless fun.
It is what Goodman and Vaughn are known for and they are without equal in this realm but this film packs in a secret sauce for extra flavour just in case.
Colin Firth.
If you are one of the seemingly very, very few people who don't consider yourself a fan of Firth this movie will make you one.
If it doesn't - nothing will.
It's not just that Firth is great (as usual) it's more that you have never seen him like this before.
He plays Galahad - a modern day James Bond type.
Galahad belongs to the Kingsman a private spy agency founded with money originally intended for the deceased heirs of wealthy Brits killed in World War 1.
Galahad and his colleagues- all named after Arthurian knights- fight for world peace armed with guns, hidden knives, secret surveillance gear and most importantly well tailored suits and heavily modified umbrellas!
Like I said- not to be taken seriously for a second.
In an early scene Firth takes out a pub full of louts without breaking a sweat.
He uses his surroundings and a host of gadgets in a flurry of tooth ripping, bone crunching knife slashing moves that Vaughn choreographs to perfection.
In the hands of a lesser director it could have been one of those awful over-edited and confusing messes the likes of which fill the overstuffed guts of most of the Transformers movies.
But it is merely a warmup for a scene late in the piece that is an absurdly, joyously violent kinetic adrenaline shot of a thing that will have you open mouthed in between squeals of glee.
If you've ever wanted to see a dapper English gent take to a Westboro Baptist styled church full of hatred filled racists then this is your movie!
It is one of the best action scenes of recent times. It is staged wonderfully well and throws in first person views, acrobatic hand to hand combat, John Woo level gunplay and enough blunt force trauma to fill an entire season of The Walking Dead.
 |
| The Church scene is reason enough to see this but it is merely one of a slew of truly dazzling action sequences |
Effectively the lead as the street smart Eggsie he more than holds his own against some serious heavyweight talent.
He has scenes with not only Firth but Michael Caine, Mark Strong and Samuel L Jackson.
Eggsie is recruited into a programme to train as a Kingsman agent.
He is joined by the lovely Sophie Cookson as Roxy.
This is the one aspect that I didn't enjoy so much.
It's not that Cookson isn't good- she most certainly is- she is just grossly underused.
The character seems to be building up to big things only to peak and fade away.
At least it avoids the usual cliches of the genre when it comes to the pretty girl who ends up a useless mess awaiting rescue but still- she deserved more screen time.
It is a unusual complaint to level at screenwriter Jane Goldman who is terrific at creating well formed female characters.
It is really the only niggle that I can level at this film however.
"Kingsman" is a delightfully well crafted thrill show with a surprise around every corner.
If you've seen any of the pre-release trailers you know more than enough about the plot without me reiterating it.
However I do need to just mention The Swedish Princess and a finishing line from Mark Strong that is as perfect as the marvelous scene that it caps off.
You will know what I mean about both when you see them.
 |
| The great cast includes Colin Firth, Mark Strong (left), the gorgeous Hanna Alstrom and an hilarious Samuel L Jackson |
Firth utterly owns it but it is the Vaughn-Goldman pairing that once again delivers the goods.
They serve up a rollercoaster ride of violent treats stuffed to the gills with jawdroppingly daring lines for the entire two hours plus.
Strong, Firth, Davenport and Jackson are clearly having the time of their lives playing their parts and that is exactly what you are more than likely going to do watching this movie.
A massive amount of fun.
Oh, and extra special mention for the great soundtrack that offers up some terrific eighties pop hits.
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