“Kingsman: The Secret Service” is about a mischievous, unquestionably non-gentlemanly boy named Eggsy who gets recruited to train for a spot in a secret gentlemen’s spy organization called Kingsman after the death of a current member.
In just his fifth outing in the director’s chair, Matthew Vaughn has shown his consistent ability to make high-octane, stylish and spectacular films. “Kingsman” is his most fun movie to date, with enough interesting espionage, mind-blowing action sequences, subversive humor and witty self-awareness to make for an incredibly wild ride of a movie experience that, if you can stomach it, you won’t want to miss.
What “Kick-Ass” was to superheroes, “Kingsman” is to spies. Vaughn took a relatively overdone genre and amped up the violence, style and humor with brilliant results. While it very clearly draws from the likes of James Bond and Jason Bourne, who take themselves seriously, “Kingsman” is fully aware of its cartoonish and playful nature. It pays homage to those films by making references without being satirical, and as soon as you think the story is going to degrade into the generic spy movie formula, a character will say something along the lines of “This ain’t that kind of movie” and proceed to completely surprise you. I love that the filmmakers managed to put some fresh aspects into a well-explored genre.
For those of you who don’t know, one of Colin Firth’s most well-known roles is his portrayal of King George VI in “The King’s Speech,” where he had a speech impediment. That being said, the fact that he is nearly invincible in this movie and his main adversary is Samuel L. Jackson with a speech impediment is entirely welcome and definitely comical. Firth is spectacular as the chivalrous, bad-to-the-bone spy, and Jackson clearly has a wonderful time as the verbally afflicted, tree-hugging villain, whose quirk of not being able to handle the sight of blood is even funnier than the voice he uses to tell us that. Newcomer Taron Egerton does surprisingly well in his role as a poverty-stricken, ill-behaved youth, and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do in the next few years.
As far as fight scenes go, Vaughn is the best in the business. He avoids the slapstick action of Edgar Wright and the abundant gore of Tarantino, and even if little else is taken seriously in this movie, as soon as weapons are brandished, Vaughn doesn’t mess around. He films the fights in a way that you can easily follow exactly what’s going on because of the excellent choreography and minimal use of shaky cam. On top of that, he takes the action scenes from memorable to legendary with his unconventional song choices. With fights, you’re used to hearing some epic orchestral piece that makes you feel like you’re in “Lord of the Rings,” but not with “Kingsman.”
There’s a certain scene in this movie that may just be the best fight scene I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a few. The “church scene” should go down in the history books of fight scenes, and it seems to be a blatant stab at Westboro Baptist Church. There’s something about seeing a polite British gentleman in his 50s killing somewhere upwards of 100 people effortlessly that is really exciting to watch. What song does Vaughn choose for that? “Free Bird.” Seriously. And it couldn’t be more awesome.
If I had to have a problem with this movie, I’d say that at one point they emphasize teamwork, but in a scene soon after, they ask the candidates to do something that completely goes against that, and there’s a joke that goes just a little too far at the end, but those circumstances are completely forgivable compared to the rest of the film.
Overall, “Kingsman” is a ridiculously enjoyable, enjoyably ridiculous movie that never falls into parody despite its unashamed self-awareness and extremely cartoony nature, and it solidifies Taron Egerton as a rising star. Its vulgarity and over-the-top violence probably mean that “Kingsman” is not for everyone, but it made for the most enjoyable trip to the movies I’ve had in 2015.
_Pass the Popcorn if:_ You are a firm believer that chivalry never goes out of style. You’re a die-hard fan of the “Bond” films and need something to tide you over until “Spectre.” You find a way to sneak out of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and into this. You want to see an action scene people will be talking about.
_Pass it up if:_ You can’t stomach excessive violence (You see someone throw up once, too, so that’s kind of gross, I guess). A speech impediment makes you irreconcilably furious. You are a member of Westboro Baptist Church.
