Director: Matthew Vaughan
Stars: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, Mark Hamill, Jack Davenport, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson
The Kingsman are a secret organisation dedicated to protecting world peace. When a dark plot arises and a member of their ranks falls, each of the agents propose a replacement. Eggsy (Egerton) has largely squandered his potential so when he’s approached by Galahad (Firth) and is shown this secret society he has to compete with well-educated candidates, but time is ticking as an evil genius seeks to complete his maniacal scheme.
The trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service looked slick but I wasn’t expecting myself to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s such a fun film and packs a lot into its two hours. As well as introducing all the characters and the organisation itself, the film also has to develop the enemy and it juggles these elements effortlessly. The action is slick and the whole film just feels suave, which is suitable considering the way the spies act.
As well as looking good the film sounds good too, the music blends with the action and they chose the perfect songs. The Freebird sequence is probably my favorite from the film. The humor was there too, and even though there are some over-the-top elements it plays with the conventions of the spy genre while updating them for modern sensibilities, without turning to be dark and gritty like so many other new films.
With such a lot going on some characters were perhaps not developed as well as they could have been, like the other candidates Eggsy was competing with. Speaking of the initiation process, and there are slight spoilers here, it comes down to whether the candidate is willing to shoot a puppy they have been caring for. I know this has real life precedent (I believe it’s in the Marines? Correct me if I’m wrong please) but here the Kingsman are said to be the pinnacle of gentlemanly conduct, but I can’t see anything gentlemanly about shooting a defenceless animal so that felt a bit at odds with how the society was portrayed.
But yes there’s not really much else I can say because in all honesty I’m just going to be raving about it. It’s such a stylish movie and there are no dull moments. Absolutely superb.
