Kingsman: The Secret Service

Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Sophie Cookson, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi

[Rating: 4.5/5] 

Matthew Vaughn has gone on record recently stating that audiences are sick of the ‘grim’ and ‘dark’ Christopher Nolan style comic book films. You only need to look at this man’s record to see that he definitely practices what he preaches. Boasting a filmography including Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class it’s very clear that Vaughn tends towards the bright, colourful and fun side of the comic book spectrum. In his latest work, Vaughn has developed another comic book property for the big screen in the form of Kingsman: The Secret Service which also boasts a vibrant colour-palette and over-the-top action sequences. Is Vaughn successful in his latest attempt to add a bit of playful energy into the comic book genre or is dark, grim and gritty really the best way to go?

After a fellow member of his top-secret spy organisation is brutally and mysteriously murdered, Harry Hart (Colin Firth), codenamed ‘Galahad’, is tasked with putting forward a candidate for replacement. Harry has his eyes on the son of another ex-teammate of his, a spunky young delinquent called Eggsy (Taron Egerton). Eggsy has to traverse and survive a series of dangerous tasks and challenges put forward by organisation head ‘Arthur’ (Michael Cain) and head tech-guru and trainer ‘Merlin’ (Mark Strong) all while having to deal with the snotty nature of his fellow ivy-league candidates, along the way forming a strong bond with fellow candidate Roxy (Sophie Cookson). Meanwhile, egomaniacal tech guru Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) plots a world-wide catastrophe to ‘fix’ the planet with the help of his deadly assistant, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella).

Kingsman: The Secret Service is setting the bar extremely high for the rest of 2015. Right out of the gate we have a fun, kinetic, exuberant and engaging piece of cinema that, while at times a little juvenile, is positively charming and dares you not to like it. The characters are clear and each have a distinct journey, the world is rich and full, the action set-pieces are fantastic with an amazing level of energy and the overall story, while simple, is just plain delightful. Vaughn has a distinct, crystal clear vision for this world and he executes it to near perfection.

Vaughn has always had the amazing ability to find fresh, fun new talent while locking down seasoned veterans and drawing exciting performances out of them and this film is absolutely no exception. Newcomer Taron Egerton as our rascally protagonist Eggsy is charming, witty and just rough enough around the edges to be absolutely likable. Firth is in full form here being as charming, dapper, poised and ruthless as ever. There is just nothing quite comparable to seeing someone as straight-laced as Firth kick some serious butt. Then we have Samuel L. Jackson who, thank the heavens, is actually acting here! For the first time in years I’m not thinking “Oh , look, Samuel L. Jackson wondered on set and said something bad ass”. He has developed an entertaining and devious character here and it is wonderful. He clearly had the time of his life with this film and it really shows on screen.

This film, however, may not be for everyone. Much like Vaughn’s Kick-Ass and Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this film is a funny beast that will not be easy to market. It’s bright and colourful and, as some trailers might have you believe, actually looks appropriate for children. It isn’t. Not in the slightest. This is an extremely violent film. Sure, it’s quite cartoony but still very very violent. It saddens me to think that this film might not do well in the box office because it deserves to. It is such a well-crafted, fun piece of cinema that it definitely deserves to find its proper audience. On top of the extreme violence there are moments of fairly juvenile humour placed in that are clearly put in for the 15-20 year old male audience, but the rest of the film is so jovial and over-the-top that it mostly comes off as an, “Oh, you!” moment.

So, while anyone under 15 probably shouldn’t see this movie and older audiences might feel completely lost here I feel the majority of young adult cinema goers will have an absolute blast with this fun, kinetic and engaging piece of cinema. Kingsman: The Secret Service is a breath of fresh air for comic book films that seeks to prove that you can still be an adult film without having to be too serious about it. Go see it. Go see it now.