Kingsman: The Secret Service is a tip of the cap to classic spy movies – well-tailored British good guys with guns, gadgets and proper manners, a maniacal bad guy with a killer sidekick that has a unique way of dealing with enemies – but with a youthful twist.
Rather than a 30-something (or 40-something) Bond clone, the hero of this Matthew Vaughn-helmed comic book adaptation is an early 20s troublemaker with a quick wit and an even quicker ability to pick up how to be a spy.
This is a popcorn flick – a fun, action-packed, smart-ass movie with a bunch of “we’re in on the joke” jokes and Samuel L. Jackson as a megalomaniac with a lisp and a sharp, colourful wardrobe. Oh, he also has a Gazelle, his right-hand lady who just so happens to have a set of paralympic blade runner legs with razor-sharp lances in them.
There are going to be some that over-analyze this movie, picking at it for any number of things without realizing that it’s a friggin’ movie! Honestly, there are some times where you have to just sit back, enjoy the fact that billionaire bad guy Sam Jackson serves an assortment of MacDonald’s products to his dinner guests (“Two cheeseburgers with special sauce is the way to go!” is an actual quote) and stop worrying about the “well that’s not realistic” elements.
Of course they’re not realistic – it’s a friggin’ movie! There is no bad guy out there looking to protect Iggy Azalea from the impending chaos he’s about to unleash on the world either. If you want to argue what’s not plausible about this movie, take umbridge with the fact that pretty much no one that was bent on keeping a select group of people alive would be like, “You know, I need to make sure I-G-G-Y is safe,” except maybe her boyfriend, Lakers forward/chucker Nick Young, a.k.a. “Swaggy P.”
Colin Firth is terrific in an outside the box role as the elder Kingsman that takes our 20-something hero “Eggsy” (Taron Egerton) under his wing, throwing more punches in the first bar fight in this film (there are a couple) than he has in every other film he’s made combined. And he looks good doing it, both in terms of what he’s wearing (bespoked suit, glasses, Bremont watch, signet ring) and his movements in the aciton sequences.
And you’re going to be hearing a lot from Egerton in the future too as the 25-year-old has a Tom Hardy quality about him that is sure to land him some bigger parts down the line.
This is a film that has franchise written all over it too, and Vaughn and his team have expressed interest in doing a sequel. Not all movies should have follow-ups, but this could easily become an every-other-summer type series where Egerton and the rest of the Kingsman keep going on adventures and having fun.
On a weekend where tons of people are taking in 50 Shades of Grey and trying to figure out why it is such a big deal, don’t be afraid to enjoy an old fashion spy movie with a modern, James Bond Jr. twist.
