Kingsman: The Secret Service

2014’s “Kingsmen: The Secret Service”, directed by Matthew Vaughn.

Starring Colin Firth, Tarron Egerton, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Davenport, Michael Caine,  Sophia Boutella, Lily Travers, Mark Hamill, and Samantha Womack.

What is it about?

Tarron Egerton stars as a young working class Brit in London who one day as a child is approached by a British gentleman (Colin Firth). Firth explains to him about how Firth owes a debt to his deceased father, and gives him a medallion to call in a favour when he gets older. We flash forwards to present day, where Egerton is a young man, getting into trouble with the local hoods, and stealing cars to settle scores. Nicked by the police, Egerton calls in his favour and ends up meeting Firth. Out of a sense of obligation, Firth lets Egerton try out to join his elite non governmental spy agency, The Kingsman, who pose as tailors but actually fight global terrorism. Should Egerton be successful in passing his dangerous tests to become a Kingsman, he’ll need to help in the fight to stop a madman tech genius (Samuel Jackson). With an assistant (Sophia Boutella ) who has razor sharp prosthetic legs to keep people in line, Jackson plans on distributing free cell phone plans to the world’s population. However, Jackson has a plan to use his technology to send a signal that makes people homicidal, in a type of Gaia worshipping earth cleansing that will restore the planet’s environmental balance after the population wipes itself out. Will Egerton pass his schooling and be able to help thwart Jackson?

Why is it worth seeing?

“Kingsman” is a modern day version of James Bond, keeping the outlandish villains, the prim and proper values of British Tories, and the timely gadgets that come in handy when battling henchmen. But the modern part here is we get almost cartoon elements added to the Bond themes, through some of the comedy elements, and more importantly, the overall narrative. Let’s just say the less you think, the more you can enjoy the ride.

Here, Oscar Winner Colin Firth is fantastic, as the old guard trying to teach the new dog his tricks (along with the solid Mark Strong, playing a version of Q). Jackson, who has been a in a lot of films where the term auto pilot would be an understatement, but here he tries something he’s never done before, a whiny entrepreneur who has quite the lisp and hates getting his hands dirty while attempting to purge the planet of it’s inhabitants. But Tagerton’s range is limited, and even when he puts on the suit and adapts the mannerisms, it’s tough to imagine him giving up the track suit life and retiring the baseball hat and chain wardrobe.

Peppered with adrenalized action sequences to keep things interesting, Vaughn certainly leaves no chambers empty in this weaponized comedy spy action thriller. Ever the stylist, Vaughn knows a lot about making hearts pound, and it’s tough to not go through his career catalogue as you watch “Kingsman”. There’s the scenes of outcasts being taught to become more proficient in their training, while flying vehicles out of the mansion (“X-Men:First Class), and there’s the class warfare themes of living in the “smart part of town” where Firth (and later Egorton) live, as in “Layer Cake”. But unlike his other films, which have a degree of restraint, here he cranks the absurdity up to 11, with scenes like a church congregation slaughtering each other, and another where a group of people’s heads explode in cartoonish fireworks. It’s cheerfully macabre stuff, and all done in the name of protecting British values… or something like that. At least James Bond, who at times questioned the values of his employer, worked for the government (who at least attempt to serve their people). Here, we watch a private citizenry, funded by old money, operate apart from and above the law, in order to protect society, so poor and disheveled in it’s plebian values, from itself. The movie does explain that they came about in the 19^th century, and because of WWI leaving so many wealthy people without heirs to inherit their fortunes, that they decided to give back with the “selfless” Kingsman. Right. They also call themselves a modern day version of knights- which king do they serve? By accident, “Kingsman”’s antagonist AND protagonist(s) make the case for why participants in a democracy want accountability and justice while advancing forwards as a society- and that will take more than a pair of Oxfords.

Rating:

3.5/5

Trailer: Click Here.