Kingsman: The Secret Service (Review)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Action, Adventure, Comedy

Directed By: Matthew Vaughn

This past Tuesday Matthew Vaughn's newest film, Kingsman: The Secret Service hit stores everywhere on Blu-Ray and DVD. I saw the movie back in February when it was released but unfortunately never reviewed it so I've decided why not do it now? Enough of you seem interested in my opinion. It was a surprise hit at the box office and to put it simply; I had a ton of fun with this movie. It takes everything we love about the old silly spy films from the past and turns the dial up to 11. With high class "hard R" action, a clever plot, and tons to laugh at Kingsman remains one of my favorites of the year so far.

Based on the popular comic books created by Mark Millar, the story centers on a group of highly trained covert spies called, you guessed it, The Kingsman. This is a secret society of bad-ass agents who have been quietly protecting the world for over a hundred years. They don't operate under the control of any government or regime; instead they just do what’s necessary. They only keep a select number of spies and only add a new recruit when an elder has died. This is where we start our film, right in the middle of a mission being run by two Kingsman and their young candidates. One of them dies in combat and the other is awarded the open slot as the newest agent. Fast forward immediately seventeen years and we are about to watch this process unfold in full with a new bunch of recruits.

It has been nearly two decades since the last time they had to do this and much like that time, Harry hart (Colin Firth) decides to pick an unconventional candidate for service. He believes that the Kingsman haven't been changing with the times and with a new age comes a new breed of spy. So he recruits the son of his former choice, Eggsy played by up and comer Taron Egerton. He comes from a broken background and without a father to raise him he has lived a life of petty crime. Harry believes this kid is destined for greatness and offers him the opportunity of a lifetime and enters him into training. All the while the agency is tracking a huge terrorist plot led by the richest man alive, Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), and when he threatens mass genocide across the entire planet the trainee's find that they might have a lot more to worry about than just winning that open seat.

This film marks the second time a Mark Millar comic has been adapted to screen as well as the second time he’s paired up with director Matthew Vaughn. The two seem to be a perfect match; between Kick-Ass and this we have been given two incredible hard R comic book adaptations. For the same reasons we loved Kick-Ass so much, Kingsman is a brilliant movie. For starters the action is incredible. The choreography between hand to hand combat and gun play is brutally gorgeous. The best thing about Vaughn is he isn't afraid to take his action to the next level. He doesn't like to cut away just as the kill shot is happening; he tends to show you the action through and through. This elevates the film quite a bit. The fight scene in the bar or the completely bonkers church scene wouldn't have had the same impact without Vaughn’s touch. I also have to mention that the church battle is one of the greatest action sequences of recent memory; it's completely out of this world.

Taron Egerton plays the lead role in the film and was a fairly unknown actor until that point so they brought in a slew of talent to help ease him into the starlight. Colin Firth almost steals the show as Harry (who is basically the modern embodiment of the classic Bond's) and if it weren't for a great final act he just might have. Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain in this movie and is actually quite a refreshing role for one of the most iconic working actors. He departs from his typical character and becomes something we have never really seen him do before; I don't think I ever thought I'd see Sam Jackson with a lisp. Mark Strong, Michael Caine, and Mark Hamill also have small roles in the film and all help to make this much more than the average spy movie.

Kingsman is a true to form spy movie from start to finish. Millar and Vaughn have captured everything that made us love the old style movies so much and brought them all into the new age. From the clean cut suits down to the little gadgets, they don't miss a single detail. As much as I even love the new Bond films, I'd have to say this is the truest 'Bond" flick we have seen in some time. The banter is fun and playful, everything is pretty to look at and beyond all else, there is tons of awesome spy gear that you'd swear came right from the mind of Q. The scene in the tailors will make your inner child giggle uncontrollably.

Seeing movies like this and Kick-Ass give me so much hope for things like Deadpool and other mature comics that will hopefully one day be adapted. These films prove that not every comic book movie has to be made for an all age’s audience. The people who grew up reading comics have matured just like the rest of the world and we deserve mature movies. I've heard buzz of a sequel and as much as that excites me, I don't know if I'd like to see it done without Matthew Vaughn attached in some way. Kick-Ass 2 suffered because of the lack of his presence and I can only Image the same would happen here. That being said there is so much you can do with this universe and these characters that it would be a shame to leave them alone after just one movie. Barely halfway through 2015 and I can safely say this movie is sitting in my Top 5 for the year so far. If you haven't seen it yet you can find it on all media outlets (Blu-Ray, DVD or VOD) and I highly suggest checking out first chance you get.

As always, thanks for reading guys! And you can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!