Decent attempt at updating classic Bond tropes.

Rating: 6/10 (11 February 2015)

I went into Kingsman without any knowledge of this movie other than having seen the trailer once and knowing it was leaning towards the corny and cheesy character of the classic Bond movies. A concept that has been tried many times before, but even when done bad still results in pretty fun to watch movies.
Kingsman does many things better than Bond spoofs like Austin Powers or the abysmal Johnny English and a large part of that is due to the actors used in this movie. Jackson and Firth play their roles like they should with Jackson being quite hilarious. The main 'teen' actors aren't annoying as well, which was a big relief.
Storywise this movie makes as little sense as the more out-there Bond movies. To be honest: I already forgot its plot mostly. Not that it matters: its simply a vehicle for a few pretty big action scenes. One of which, in a church, is quite spectacular.
When it comes down to it however, Kingsman doesn't quite offer the thrill of a Bond movie. Worse is the fact that at one point it becomes too reliant (and too self aware) of it's Bond inspiration. To the point of a cringe-worthy joke that involves Bond, Bourne and Bauer being mentioned explicitly. This over abundance of Bond related themes and jokes isn't Kingsman's biggest flaw though. As spectacular and brutal as some action scenes are, they are sometimes nauseating to watch do to annoying camera work and some of the worst CGI I've seen in a major cinema movie in a long time. We rightfully criticize The Hobbit for this, but Kingsman is an even worse offender of bad CGI usage. This more than often gives the brutal action a bit too much of a cartoony, very 'Kick-Ass' feel. It could've been cartoony-Expendable-esque action, instead its Tom and Jerry with blood and bad effects.
That's not saying there are no fun moments in this movie. There are quite a few. Taken as a whole however, this movie just didn't deliver. Nor does it proof the classic-Bond formula still works. It's Kick-Ass influences and over the top humor make it a thing of its own; gadgets and women or not. It's simply a high paced, bit too self aware and slapstick-humor variation of some classic spie movie tropes.
6/10