Delightfully fun

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2015)

I can't help but deliver a positive review for this movie. After all, anyone with a sense of humor and an appreciation for R-rated comical violence would enjoy this. Director Matthew Vaughn - although he has few films to his name - shows his creative side with Kingsman. The story walks a fine, fragile line between controversial levels of violence and dark humor. Although Kingsman reaches its hands into both of these cookie jars, it manages to maintain that balance while preserving the story.
The screenplay is smartly written, and just creative enough to avoid the mundane features of the action genre. By establishing solid character development in several scenes, the audience is kept in the loop, never being conflicted as to whether or not a scene is meant to shock, humor, or please. Perhaps it is the talented casting of Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, and Samuel L. Jackson that makes the "serious" scenes serious. There is enough meaningful dialogue between Eggsy and Colin Firth's character that we find a comfortable area with the progression of the story, and are not at the mercy of mindless violence to hold our attention. Nonetheless, Kingsman offers abundant violence that, had creative and fast cinematography not been utilized, would have been nearly unbearable to watch.
Crowd-pleasing, comical violence, and an intriguing premise make this movie a type of cross between any 007 film and Kill Bill. As such, any Quentin Tarantino fan will enjoy this movie for its stylistic scenes of excessive violence. It's not difficult at all to take this movie seriously; it doesn't rely on gore or sex. It's a refreshingly original type of fun, which is something that the action/comedy genre could use more of.