Has its moments but gets way too cruel and vicious

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2015)

Gary "Eggsy" (Taron Egerton) is a teenager who has no direction in life. His father was part of a secret agency called Kingsman who battle evil undercover. His father was killed when Eggsy was a baby. His fathers mentor Harry (Colin Firth) persuades Eggsy to try out for the Kingsman. Then there's evil Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) who has a (pretty stupid) idea for world domination.
This has been a hit with critics and audiences seem to like it. However this directors last film was "Kick-Ass" which was OK but got way too violent and vicious in the end. This is no exception. The beginning and middle are not bad. Full of action and energy and some excitement. The violence is restrained but really kicks in at the end. As a rule violence doesn't bother me. However this movie seems to take an unhealthy attitude to it. They seem to LOVE showing people being viciously killed or tortured. It's all speeded up so it's like a Looney Tunes on acid so it isn't too upsetting but after a while it wears you down. It got depressing and uncomfortable. Also the movie is far too long. This doesn't have to run over two hours. Worst of all is Jackson. He's TERRIBLE! His OTT performance wasn't funny or amusing--it was just incredibly annoying. And what was with that lisp? Pretty stupid plot too even for a spy spoof.
On the positive side the rest of the acting was pretty good. Egerton is a likable main character; Firth is always good; Michael Caine is good also in his too few scenes; Mark Strong is fun as Merlin and Sofia Boutella is interesting as Gazelle. So it does have a lot of action, suspense and violence but it's too much and far too cruel.