If you liked "Kick Ass", you'll like "Kingsman: The Secret Service".

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2015)

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" isn't quite what you'd expect having seen how the film has been advertised. But for those who might have read the well-acclaimed 2012 comic that the film is based on and from there may have noticed that the film is bringing back the same duo that bought us "Kick Ass" (Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar), "Kingsman: The Secret Service" may perhaps prove to be less of a shock. The film is most of all a fun one, well-executed by the man whose influence is prominent in it, Matthew Vaughn, the film's director. But Vaughn's style, as seen in the several action sequences that come to define the film are not all that "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is and the rest of it is relatively generic, poor and boring and definitely stands out in contrast to what I remember "Kingsman: The Secret Service" for.
The film's action sequences are each brilliant with one in particular perhaps being the best I have ever seen, where Colin Firth (playing Harry Hart) cuts and shoots his way through the throats and heads of a group of fire and brimstone American, bigot church-goers. The film's ending is also brilliantly shot, unfolding in front of you like a painting. Some have called this style obnoxious, which I understand, but it fits into what "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is, a film with James Bond archetypes that have been cranked up to about level 100, and that are the complete opposite of the James Bond films we are currently used to.
And this is the same for the film's main villain, tech billionaire Richard Valentine (played brilliantly by Samuel L. Jackson) who obviously has a phobia of sorts for blood and a lisp. He dresses in a way that is a relief in contrast to the suits I've seen almost every single James Bond villain play in recent times, instead wearing orange, blue or purple baseball caps with matching outfits of course. When I first saw Jackson on screen I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
What lets the film down is in what happens when Colin Firth isn't killing everybody in the room. Boring archetypal stuff that is a product of what happens when this James Bond parody is trying to be serious for a moment. Moments like when the film's protagonist, Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin (played by newcomer Taron Egerton) is running down corridors with soldiers chasing after him and miraculously seemingly forgetting how to shoot their guns (I mean this scene is painfully poorly shot). It's these moments I suppose that emphasise how Vaughn is not much a director of actors, but more of action and that is where he succeeds here, as he did in "Kick Ass".
Ultimately "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is a good film, and the average member of the audience my age will come out agreeing with me because of how similar it is to what we saw in "Kick Ass", but for the critic that I am slowly becoming several things stood out to me which proved detrimental towards the film's style. However, if you want to see a film that is full of blood and gore with a great soundtrack to keep the pace up, a film that in many ways I found took inspiration from my favourite film of 2014, "Guardians of the Galaxy", then look no further. You don't need to think and you can just be whisked away by Matthew Vaughn along the corridors of Richard Valentin's base, even though there may be the occasional moment when you find the soldiers aren't shooting at, nor running after you.