A new kind of spy movie

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2015)

If you said that 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' was like a 'Bond film' then you'd only be partly right. Yes, it's a 'spy movie,' yes you have a 'super villain' trying to basically take over the world and, yes, you have a 'gentleman spy' ready and waiting to stop him. Yet, for all its 'Bond-like' traits, I just can't really liken Kingsman to a Bond movie. It's not better or worse, just a different beast altogether.
It's different because – unlike Bond – it doesn't just concentrate on one area of the spy genre. Our gentleman spy in question is played expertly by Colin Firth and, if the film-makers had chosen to do so, they could have easily concentrated on his efforts to stop our (lisping!) super villain, Samuel L Jackson, from getting away with his dastardly plans. However, like I say, that's only part of the story. Mr Firth, Colin Firth, decides to take on a protégé in the form of a young lad from the rough end of London and train him up in the ways of the Force (in Star Wars terms, anyway). So, not only do we have a spy movie, but with a large helping of teenage coming-of-age thrown in there (oh, and the obligatory teenage romance to satisfy the 'Twilight generation'). Now, if you're already picking up on my distain for twinkling vampires and schoolgirls who don't seem able to smile or close their mouths, then you're probably right. I'm not a fan of teenage love stories and Kingsman could quite easily have fallen down here in my estimation. However, luckily, it's not the case and the 'teenage element' is actually done pretty well and hopefully won't alienate too many of the older generation (like me, for example).
I won't go into too many details about the plot. If you've seen one Bond film (or any other spy movie worth its name) then you'll know. The plot isn't important, only that you know that it's done very well. And, I should mention a special nod to the 'action scenes.' I'm not entirely sure how they're done, but they're damn awesome and stylishly put together.
If you like the slightly tongue-in-cheekness of old 'pre-Daniel Craig' Bond then you should enjoy Kingsman. It has decent performances, stylish action, over-the-top baddies (seriously... a woman with giant razor blades for legs has to be straight out of the Dr No era!) and even a touch of humanity and uplifting character development. A surprise package.