Kingsman: The Secret Service

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2015)

Film 2015 with Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh described this film as over the top, the clips and trailers I saw certainly looked that way, with good critic reviews as well I was definitely up for it, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class). Basically secret agent Harry Hart and "Galahad" (Colin Firth) is unable to prevent the death of fellow agent Lee (Jonno Davies), feeling guilty he personally delivers a bravery medal to the agent's widow Michelle Unwin (Samantha Womack) and his young son, Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Alex Nikolov), saying that if they ever need help, they should call the phone number on the back of the medal and deliver a coded message. Seventeen year later, unknown assailants kidnap climate scientist Professor James Arnold (Mark Hamill), they are led by assassin Gazelle (Sofia Boutella), who has bladed prosthetic legs, and her employer, internet billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), Hart's compatriot "Lancelot" (Jack Davenport) is killed in a failed rescue attempt, as a philanthropist Valentine meets various heads of state and VIPs, some who afterwards go missing, he also announces a giveaway of SIM cards, granting free cellular and Internet access. In London, unemployed young adult "Eggsy" (Taron Egerton) lives with his mother, infant half-sister and abusive stepfather Dean (Geoff Bell), despite his intelligence and capability he dropped out of Royal Marines training, he now lives aimlessly, he is arrested for joyriding a stolen car, and he decides to call the number on the medal and utter the code word. Hart releases him from prison, then introduces him to the world of the Kingsmen, a secret intelligence agency for which he works for, and which Eggsy's late father worked for, following Lancelot's death the agency are looking to recruit a new agent, Eggsy agrees to apply, he joins a group of other candidates, including Roxy (Sophie Cookson) who he quickly forms a friendship with, the candidates are overseen by senior Kingsman agent "Merlin" (Mark Strong), they will be eliminated one by one until the right person is found. Tests for the candidate include, without their knowledge, their room filling with water until they manage to escape, training a group of puppies, with Eggsy getting a small pug he names "JB" (after Jack Bauer from 24), and a jump from a plane where they are told in mid-air that one of them has no parachute, those who open their working chutes early are eliminated. Meanwhile the Kingsmen investigate Valentine and his connection with VIP disappearances, Hart tracks down Arnold to get information, but a chip is implanted in Arnold's head and causes an explosion, killing him and putting Hart into a coma for a short time, when he recovers he poses as a billionaire and meets with Valentine for dinner, it is there that Valentine compares the human race to a virus, with global warming being the fever caused, he intends to do something about the problem before it gets worse. Valentine is found to be a member of an obscure hate group church in Kentucky, there Hart finds him and Gazelle conducting a test, a signal is broadcast to his SIM cards, this causes everyone in the church, including Hart, to become uncontrollably violent, fighting a mass brawl breaks out with the people fighting each other to the death, but Hart comes out as the sole survivor, Eggsy, Merlin and Kingsmen leader "Arthur" (Sir Michael Caine) watch the chaos via video link. Hart is approached by Valentine, he explains his plan: the signal will broadcast worldwide, using his satellite network, so the human race will be culled, so the Earth will suffer no further damage, leaving only the select few deemed worthy of life, those who side with Valentine with protective microchips in their heads, with his planned revealed Valentine kills Hart with a bullet to the head. Eggsy failed the final test, refusing to shoot his dog, meaning that Roxy became the new Lancelot, but he returns to Kingsmen headquarters, where he discovers Arthur has a microchip and is his convert, he avoids a kill attempt and kills the leader, so he teams up with Roxy and Merlin to stop Valentine and his scheme. Roxy goes into the stratosphere in a high-altitude balloon vehicle to fire a missile towards Valentine's satellite network, while Eggsy and Merlin assault Valentine's mountain bunker directly, tackling the many armed guards. The signal is transmitted momentarily causing worldwide chaos, but the satellite is knocked out, Eggsy fights his way through the security forces, the security chips are detonated by Merlin, with all the heads of those part of Valentine's plan killed as their heads explode, Gazelle and Eggsy fight until she is defeated, and finally Valentine is killed and the world is saved. In the end Eggsy becomes a full Kingsman, he is able to reach out to his mother and offers her a nicer house and a chance to get away from her abusive partner, but he is willing to fight those who will stop him from doing so. Also starring Edward Holcroft as Charlie, Richard Brake as The Interrogator and Theo Barklem-Biggs as Ryan. Egerton is a great choice as the streetwise young agent to be, Firth is cool as the crisp agent, Jackson has a ball as the lisping megalomaniac who ironically heaves at violence, and supporting cast members Caine and Strong are great as well. The characters are all very good, the agents codenamed after the knights of the Round Table is good, the James Bond style gadgetry is fantastic, the outrageous violence does not disappoint, the moments of comedy are funny, and the fight sequences are well executed, it is a terrific fast-moving spy action thriller. Very good!