A fun, exciting, exhilarating roller-coaster of a film!

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2015)

Who watches action movies these days and thinks, 'Hmm. For an action film, this is pretty tame'?
Don't worry. This thought doesn't exist when watching 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'. At least, not in my head.
With F-Bombs galore, plenty of fighting, some great acting, and a overall exciting story, Matthew Vaughn and co. have successfully helped make a enjoyable film that favours towards fans of mature action movies.
First off, the cast. I'd like to make it known I've never watched a Colin Firth film in my life.
Good thing 'Kingsman' was my first one. Who'd have thought he could pull off the role of a sophisticated secret agent that just so happens to be a kick-ass fighter? By all accounts, Firth himself did 80% of the stunts in this film. And believe me, for all the moves his character Harry Hart pulls, 80% is impressive. Very impressive.
Samuel L. Jackson is equally as enjoyable to watch, playing millionaire tech genius and megalomaniac Richmond Valentine. The man is clearly enjoying himself in this role, and clearly making it his own. My only flaw with his character is sometimes, it's a little difficult to take him seriously as a villain. With his obvious lisp, flamboyant clothes, and squeamishness towards blood, you'd be forgiven if the number of laughs outweighed the number of shocked gasps when it comes to Valentine (except for one MAJOR scene that made my jaw drop to the floor). But I'll be honest with anyone reading this; I seriously don't care about the 'funny villain' act. In fact, it suited him. I haven't seen many bad guys get laughs like Jackson does in 'Kingsman'. And that impresses me.
Impressed by Firth and Jackson and we're barely into the review. Told you I enjoyed this.
Moving on to the rest of the cast; there's Michael Caine who, let's face it, can pretty much play any role he's offered...which he does in this...fantastically.
Mark Strong, a Vaughn alumni previously seen in Kick-Ass, also does a great job playing the 'M' of the film, known as Merlin here.
And to my personal favourite cast member; Welsh newcomer Taron Egerton. Playing Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin, he perfectly portrays a male version of Eliza Doolittle from 'My Fair Lady'...of sorts (that popular story is referenced in a rather amusing scene between him and Firth). While already possessing skills of superior physicality and intelligence, he squanders these and, not exactly by choice, lives a life of petty crime.
That is until he is recruited by Harry Hart to become a Kingsman. How this happens would be venturing into spoiler territory. But don't worry. It isn't glossed over. There is a particular reason Harry helps Eggsy as you'll see...
As the film progresses, Eggsy is a character you root for in every scene. Whether it be for him and his Pug (I did just say 'and his Pug') to make it to the end of the Kingsman training course, or to helping the other Kingsmen save the world, you can't help but feel hopeful that he'll end up successful.
He's also hilarious. Did I not mention that?
My ("dopeass top) hat" goes off to the rest of the cast, too. Sophie Cookson was a great choice for a fellow Kingsman recruit who bonds with Eggsy during the challenges they face together in the recruitment process, Sofia Boutella masterfully plays Valentine's beautiful but lethal sidekick who has razor sharp blades in place of legs, and even the supporting cast like Eggsy's mother, played by Eastenders actress Samantha Womack, and the Kingsman agent Lancelot, Jack Davenport of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' fame, are well casted. Even Luke Skywalker himself pops up in a couple of scenes as Professor James Arnold, portrayed enjoyably by Mark Hamill himself.
As you have seen, a sterling cast. But when you get a good cast in an action film, you need to have good action sequences to go with them. And this film rarely disappoints.
While I did go in expecting the violence to be a bit more graphic (that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and lollipops violence-wise!), the choreography in the fight scenes were some of the best moves I've seen in movie history. It's exciting without looking like a mess, brutal without being too O-T-T, and entertaining without dropping a beat. A pub brawl, a 7 minute fight scene in a church (yes, you read correctly), and a duel between 2 characters towards the end are just a few of the many joyous action sequences we see. And for those who took my previous statement of the violence being SLIGHTLY less graphic than expected to heart, this film originally had an 18 rating here in the UK before it had reductions to some scenes of violence, meaning it's more than likely the DVD and Blu-ray copies will be released with the 18 rated version in mind.
An honourable mention goes to the soundtrack of this film which, in my eyes and ears, is one to watch out for when it's released officially. There are some incredibly epic sounding tunes in the movie, some genuinely moving ones, and even a tune from Take That themselves in the credits, which I've listened to every day since it was released...and I'm NOT a Take That fan.
Overall, while being slightly less violent than I was expecting (not necessarily a bad thing), 'Kingsman' is definitely the best new film I've seen recently. While you may be put off by the lengthy running time, the 2 hours fly by as you watch this hilarious, action-packed, exciting, and above all, fun film.
But don't take my word for it! Go see 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' and enjoy it for yourself!