Spy movie parody elements plus fireworks

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2015)

Not your average James Bond spoof, this espionage comedy features characters who acknowledge the Bond franchise and lament the serious turn taken by the series in recent years with less colourful villains and less imaginative plots. At the same time, 'Kingsman' also features a plot deliciously absurd on the level of 'Dr. No' and 'Goldfinger' with a villain set on destroying most of the human population from his glamorous lair in the side of a mountain. The gadgetry on offer also has a zaniness not seen in the Bond franchise since Desmond Llewelyn's heyday as Q. And yet, even with such absurdities in place, the villain's scheme is remarkably relevant to the world today with climate change issues and conservation in mind, and there is a memorable speech in which humankind is compared to a virus slowly destroying Earth. The film is not without its drawbacks; the tone is often uneven as the story constantly flips back and forth from serious to comedic. Samuel L. Jackson also tends to overplay the villain, lisping half the time for no particularly good reason. Colin Firth on the other hand is very, very good as the proper gentleman spy who trains our protagonist; the way he keeps calm and cool all the time offers some of the film's greatest laughs. The action sequences are also noticeably well coordinated and while the heavy carnage has understandably attracted complaints from some, the filmmakers are careful not use bloodshed for bloodshed's sake. Few films (if any) have used fireworks quite the same way as they are used here!