Classic Bond on Steroids

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2015)

Quickie Review:
After the loss of an agent the Kingsman spy organization start a recruitment process to find a replacement. Harry Hart codenamed Galahad (Colin Firth) believes that a street kid named Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has the potential to be a fellow Kingsman. Meanwhile billionaire Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) has plans for worldwide domination that could cost billions of lives. Kingsman is mindblowing, nay, it is mindblasting fun. Director Matthew Vaughn, brings us another comic book movie that is not only well made but reinvents the spy genre with clever satire. This is a throwback to the classic bond films, but with all crazy violence and beautiful action of Kick-Ass. Watch this movie unless you hate having a good time.
Full Review:
I will confess that when I first saw the trailer for Kingsman I thought it looked a little campy. Then I heard Matthew Vaughn was directing and instantly all my doubts disappeared. This man has proved that he can take a genre that has been done to death and reinvigorate with new life. Kingsman is exactly that.
In this day and age, dark and gritty tones are all the craze when making an action movie. That's fine when done well but most of the time it forces all personality out of the film. Kingsman on the other hand is an homage to old spy movies, filled with crazy gadgets, eccentric villain, intimidating henchman (henchwoman in this case), and of course a wacky plan for world supremacy. This type of film in the wrong hands would definitely have been cheesier than hot pot full of fondue. However, the movie is fully aware of what it is and with the help of some satirical comedy it is able to get away with the absurdity. Then there are the action sequences that were gruesome pieces of art. Best of which was the fight scene at the church. The insane choreography with probably one of the longest chain kills in cinema made my jaw drop. I would pay full ticket price for that scene alone.
Colin Firth is the perfect gentleman, sophisticated, well dressed, with just the right amount of mystery. But if you get on his bad side, good luck because he is going knock yours and half dozen other people's teeth out without breaking a sweat. Taron Egerton is a newcomer to Hollywood but I have a feeling he is bound for more. He plays a character that is clearly a street delinquent, but you can tell deep down he is kind hearted. He transforms himself inspired by Firth's character, and by the end of the movie you are cheering him on with every punch and pull of the trigger. A movie is only as good as its villain, and Samuel L. Jackson was a great villain. He is an internet billionaire genius in his 60's who wears clothes like a teenage hip- hop artist, and plans to kill billions of people but can't stand the sight of blood. What? And yet he is having so much fun playing this character that you can't help but laugh with him.
With Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and now Kingsman, Matthew Vaughn for me has become the best comic book movie director out there right now. Funny dialog (occasionally inappropriate but no harm done), amazingly choreographed violent action, and memorable characters helped revitalize an entire genre with a modern twist. An endlessly fun adventure that I will definitely experience multiple times in cinema.
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