Umbrellas have never looked this cool.

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2015)

Umbrellas have never been so badass.
When I first saw the trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service, it seemed like a bit of an eye-roller. It looked like a forgettable action comedy with stupid one-liners and standardized action built for people who like movies like Real Steel or Agent Cody Banks. I was wrong. More movies need to be like Kingsman: The Secret Service, and there are three reasons why.
Reason number one: It's rated R. This movie could have easily been chopped up and delivered with a PG-13 rating, good for all ages, sans balls (I'm talking about you, Expendables 3). It wasn't. The action here is fantastic, full of glorious head trauma, exit wounds, and broken bones. One scene in particular - set in a church - is one of the coolest scenes you'll see all year.
Reason number two: It's an original property. Yes, I know it's based on a comic book called 'The Secret Service', but it basically just borrows loose plot points from it. I wish more studios would take chances on unknown entities instead of churning out sequels, remakes and superhero flicks. That being said, I bet this gets a sequel...hopefully still helmed by Matthew Vaughn. When someone else takes over something that he made, we get crap like Kick-Ass 2.
Reason number three: It was fun. It took itself just seriously enough that it didn't border on parody, like the last two Pierce Brosnan Bond movies that nearly killed the series (The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day). There were serious, heartfelt moments mixed in with a ton of levity. It paid a ton of homage to classic spy movies while being a blast to watch. Rarely do I leave movies saying to myself, "I need to own that", but this one fit that bill.
The year is young, but I'm pretty confident that when 2015 is over, there will be no bigger cinematic surprise than Kingsman: The Secret Service. It's not perfect - it drags a bit at points and Samuel L. Jackson's lisp is eternally grating, but every actor aside from him is fantastic (including Colin Firth, which I never thought I'd say), the action is amazing, and the gadgets are fun. If you're into action or spy movies, Kingsman is a must see.
My final grade - A-