"Kingsman: The Secret Service" features fun over-the-top plot and characters, but disturbing over-the-top violence.

Rating: 5/10 (15 February 2015)

Defeating the bad guys is very important. So are manners. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (R, 2:09) shows us how the two can go hand-inumbrella. Foiling the plans of evil-doers and being a gentleman through it all are two goals to be accomplished at all costs. Buying into that presumption makes for a fun two hours at the movies. Unfortunately, this film also suggests that revered institutions are mostly worthy of our disdain and that human life is cheap and watching many lives end in a short period of time can also be a lot of fun – and even funny. This film is a mixed bag that's hard to review, but I'm willing to give it that old college try.
Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton) is a thug. He's in his early 20s, but is leading an aimless life of petty crime in a tough part of London. He's intelligent, resourceful and has moments of selflessness, but is doing nothing constructive with those positive qualities. Instead, he blames his surroundings, his upbringing, his family troubles anything but himself for the way he lives his life. Enter Harry Hart (Colin Firth). Harry is a former colleague of Eggsy's father and seeks to repay a debt of gratitude by rescuing Eggsy from his latest scrape with the law and offering him an opportunity to become a "gentleman spy". Harry is actually better known as Galahad, one of a group of modern day knights called the Kingsmen, a secretive spy agency that operates "at the highest level of discretion". Eggsy doesn't really have anything else going on, so he agrees to give it a go.
This is all part of a recruitment and selection process reminiscent of Tommy Lee Jones choosing Will Smith to join his group in the original "Men in Black". In "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (based on the 2012-2013 comic book series "The Secret Service"), Merlin (Mark Strong), the Kingsman who runs the testing and selection process, calls this "the most dangerous job interview in the world". Eggsy and several other potential Kingsmen are nearly drowned, forced to jump out of an airplane and then figure out what to do if one of them is without a functioning parachute, plus make very difficult choices designed to test their commitment and loyalty to the organization. As Eggsy's experience on London's mean streets keeps him in the game against his better educated and better bred competitors, he finds that some of his toughest competition comes from the group's sole remaining girl, Roxy (Sophie Cookson). Watching the recruits with great interest from the sidelines is Galahad and the head Kingsman, Arthur (Michael Caine).
The attention of Galahad, Arthur and the others is understandably divided, however. One of their numbers has recently died attempting to rescue a kidnapped university professor (an unrecognizable Mark Hamill – yes, "Star Wars" fans, THAT Mark Hamill). And that's only the beginning. Royalty, politicians and miscellaneous celebrities are disappearing all over the world. The man behind all this is billionaire tech magnate Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). But he's not planning to harm these important people whom he's gathering up. He's actually trying to save them. It's the rest of the world that has to worry. With the help of his lethal assistant, Gazelle (Sophia Boutella), a woman with knives for feet, he has a plan to "fix" what he considers earth's biggest problem – overpopulation. The hour of his plan's execution is fast approaching and it's all hands on deck as the Kingsmen fight to prevent, what you might as well call Valentine's Day.
Better than 90% of "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is a lot of fun, but it's that other 10% that taints the whole thing. Using a tailor shop as a front for an organization of gentlemen spies is clever and is used to maximum effect. The over-the-top take on James Bondian service to queen and country is quite entertaining. The challenges Eggsy and the others have to negotiate in the hopes of becoming a Kingsman are exciting and Valentine's extreme solution to overpopulation makes for a great tongue-in-cheek plot. Jackson is great as a villain with a lisp, a wannabe mass murder who hates killing and can't stand the sight of blood. Egerton is well cast and Firth is convincing as a proper, yet dangerous secret agent who can kick your ass with a beer mug and an umbrella. Caine is always a pleasure to watch and I'm very happy to see more and more of Mark Strong on the big screen.
I liked this movie, but I would have liked it more if it weren't for the excessive violence and institution-bashing. The movie makes out as if the Kingsmen were the ONLY honorable government institution in the world. The story makes a sport out of bashing Christians (albeit very hateful Christians) and makes political leaders all over the world – even President Obama – complicit in Valentine's evil plan. Even more disturbing, extended and vicious fights are shown in gory detail, blood flows, heads explode and many of these scenes are filmed and scored in a whimsical tone. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" sullies a good story with an unnecessary amount of bile and blood. I'm giving this film a very weak recommendation, but be advised that the extremes to which this movie goes may ruin (or at least greatly diminish) an otherwise mostly entertaining movie for you too. "B-"