Great fun

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2015)

After some cool intro credits, some British agents raid a compound in Afghanistan. They grab some guy and tie him to a chair. Suddenly they realize he's got a bomb. One of them throws himself onto to guy as the bomb explodes saving his team mates. One of those on the team, Harry Hart, visits the widow and offers help. She rejects it so he gives the medal to the young son. On the reverse of the medal is a number. If called and given a code, help will be forthcoming.
We are taken to Argentinian mountains years later where an environmental scientist has been captured. A suited Brit knocks on the door and wipes out all the bad guys. Someone knocks on the door and suddenly the Brit is cut in half by a girl amputee wearing blades for legs. Oh, no...it's Samuel Jackson at the door...
Turns out all these Brits are "Kingsmen," a super secret agency of gentlemen. Now that that two of them have died it's time to recruit a new member. At this time, the young kid from the intro is older and in trouble. His mom's new guy is some bad guy who is abusive. One day the kid steal a car and goes for a joyride and ends up in jail. He calls the number on the back of the medal and gives the code. Next thing he knows he's meeting Hart who proposes that the kid get his act together so he sponsors him to join the Kingsmen.
What follows is some training and ability tests for several kids to take the one available spot. In meantime, Jackson is up to no good. He's supposed to be a billionaire genius entrepreneur out to save the planet and humanity. He decides to give away free SIM cards for free internet and phone to everyone who wants one. But he's also kidnapping the important, rich, and famous and others he's implanting with a chip behind the ear. The chip allows him cause these people to go completely berserk or to to blow up their heads at the push of a button. He does a test run at a church. Then he announces he will save the planet by eliminating a large part of the population. Now the remaining Kingsmen and the young recruit will have to keep Jackson from following through with his plan.
Kingsman is a fantastic action thriller that offers violence and intrigue. It captures the magic long lost by the James Bond movies and also some of the thrilling violence that the early Jason Bourne movies had. Finally we get one such movie that is R-rated. The character of Hart and the acting of Firth are very strong. This character alone has franchise potential. However, the young recruit and the actor playing him are rather weak. Things are perhaps a bit too formulaic--you get the villain in his giant high tech lair with his wicked side-kick and hundreds of soldiers willing to die for him. The movie is a bit too long and the orchestrated Bond-ripped off music is excessively loud and obnoxious. But nonetheless, Kingsmen is a blast of a movie.