Kingsmen: The Secret Service is a fantastic send up to old fashioned spy thrillers that truly kicks butt!

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2015)

The last time that my dad tuned the channel to BBC, he shut off the TV, claiming that the Brit mentality had tired him out in less then five minutes. My poor father, as I'm a big fan of British television, especially of comedies like Mr. Bean and Blackadder. It might be for the funny accent as I found their sound very fancy, but it may also be for the mindset on how they process ideas. With Doctor Who and The Avengers (not the Marvel heroes, but a spy series). I've always seen their thinking as more out of the box and oddball. Who else but the British would have come up with something like Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
One of their most well known properties are the 007 spy movies. They too had that British set up as we had a super human that had a lot of strange gadgets, cool vehicles, and an actor that can both kick butt and be very suave. The course of the films have gone from being realistic to almost science fiction-like. This had put fans at a crossroads of where something like Skyfall would fall. For those that want a return to the more outrageous should come to Kingsmen: The Secret Service.
While on a mission in the Middle East, secret agent Harry Hart (played by Colin Firth) witness a fellow agent killed by enemies. He visits that family back in London where he gives a young boy a medal that has a phone number to call should he need help. We cut to years later as the boy has grown into Eggsy Unwin (played by Taron Egerton), an unemployed youth whose intelligent was once training in the royal marines. He's arrested for steeling a car and finally takes up the phone number to see what happens.
Eggsy get's released from jail, as paid for by Harry. With a vacant slot open, Eggsy is recruited to apply to join. He sees what Harry is capable of when he fends off a set of drunken ruffians with his fighting skills and an umbrella with gadgets. Eggsy meets up with the other possible candidates while Harry investigates billionaire Richmond Valentine (played by Samuel L. Jackson) with the too good to be true free cell phones and Wi-Fi he's giving away. Eggsy meets up with the head of the agency, "Merlin" (played by Michael Caine) but fails his next test, sending him home. But when something goes wrong and Valentine may be looking to take over the world, Eggsy may be needed to be a kingsmen after all.
Kingsmen: The Secret Service made me realize that it's been a while since I've seen a spy film like this; one that totally embraces the tuxedos and fine taste along with the high tech weapons and machines. The Bourne series was a more realistic spy movie and the 007 movies still have the strangeness, but relies on being more of a blend of the old and new ideas.
Kingsmen: The Secret Service is more of a comedy-action movie then anything. Oh there are some action scenes (some really good ones!), but I was surprised with how much fun I had with the spy sequences and the witty banter.
Colin Firth is one actor I would have never pictured as an action hero, but I now see that no one else could have played this guy as well as he did. Samuel L. Jackson is great as always, really loving his role as the villain. Newcomer Taron Egerton is a force as he had movies like Bond and a sassy mouth that could also lead him to be a comic star. He could go wither direction.
I'll give this ten umbrella guns out of ten. The Kingsmen: The Secret Service is another British creation that I hope both strikes a cord with American audiences and sparks a series.