Eccentric meshing of the X-Men and James Bond

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2015)

Released in early 2015, "Kingsman: The Secret Service" stars Taron Egerton as "Eggsy," a recruit for super-secret spy organization headquartered in England run by characters played by Michael Caine, Colin Firth and Mark Strong. The semi-comical villain is played by Samuel L. Jackson who, with his assistant with lethal artificial legs (Sofia Boutella), seeks to save the earth by wiping out the majority of the population. Samantha Womack and Sophie Cookson are on hand as Eggsy's mother and fellow recruit respectively while Hanna Alström plays a Swedish princess.
Based on the 2012 comic series The Secret Service, "Kingsman" basically meshes the X-Men with James Bond, adding its own creative, quirky approach. There's a lot of over-the-top and unbelievable action, but it is based on a comic, after all. The movie's eccentric and generally entertaining but marred by fluent F-bombs throughout and an unnecessarily vulgar scene, which tries to be funny (and almost is). (Keep in mind that I almost never comment on cussing in a movie unless it's so overdone it's distracting). If you like the X-Men or James Bond you'll want to check "Kingsman" out, but it's not as good IMHO. The cast is great though and it is amusing; I'm sure the sequels will improve upon the foundation.
The film runs 129 minutes and was shot in England, Toronto and Sydney, Australia.
GRADE: C+ (5.5/10 Stars)