British Punk Still Lives

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2015)

Forenote: I always do my best to avoid spoilers. I marked this review as containing spoilers because of a comment about the cast of the film. Any potential spoilers have been marked but are very vague.
For anyone who ever enjoyed the sounds and themes of groups like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the The Damned, this is your kind of movie. Matthew Vaughn has given the punk genre a new flame with his new film "Kingsman." While many will see this movie expecting a poorly done money grabber that's riding the coattails of YA movies and James Bond. What "Kingsman" delivers instead is an action packed, in-your-face, anti-typical, punk rock movie (just without all the drugs and the angst... oh, and the music).
Vaughn does not care if you like his characters, he does not care if you support their causes, and he does not care about your political stance. Vaughn only wanted to make a movie that was anti-stereotype, and he succeeded. This is even referenced in the dialogue multiple times throughout the film. While the movie could do without several scenes that only serve to add extra time to the already long duration of the film, there are almost no points in the film where an audience member should be bored or confused. Also, (semi-spoilers) while I was disappointed to see certain cast members be killed off, I had no problems with any of the acting; EXCEPT for Samuel Jackson's ridiculous lisp that is almost impossible to listen to, albeit funny to hear at first.
I gave this film a 7 out of 10 for its uniqueness and purpose. I would have scored higher had it maybe taken itself a bit more seriously, but not so much to lose the punk-feel to it. There are jokes and scenes that I feel took away from the movie quality rather than adding to it.