Another Great And Hyper-Violent Mark Millar Comic Book Adaptation

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 2015)

If there is one individual who has most recently become a true legend in the world of comic book writing, then it would have to be Mark Millar. With works like Nemesis, Kick-Ass, Wanted, Marvel's Civil War, Old Man Logan, and Ultimate X-Men and Fantastic Four under his belt, Millar has managed to follow in the footsteps of classic comic book writers like Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Will Eisner, and Neil Gaimen, and like many of these artists, Millar has been able to see and even assist in watching many of his works be adapted for the silver screen.
For Millar, film adaptations of his work have had mixed, but interesting degrees of success. Wanted (2008) was a stylish and adrenaline-pumping experience with some great performances by Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, but I do admit that the actual film was an awful adaptation considering the story and characters had almost nothing to do with the comic. Kick-Ass (2010) was a gleefully violent, hilarious, and faithful adaptation of Millar's work that helped jumpstart the careers of Chloë Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, not to mention it featured the last truly impressive performance by Nicolas Cage, and while Kick-Ass 2 (2013) was far inferior to its predecessor, it was still a decent adaptation.
Now we have Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), which while only loosely based on Millar's The Secret Service, is still a funny, well-acted, and beautifully ridiculous action film that more Hollywood studios should observe and copy in the future. Also, this film should make Liam Neeson nervous; he's not the only older actor who can pull off action movie roles. Welcome to the action ring, Colin Firth!
The plot of Kingsman is very much in the same vein as a classic James Bond film, and the film is not afraid to make fun at Bond's expense (or even Jason Bourne for that matter). The film focuses on Eggsy (Taron Egerton), an unemployed London resident who has a cowardly mother and an abusive stepfather, and has spent his entire life giving up in situations where he could have easily succeeded (school, the military, etc.). After getting arrested by the police, Eggsy makes contact with a long-lost ally, Harry Hart/Galahad (Colin Firth), who happens to be a member of an organization known as the Kingsman: individuals who pose as sophisticated tailors and businessmen who in reality have become the new "Knights of the Round Table", and work to protect the world and keep it in balance.
Eggsy is then offered a chance to become a Kingsman like his late father before him, and must compete with other hopeful (and privileged) candidates like Roxy (Sophie Cookson), all the while under the watchful eye of Merlin (Mark Strong), a senior Kingsman and trainer. Meanwhile, Galahad, under orders from Chester King/Arthur (Michael Caine), is sent to investigate lisp-ridden billionaire, philanthropist and tech tycoon Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) and his bladed prosthetic leg-equipped assistant Gazelle (Sofia Boutella), who seek to drive the world into chaos and create a new world order, and eventually Eggsy and Roxy have to join the fight, and gleeful violence and action ensues.
The plot is clearly inspired by the James Bond films of old, but director Mathew Vaughn and long-time collaborator and writer Jane Goldman, who've created excellent films like Stardust (2007), Millar's Kick-Ass (2010), and X-Men: First Class (2011), manage to keep the film deliciously retro and fresh. The story is great, the action is frenetic and edgy, and reminded me of Vaughn's previous work in Kick-Ass, and the performances are all excellent. Firth is great as Galahad, and I would love to see him star in more action films. Egerton and Cookson are solid in their roles, and it'll be interesting to see what future starring roles they'll partake in. Strong, Jackson, Caine, and Boutella all have moments to shine in the film. Mark Hamill and Jack Davenport are also funny in roles that could be chalked up as cameos, but their roles are important in driving the plot forward.
The only criticism I have with the film are that in some instances the special effects are decent, but you can tell that they are just CGI. The same held true with Kick-Ass, and even X-Men: First Class; Vaughn is able to craft great movies on relatively small budgets, but focuses more on using great actors and a story rather than effects, and there is nothing wrong with that. It's just on a few occasions the effects were so obvious that I was pulled out of the experience. Also, while the humor in the film is really great, there were one or two moments where the comedy felt designed to be shocking and perverse but in no way to drive the plot forward, but that's mostly a warning for anyone who doesn't like seeing those kinds of things.
Overall, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a fantastic action flick with a great story, excellent acting performances, awesome humor, and some jaw-dropping action scenes. If James Bond were to ever become rated R and hyper-violent, I think this would be the film to copy. Also, like Kick-Ass, Vaughn knows how to use classic rock songs in his action sequences. In my opinion, Vaughn and Goldman are the two individuals who are able to make excellent and worthy film adaptations of Mark Millar's work, and Kingsman is no different. Simply put, it's one of the best action films of the past few years, and should be seen by any fan of the action/spy/comic book movie genre.