Kick-Ass meets Men in Black and 60s Avengers

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2015)

With movies like X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, Stardust and Layer Cake writer/director/producer Matthew Vaughn established himself as one of the most exciting movie makers around. Having turned down the offer to direct X-Men Days of Future Past we were very interested in what he was working on instead. Luckily Kingsman: The Secret Service - again based on a comic - doesn't disappoint. Afterwards we can be glad that he put all his efforts in this incredibly funny but also comic-book violent spy flick. With Bryan Singer again involved as director, the X-Men movie also turned out very fine anyway.
The film is about Kingsman, an unknown but powerful British Secret Service. When one of his spies dies, all six remaining agents are asked to come up with a candidate that can replace him. After a dangerous selection only one will remain. Kingsman Harry Hart (Colin Firth) nominates Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin (played by newcomer Taron Egerton who's also being eyed for the role of Cyclops in X-Men Apocalypse). Eggsy is a small criminal who doesn't know he is the son of a killed Kingsman agent. In the meantime the organization investigates the dubious plans of billionaire and philanthropist Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), who says he wants to save our planet but doesn't tell the world at what costs he will do that.
Three movies pop in mind when you see Kingsman. First of all: Kick- Ass. It has the same humor, violence and over the top characters. Valentine's bodyguard for instance is a girl with no legs but with killing blades. Her action scenes are quite spectacular. Samuel L. Jackson is a crazy disturbed villain. His madness suits the finale of the movie very well.
Secondly: Men in Black. Young Eggsy must participate in a very nasty selection process in order to be the chosen Kingsman. The missions they must do are very dangerous. In the first one a candidate even dies (or it seems that way).
The third ( and major) title Kingsman resembles is The Avengers. No, I'm not talking about the Marvel one. In the late sixties there was this British TV-series starring the ultimate gentleman John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and the first powergirl ever, Emma Peel (played by the legendary Diana Rigg from On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Game of Thrones fame). These two spies used a lot of (hidden) gadgets to solve crime. But whatever happened, like Colin Firth in Kingsman, John Steed always remained polite and stiff. The Avengers TV-series even got a very bad movie version in 1998 starring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery.
Kingsman starts of as an entertaining action movie with lots of violence and humor. Entertaining, but not exceptional. Turns out director Vaughn saved the best for last. In the incredible finale the movie really delivers. Absolute highlight is the way the baddies get defeated by the two remaining Kingsman. That scene is so over the top, I think only Matthew Vaughn could have pulled that of.
Yes, Kingsman is great stuff and I can't wait to see it again. Especially actor Colin Firth deserves lots of praise. He not only gives us a very likable and funny performance, but his action scenes are also very convincing and must have cost him months of training. The shots in which he does the fighting are also very long with very few cut aways. We hope he didn't have to do that many takes. Newcomer Taron Egerton as Eggsy is also impressive. He's not only believable as a low life street thug, but as a James Bond-like spy as well. No doubt Kingsman will launch his career.
In one of the first scenes of the movie we see actor Mark Hamill in the role of professor James Arnold. And that's a nice surprise given the fact that it's 2015 now, the year of Star Wars The Force Awakens and his great movie comeback. It at least gives us a hint of how he will look as the elderly Jedi Luke Skywalker.
Kingsman: go see it!