MOVIE REVIEW: Kingsman: The Secret Service

MOVIE REVIEW: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Michael Caine
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Colin Firth is reborn as an immaculately besuited Bond-style secret agent of the Kingsman group in this playful and self-deferential romp about insane tech-billionaire Valentine (Samuel L Jackson, complete with comedy lisp) and his razor-sharp-knives-for-feet henchlady Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) on a rampage to control the world (and wipe out most of the population while they’re at it).

Firth’s agent Galahad recruits Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Taron Egerton) – the son of late agent Lancelot (Steve Coogan in an all-too-brief cameo) to try out for the Kingsman team, alongside a handful of others. They go through a series of training exercises, each more dangerous than the last, whilst Valentine’s evil plans gain momentum, culminating in a ferociously bloody mind-controlled Church-based massacre. (Try listening to Freebird the same way again after watching that one!)

Eggsy, naturally, must step up and find a way to combat the villains alongside fellow trainee Roxy (Sophie Cookson) and Merlin (Mark Strong), a cross between a sergeant major and Bond’s Q.

It all leads to a massive showdown in Valentine’s snowy mountain lair, which deftly combines the exaggerated action of the best Bond films (which, along with Maxwell Smart, The Thunderbirds and other famous fictional spies of years gone by, get more than a few good-natured overt nods and winks) with plenty of cheeky laughs, none more so (against the odds) than a barrage of exploding heads.

Based on the comic book The Secret Service by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar which was released in 2012, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a must-see movie, and has the potential to appeal to cult fans and general movie-goers alike.

Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews