Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a 2015 spy comedy film directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Samuel L. Jackson. It is such a pleasant surprise and possibly the biggest surprise this year for me.

It follows the recruitment and training of a potential secret agent into a secret spy organization. He has a mission to stop a global threat from a megalomaniac. This was such an unexpected movie for me. I literally forced myself into watching it because I expected it to be stupid endless action with no humor whatsoever, but did I expect wrong! It is filled with too much action, but that action is entertaining for once and the movie is filled with many laughs which makes it all the more enjoyable.

The plot has its moments, but is too silly near the end. It is clever and even sophisticated at certain moments, but it eventually went into too over-the-top territory which was an unfortunate development. But I liked how Kingsman simultaneously embraces and mocks the Bond movies and that was its biggest strength. And it is even better than Bond to some degree and at least for me because it has much more humor which is also better executed. And it is much more detailed in approach. I liked how it incorporates gadgets into its storytelling and although crazy and sometimes just ridiculous, most of those were just so much fun. The movie has such a pleasant exuberance in its execution and that I appreciated so much as that kind of execution is so rare in today’s blockbusters.

The characters are quite good, if not excellent. Eggsy is a typical protagonist with a clichéd background, but I still liked his character and his relationship with others. Harry Hart is of course excellent and such an intriguing character, but too mysterious and his story is never explored. Richmond Valentine is campy and over-the-top, but fun. And others are all more or less forgettable. The character development is satisfactory for a blockbuster, but not so much otherwise.

The acting is one of Kingsman’s biggest strengths. Colin Firth is so stupendous in an action role and he is such an unlikely actor for this movie, but he proved himself as he gave such a great performance. Samuel L. Jackson was also great as he always is and his accent and talk is so well executed and provided many laughs. And Taron Egerton is surprisingly good in his breakout role.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is visually splendid. It is filled with breathtaking imagery with wonderful interiors and exteriors. It is well shot and always looks good. I particularly liked the agency scenes as well as some aerial sequences which were wonderfully filmed. The tone is not that well handled as the comedy and action do not mash that well together. But that action is stupendously executed and is so immensely entertaining to watch and was the biggest positive takeaway from the movie. The humor is also terrific and I laughed many times as it has so many memorable jokes and even some hilarious moments.

It is wildly authentic and original in some areas with an unexpected death of a main character, but is still cliched and typical in other areas. That is why it is similar and different to Bond at the same time. The dialogue is solid with some memorable and clever lines and the film is mostly unpredictable which is great. It is well paced, but still overlong and the third act is a vast disappointment compared to the previous acts. It is uneven and incoherent, but still such an energetic and even authentic movie that is so immensely entertaining and just fun.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is tonally uneven and incoherent with such a disappointing third act, but it is still such an immensely entertaining flick with stupendous action sequences, wonderful imagery, great performances and really good humor. It simultaneously embraces and mocks Bond with a style to spare and an evident exuberance in its execution.

My Rating – 4

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      Interior & Exterior Stills from Kingsman: The Secret Service

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