Overall Grade: (A)
About as serious as a comic-spoof on a spy flick can be with part James Bond, part “Lock Stock…” and surprisingly, all entertainment.
Synopsis
A highly secretive spy organization recruits a troublesome kid with a lot of promise under his gruff exterior, and when an eccentric genius threatens the world, this young man will be the last hope of saving it.
My Opinon
What a surprisingly entertaining film this turned out to be. I knew little of this one before I watched it and what I got was a two-hour adventure themed in the spy-world with a comic twist. After watching I was interested in the comics and I can easily see there being more than enough source material to build an exciting franchise.
The mystique of the ‘Kingsman’ was excellently crafted and with the great trio of actors filling its hierarchy there was a fun lore about the organization established quickly. I really loved the British overcoat this film had and it created a nice Bond-esque vibe throughout the film with great camera-work, witty dialogue and an intriguing international feel.
Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine were all superb as the leading men of the ‘Kingsman’ and gave the lighthearted tone of the film a grounded element to retain the films seriousness among some of the jokes littered along the way. Taron Egerton was without question excellent in this film and was more then capable in the lead creating a character you can connect with, but I still would have to say Colin Firth stole the show.
I have seen Firth in several projects over the years and this role was unlike anything I have seen he try to take on. He clearly poured himself in the role of Harry Hart and conveyed all the class, charm and intelligence the character needed to make it carry the story-line. Firth was also more than capable and believable in his action-sequences in some eye popping scenes, showing he clearly put in the effort to give the best performance possible. He without question took on the challenge of such an out of character role for him and he won hands down.
Samuel L. Jackson was a fun villain for a somewhat lighthearted action romp, and was the closest character resembling a comic book feel. He seemed to enjoy the role of the eccentric genius and his lisp was worth more than a few chuckles along the way. The scripts plot was far from creative but it was accounted for with some high amounts of creativity taken into how it would tell its story. The ambition taken into creating the setting of the plots background and characters are what make this a highly entertaining film added with the constant visual appeal it delivered.
Not to be forgotten was the enjoyable stylized-action that showed off great hand-to-hand combat, gun-play and detailed choreography to provide some edge-of your seat enjoyment. The action was fast paced, violent and not overdone, giving you a mix of it all. With the smooth camera work and unedited cuts the sequences felt close to films like “The Raid” minus the heavy martial-art theme, giving perfect visual locations to pull you into the scenes.
The action was as seamlessly tailored as the stylish wardrobes and this film also boasted some great locations, set-pieces and props as well plenty of nice cars, weapons and spy-gadgets filling the scenes to give the eye something to enjoy from start-to-finish. The gadgets all spy-movies need were loaded up and there were many fun devices used to make this a truly clever element of an already adventurous spy-flick.
In the end “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was a wild adventure that gives the viewer an interesting story-line, fun characters and all the action you could ask for. There are some clearly ridiculous scenes here and there yet you will still be laughing with the film more than at it. When the credits begin to role you will be entertained by the story this one gives you with its highly unique vision of a simple plot.