I'm a huge fan of director Matthew Vaughn. Layer Cake, Stardust, X-Men: First Class... I have immensely enjoyed every one of these films. However, if I had to pick a favourite from Vaughn's filmography, it would probably be 2010's Kick-Ass. With that film, Vaughn not only crafted a loving tribute to comic-book and superhero films, but he also took several riotous pot-shots at those very same things. It was a difficult tightrope to walk; mock the traditions too much and the film's own story and characters might not work, take it too seriously and the violence on display would be too vicious. Fortunately, Vaughn walked that tightrope near-flawlessly to deliver an absolute blast. With Kingsman, Vaughn attempts to do for old spy films what Kick-Ass did for he comic-book and superhero genres. And, as is to be expected from Vaughn, this film is a ton of fun. From the very first scene, when Dire Straits' Money for Nothing kicks into action, it's immediately clear that Vaughn is taking the spy genre in his own silly, infinitely stylish way.
The Kingsmen are, unsurprisingly, a secret service which strives to independently combat conflicts around the world. When a new threat in the form of internet billionaire Richmond Valentine (Sameul L. Jackson) threatens the world, Kingsman Harry Hart AKA Galahad (Colin Firth) and his colleagues must spring into action. Meanwhile, Hart sees potential in young Garry 'Eggsy' Unwin (newcomer Taron Egerton) and puts him forward for training to see if he is Kingsman material...
As one might expect from the quality on display, the cast is uniformly excellent. Colin Firth not only nails the gentlemanly charm of his character with ease, but he also proves to be a surprisingly bad-ass action hero. Firth did most of his own stunts for this film; that would have been impressive even if he was a young man who'd done plenty of stunts before, but considering that Firth was 53/54 when shooting for the film and has little experience with action films and stunts, that's pretty damn remarkable. Most importantly, Firth makes Harry into a truly likeable and emotionally warm character; for all of his gentlemanly demeanour and awesome fighting skills, Harry and Firth's performance have a wonderfully human core. The same can be said for Eggsy and the performance by newcomer Egerton, whose debut here suggests bright prospects for the future. Egerton makes us root for Eggsy early on and his charismatic presence maintains that likeability throughout the rest of the run time. Egerton easily holds his own with Firth acting-wise and the two actors share a great chemistry; the relationship between Eggsy and Harry lends the film a heart which might have risked being lost amidst all the silly, crazy action. Much like Firth, Egerton also convinces as an action hero and did most of his own stunts, which is to be commended. As the film's antagonist, Samuel L. Jackson is a blast. Affecting a very funny lisp which makes all his usual bad-ass ticks surprisingly endearing, Jackson is an immensely enjoyable presence every time he pops up; a dinner scene between Jackson's Valentine and Firth's Harry is fantastic, particularly in establishing the wonderfully meta approach which Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman are taking with the spy genre. What is most interesting about Jackson's Valentine is that, while his plan and the execution of that plan are absolutely bonkers, his motivation is unexpectedly understandable. And when Valentine doesn't want to get his hands dirty, he has his lethal right-hand lady in Sofia Boutella's Gazelle. Armed with terrifically realised razor-sharp prosthetic legs which slice and dice with bloody abandon, Boutella delivers a brilliant and intimidating physical performance; her dancing skills allow her to be confident and viciously graceful in her fight scenes. Gazelle is a woman who you wouldn't want to mess with. To my great surprise, Vaughn veteran Mark Strong (who was a villain in both Stardust and Kick-Ass) has a much bigger role here than I expected, and delivers one of my favourite performances of his thus far. As the 'Q'-like Merlin, Strong is extremely likeable and funny, and his chemistry with both Firth and Egerton comes across as genuinely human. Sophie Cookson also makes a strong cinematic debut as Eggsy's friend and fellow trainee Roxy; Egerton, Cookson and Boutella all look set for big things thanks to their debuts here. There are also strong turns by Michael Caine (as Kingsmen leader Arthur), Jack Davenport and Mark Hamill. On a small note for those who've seen the film, did anyone else have a Star Wars fan-boy moment when Luke Skywalker and Mace Windu briefly shared the screen?
As great as the acting and characters are in Kingsman, the action is equally impressive, if not more so. From the very first fight scene involving Davenport's Lancelot and a room full of thugs, Vaughn shows that he has bought his usual crazed energy, imagination and verve to these fight scenes. Also, there is a clear level of escalation on display here. As Kingsman progresses, every action sequence get more and more jaw-dropping in scale and execution. A sky-diving sequence in the second act is easily amongst the best of its ilk, whilst a scene set in a church is one of the most impressive fight sequences committed to the screen in recent memory. The choreography, the stunts, the dominantly single-take technique, the madly inspired use of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird, the all-out carnage... The scene is destined to be one of the most memorable scenes of 2015 for pretty morally questionable, off-the-chain reasons, and I absolutely loved it. It must be seen to be truly believed. A scene with that much spectacular energy and vibrant destruction is damn-near impossible to top, and while the finale might not quite manage that feat, it still comes pretty close with plenty of fantastic fighting, exceptional camera-work, strong stunt-work, laugh-out-loud moments, all-out silliness and a confrontation both intimate and surprisingly epic.
It would be unfair to discuss Kingsman without mentioning Matthew Vaughn and his co-writer Jane Goldman (Mrs Jonathan Ross), as both of them are very skilled at taking the core values of a genre and crafting love letters to that genre which simultaneously poke fun at those genre's conventions. Here, Vaughn and Goldman have a lot of fun taking the tropes of the older Bond films and either dialling them up to 11 or simply poking fun at them. Also, much like Kick-Ass, Vaughn and Goldman relish ripping up the rulebook. There are no instances where Vaughn and Goldman seem to be holding themselves back in order to be more 'mainstream', and there are elements of the plot which some audience members won't be able to predict. It's refreshing to see a film which tries its best to throw the audience off the scent every once in a while.
As much fun as the film is, there are some issues. The film is too long by 10-15 minutes; as the result, there are points where it drags. Most of this happens during the second act, which, despite some memorable scenes including that sensational sky-diving sequence, feels like it could still have been trimmed a bit. Once the church scene gets under-way, the film mostly rectifies itself, but given how well-paced some of Vaughn's films have been (Kick-Ass was near-perfect in that area), the uneven pacing is still a problem I can't overlook. There's also a conflict set up throughout the film which ends on a strangely anticlimactic note, especially when there's an almost gift-wrapped opportunity to bring that confrontation to a close at the film's climax. Also, despite great work on areas such as Gazelle's prosthetic legs, some of the visual effects look a bit ropey. Then again, since this film refers to the old Bond films on a regular basis, I can let it slide, especially since the film is pretty solid on other technical levels. Special mention has to go the soundtrack choices (along with Lynyrd Skynyrd, there are songs from the likes of Dire Straits, Bryan Adams and KC and the Sunshine Band which fit perfectly) and the excellent score by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, which hits every dramatic and action-packed note brilliantly.
Final Verdict
Despite some problems such as pacing issues and an awkward end to one conflict, Kingsman: The Secret Service is still an utter blast. Director Matthew Vaughn adds another strong title to his resume which continues to emphasise just how good he is at crafting cheeky, often subversive and above all exceedingly fun popcorn entertainment. The cast and characters are excellent and memorable, the action sequences are sensational and Vaughn's direction and script with co-writer Jane Goldman show a clear love and affection for the spy genre while they also either flaunt or dispel the tropes common in that genre. For those longing for a sillier take on the world of espionage, Kingsman celebrates the days of old while establishing the foundation for a franchise which could thrive in the present day.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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