In 2012, Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons published a comic book series titled, “Kingsman.” Story follows a guy named, Eggsy. He’s recruited by a spy veteran working for the British agency. Eggsy joins the titular organization. He embarks on dangerous missions to protect the world from bad guys attempting to fulfil a grandmaster plan blah blah blah. You know your typical James Bond plot. Two Years Later, Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) adapted the series into a full-length film that put Taron Egerton to stardom prior to his Oscar nominated performance as Elton John in “Rocket Man.”
The film premiered at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon festival on December 13, 2014, and was later released worldwide in early 2015. Kingsman: The Secret Service received praise from critics and movie goers alike. In addition to positive reviews, it made enough revenue at the box office. The film spawned a sequel, “The Golden Circle” and a prequel, “The King’s Man.” Mr. Vaughn’s next movie, “Argylle” starring Bryce Dallas Howard & Sam Rockwell will be released on February 2, 2024. What do Kingsman & Argylle have in common? They’re both action spy comedies. I wanna share my thoughts on Kingsman before Argylle comes out.
Today’s review contains no SPOILERS.
Gentle & Rough Aspects
Gentle: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel “Sam” L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong & Sofia Boutella all did a superb job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact: Valantine wears purple. Which is Sam’s favorite color. He also played Mr. Glass from “Unbreakable.” Another villain associated with purple. Ya’ll already know, Mace Windu wields a purple lightsaber.
Matthew “Matt” Vaughn did an awesome job directing. He also co-wrote the script with fellow collaborator, Jane Goldman.
Action Sequences are over-the-top bloody brilliant. The best part’s the church fight Harry Hart mowing down a crowd while Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” played in the background. It was also used in “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” Heck, Sam also played the bad guy, Frank Tenpenny. Anyway, the church fight earns Bonus Points.
Henry Jackman (Wreck-It-Ralph, Big Hero 6, Kong: Skull Island) & Matthew Margeson orchestrated the soundtrack.
Humor manages to balance between serious and funny moments. Way funnier than these unfunny comedies from 2014. Boy, do they stink.
- Blended
- Tammy
- Annie
- The Nut Job
- The Single Mom’s Club
- The Other Woman
- Dumb and Dumber To
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- A Haunted House 2
Cinematography captures solid imagery of Eggsy and spies beating the crud outta henchmen.
Pacing didn’t take forever going from Point A to Point B. At least it wasn’t boring like “Boyhood.” Sorry folks, I didn’t like it. This movie was boring as heck.
Kingsman subverts certain cliches within the spy genre. For instance, Valentine isn’t an incompetent bad guy inadvertently letting the hero escape a death trap without seeing it in person.
One of Eggsy’s weapons is a knife coming out of his shoe. A double reference to “From Russia with Love” & “The Dark Knight.”
Unlike “R.I.P.D.” Kingsman isn’t a blatant knock-off of “Men in Black.” It’s a love letter to spy shows from the ’60s including “The Saint” and “The Man From “U.N.C.L.E.” You can tell Matt’s a passionate fan of spy fiction.
Eggsy named his pet pug after a spy. Here’s a hint, initials are J.B. and it’s not James Bond. Can you guess?
Valentine’s grandmaster plan makes perfect sense. If you’ve already seen it, you know why.
There’s an in-joke over Mr. Jackson’s role in “Pulp Fiction” linked to hamburgers.
Mark Hamill makes a brief appearance. This is the closest thing to see Luke Skywalker & Mace Windu in a movie together.
Jack Davenport (James Norrington from “Pirates of the Caribbean) makes a cameo appearance.
A Mid-Credits Scene is shown.
Rough: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving Matt and his crew an Extra Point for making a flawless action spy comedy as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
Although I never read the comic book series, Kingsman: The Secret Service kept me invested. Probably Matthew Vaughn’s best work. If you’re a fan of spy movies, check it out. Mr. Vaughn mentioned Kingsman’s is linked to Argylle. If this is true, I want this to become a reality. In the words of Jean-Luc Picard, “Make it so.”
Nickthemoviecritic.com 