REVIEW: Kingsman: The Secret Service

MOVIE
Kingsman: The Secret Service

CAST
Colin Firth, Taron Egerton

RATING
R

RELEASE
February 13, 2015

DIRECTOR
Matthew Vaughn

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 9 minutes






STARS
****









REVIEW:

Ballsy, tongue-in-cheek, and downright awesome are just a few of the many ways to describe "Kingsman: The Secret Service." The latest outing from "Kick-Ass" and "X-Men: First Class" director Matthew Vaughn boasts a very strong cast, including the likes of Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson. The film tells of a secret British organization filled with proper, classy, and badass gentlemen spies, with Firth's Harry Hart attempting to recruit a young recluse living in the ghetto part of England named Eggsy, played by Taron Egerton. Without going into too much detail, there is a villain who is trying to take over the world, and it's up to the Kingsman to stop him before it's too late. The description given is intentionally vague and generic, because going further into detail with this film may just take out a good amount of the fun present here. "Kingsman" is a film that both pokes fun at old spy films as well as pay homage to them, which as a whole helps to make it one hell of an entertaining ride.

First and foremost, this movie is a true testament to Vaughn's undeniably talented and precise eye to storytelling. From the fast-paced exchanges of dialogue to the brutally spectacular action sequences, he definitely shows that he has a true eye for giving the audience a bloody good time, pun intended. There's a very controversial scene that happens in the middle of the film that involves a shootout inside a church, and honestly, this was my favorite scene of the film. Not only was the action well choreographed and the editing swift and graceful, but the song that goes along with the scene is, for lack of a better term, perfect. If Vaughn was ever to have a director reel to show off what he's done, I would put this and the big shootout scene from "Kick-Ass" set to Joan Jett's rendition "My Generation" front and center. After this and his other two big hits, I don't see anything that can stop his career anytime soon.

It's extremely ironic to have someone as classy and elegant as Colin Firth playing the character of Harry Hart. In case you don't recall, Firth received his Academy Award for playing the stuttering and timid Duke of York in "The King's Speech." If you imagine the exact opposite of how that character was, then you'd basically get what you see here. In short, Firth is a straight up badass here, and arguably the best thing about the movie entirely. From his witty jokes and comments to his amazing moves in the action scenes, Firth stole the show from everyone here. Honestly, he was the absolute perfect choice to play this character, and I couldn't see anyone else doing Harry Hart justice.

Everyone else in the cast, ranging from relative newcomer Taron Egerton as the film's lead protagonist Eggsy to Samuel L. Jackson as the charismatic lisp-bearing villain Richmond Valentine, all add to the comedy and the fun this movie has and overall give great performances.  The visual effects are stellar, the humor really hits, and the action is just a lot of fun to watch.  Honestly I could go on and on about this film, but truth be told, this is just something that should be experienced on the big screen.  "Kingsman" is raunchy, violent, and unapologeticly awesome.  It's the hybrid of the "James Bond" series and "Attack the Block" that you never knew you wanted to see.  If you haven't seen this film yet, then I'd definitely recommend checking it out as soon as possible.  This is one of the best movies of 2015 thus far, and it's Vaughn's best film in my eyes other than "Kick-Ass."




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