Kingsman: The Secret Service
(2015)
Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is a member
of the Kingsman, an urbane and virtuous spy outfit operating out of a Savile
Row tailors. After one their number dies they set about looking for
replacement, and Hart selects “Eggsy” (Taron Egerton), a smart mouthed and
talented yoof from the wrong side of the tracks. While Eggsy is put through his
espionage paces, lisping nutcase Richmond Valentine (Samuel L Jackson) sets
into motion plans to take over the world with mobile phone sim cards and it’s
up to the Kingsman to stop him.
Matthew Vaughn seems to be cinematic
Marmite, dividing the film going public into two camps. Some find his brand of
sharp, stylised often ultra-violent work to be fun, witty and just the right
side of irreverent, while the others accuse him of being over indulgent,
succumbing to laddish fantasy and lacking heart or finesse.
Well, luckily for me I fall squarely
into the former category. I say luckily for me because Kingsman is the most
“Matthew Vaughn” film Matthew Vaughn has ever made. It’s an audacious and wildly
entertaining rollercoaster ride, distinctly and unashamedly British and
featuring some of the loopiest visuals ever committed to such a high profile
blockbuster.
Particular praise must be given
to the adrenaline fuelled action beats that litter the film. Favouring long
takes and a kinetic camera rather than nauseating and choppy edits that seem to
be the norm in Hollywood these days, Kingsman features some of the most
inventive action I’ve seen in a long time.
Sheer pleasure is the definite
modus operandi here, injecting barrels of fun into a concept that could so
easily have just been a run of the mill Hollywood bunkum. Indeed, Vaughn and
co-writer Jane Goldman (who also worked on Kick Ass and Stardust) clearly love
the spy genre and litter the movie with tons of neat references. From the
subtle (the Kingsman all sporting dapper Harry Palmer specs), to the not so
subtle (Firth and Jackson engaging in a meta conversation about their favourite
Bond films), it’s a treasure trove of spy tropes.
Much of this is entertainment
value is down to a roster of excellent performances, with the entire cast
embracing the lunacy with wild abandon. Firth is the big winner here, clearly
having the time of his life – relishing the opportunity to occupy a Bond-like role
he sadly missed out on in younger days. Likewise, Samuel L Jackson is hilarious,
bizarrely channelling Will.I.Am via Chris Eubank to great effect. Elsewhere,
top support comes from the always wonderful Mark Strong as the Kingsman’s
equivalent of Q, and Sophie Cookson as Roxy, Eggsy’s primary rival for the spy role
and a refreshingly well rounded female character in another wise male dominated
genre.
Of course the film isn’t
perfect. The first half could be accused
of being formulaic, grinding gears and positioning characters before the main
plot kicks in, but even at it’s lowest ebb it never once dips into boring
territory. Elsewhere, the otherwise sharp script comes undone with some muddled
class-system satire that could have benefited from a bit of a polish. And of
course, as ever with all Vaughn’s films, there are the usual excesses and a
definite lack of subtlety. But these are minor gripes and aren’t sufficient to sully
what is an otherwise sharp and funny film.
Kingsman is a rollicking thrill ride, then. Light-hearted, fast paced and incredibly funny. Although much of the adult humour and violence won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, for fans of this kind of thing you’d be hard pressed to find a more entertaining and uncompromisingly idiosyncratic film this year.
Kingsman is a rollicking thrill ride, then. Light-hearted, fast paced and incredibly funny. Although much of the adult humour and violence won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, for fans of this kind of thing you’d be hard pressed to find a more entertaining and uncompromisingly idiosyncratic film this year.
4/5
