Kingsman: The Secret Service

"Is this the part where you say some... really bad pun?"

Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Egerton) is a former marine, turned juvenile delinquent.  When he is arrested, he calls the number on the back of his late father's medal.  He received the medal seventeen years prior after his father was killed in the line of duty, and was told to only call in a dire emergency.  He is rescued by Harry Hart (Firth) a colleague of his father.  His father saved Harry's life, and Harry decides to groom Eggsy to follow in his footsteps.

Harry is a gentlemen spy, called a Kingsman.  The Kingsmen have code names from King Arthur's tales.  When their Lancelot (Davenport) is murdered, they begin the grueling search and training for his replacement led by Merlin (Strong).  Eggsy joins a group of other promising young people to fill the vacancy and is befriend by fellow recruit Roxy (Cookson).

Meanwhile, around the world celebrities and world leaders are disappearing.  Lancelot was investigating the disappearances when he was killed.  The mastermind between the disappearances is tech billionaire and philanthropist Richmond Valentine (Jackson) and his deadly assistant Gazelle (Boutella).  Can Eggsy complete his training and save the world?


The story is based on the spy comic book series The Secret Service by Mark Millar and David Gibbons.  The series ran from 2012-2013 for 6 issues.  The film takes a few elements from the comics and builds it's own world.  The characters are different as well as the organization they serve.

Director Matthew Vaughn (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman) is no stranger to comic adaptations.  In 2010, he wrote and directed Kick-Ass based on Mark Millar's comic book series.  He also wrote and directed X-Men: First Class based on Marvel's X-Men series.  Vaughn is also no stranger to violent action sequences, as evidenced in Kick-Ass and Layer Cake and his collaborations with director Guy Ritchie (he produced several Ritchie films).

Vaughn and Goldman wanted the film to be a love letter to class James Bond films and the spy TV shows from the 1960s.  The Bond references are the easiest to find, but the film is littered with homages to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, Get Smart, among others.  Unlike those shows, the body count and carnage are high; there are even exploding heads.

The cast work well in their parts.  Newcomers Taron Egerton and Sophie Cookson are engaging and easy to cheer for.  Colin Firth, Michael Caine, and frequent Vaughn collaborator Mark Strong look like they are having a blast in their roles.  Each gets to be suave and stylish, while still getting in on the action.  Sofia Boutella has some impressive moves as Gazelle, although her character does not have much of a personality.  Samuel L. Jackson is an interesting villain, but his character doesn't work quite as well as he could.  He does get some good moments... and some interesting characterizations (i.e. his distaste for violence and blood, even though he is the reason for the bloodshed) and some good lines.

Vaughn and the studio have expressed interest in making a sequel and expanding this world into a franchise.  The seeds are definitely in place and it could work.

It was good, but a little too long.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) 129 minutes
Rating: R for sequences of strong violence, language and some sexual content
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Taron Egerton as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin
Colin Firth as Harry Hart / Galahad
Samuel L. Jackson as Richmond Valentine
Mark Strong as Merlin
Michael Caine as Chester King / Arthur
Sophie Cookson as Roxy Morton
Sofia Boutella as Gazelle
Samantha Womack as Michelle Unwin
Geoff Bell as Dean
Edward Holcroft as Charlie
Mark Hamill as Professor James Arnold
Jack Davenport as Lancelot