Kingsman: The Secret Service

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Kingsman: The Secret Serivce.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn. 

Written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn.

Based on the Marvel Comics "The Secret Serivce" created by Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons.

Review #267

MPAA Rating: Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language and some sexual content.

Run Time: 129 min

Hulk Spoils Hollywood Podcast Page

Cast

Colin Firth...Harry Hart / Galahad

Mark Strong...Merlin

Jack Davenport...Lancelot

Mark Hamill...Professor Arnold

Sofia Boutella...Gazelle

Samuel L. Jackson...Valentine

Michael Caine...Arthur

Taron Egerton...Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin

Edward Holcroft...Charlie

Sophie Cookson...Roxy

Nicholas Banks...Digby

Jack Cutmore-Scott...Rufus

Nicholas Agnew...Nathaniel

Rowan Polonski...Piers

Tom Prior...Hugo

Fiona Hampton...Amelia

Bjørn Floberg...Scandinavian Prime Minister

Hanna Alström...Princess Tilde

 Lights....Camera....Popcorn's Quote/Quotes of the Film.

"Are we going to stand around here all day or are we going to fight?"

Harry Hart A.K.A Galahad. Played by Colin Firth

The spy film genre has always been a mixed bag. Of course we all know that 007 is the ultimate spy but those films catered to the vivid imagination. Then we got more grounded spy films that were based on actual events/organizations. Then the Jason Bourne films come along and blended the natural spy with the supernatural spy. My point is that with the infinite possibilities the spy genre can provide, comics are the perfect outlet to take this genre to another level.

Enter Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn and one of the best comic book films this year and one of the better spy films in recent memory.

Plot

A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

I love that poster.

It's the perfect blend of sexy and the surreal. I chose to display this one for a number of reasons. I'll get into the main one in a bit. The bottom line is that the image tells you all you need to know about what you're going to see and it can be explained in one simple word.

Fun.

Kingsman is first and foremost a fun movie and it should be since it's based on a comic book. I haven't read the book but if it's anything like the Kick Ass series of books that Millar created (which I did read) then the tone is a bit on the darker side. The film version of Kick Ass (also directed by Vaughn) followed in the books footsteps and it would stand to reason that this film does the same. Regardless, Vaughn taps into the same formula that made Kick Ass so much fun to watch with Kingsman. He toes the line between the actual and the absurd. You as the audience believe that the technology and gadgets used in this film are legit.

At least in the world this film takes place in.

The only way that's possible is through the performance of the cast headlined by the dashing and deadly Colin Firth. This dude is an actor's actor and the role of Galahad is quite a departure from his "normal" fare. My first thought was bad choice but this man OWNS the role and was spectacular in it. I had no doubts about his ability to play the suave spy, my concerns reverted to the action hero side of the coin. I've never seen him in an action oriented role before and I have to say he pulled off some pretty dam impressive fighting.

With the help of his stunt double of course. Which is not a knock on him at all.

As a well known fan of martial arts films I look very closely at the choreography of the fights in Hollywood films. Some people have learned their lesson and employed the Hong Kong style of film fighting or went one step further and imported the stunt team's to handle the action. Kingsman didn't do either of that, what they did do was use a tactic in Hong Kong films called choreography of the camera or editing in camera. Several times in the kinetic fights that Firth was in the camera employed a technique called body wipes where a stunt person will flash themselves across the screen giving the editor a clean spot to make a cut in the action where the stunt double can continue the action in a portion of the fight where the actor/actress can't physically execute the moves. It's a seamless edit that you normally wouldn't see. Combine that with some fast camerawork and you get what appears to be an uninterrupted fight. It was fun to see the action unfold that way.

Vaughn even found a way to make the shaky cam (which I HATE) look stylish.

There is so much more to love about this film but I can't get into specifics. I will however take this time to talk about that poster and the reason why I gushed about it so much. The reason is this lovely lady here.

Her name is Sofia Boutella and I am in LOVE!

She's an Algerian actress and dancer who plays the beautiful and bad ass sidekick villain (no pun intended) Gazelle. She is pure Bond villain if I've ever seen one. She's got stilts with blades that extend out the middle when she kicks.

C'mon man! Too fu***ing COOL!

Her screen time is mostly relegated to standing by her "man" with an occasional line there and there in between bouts of bad assery. I don't know what it is about her but her look even with the legs was intoxicating to me and her footwork (pun intended) was pretty fancy. Maybe I'm a sucker for a pretty face that can kick my ass. I only wished Vaughn gave her more of a spotlight during her big fight at the end to really showcase her athletic ability. This was the one time that the camerawork and editing was too busy to really let Gazelle "cut" loose. Regardless, Gazelle gets some shining moments but she is the number two girl to the main main in this evil equation and he was undoubtedly the highlight of the film.

We all know that Samuel L. Jackson is one cool mother fu***er! This time he puts a twist to his cool. Valentine is an odd duck to say the least. He speaks with a lisp that is unavoidably funny and can't stand the sight of blood/violence. That being said it doesn't take away from his calculating persona and plan. The man knows what he's doing even under pressure. Just like everything else in this film, his master plan is fun and felt original.

The rest of the cast was stellar and played their roles expertly to their characters. One of the little touches that I enjoyed was these characters names were based on King Arthur's legend. Michael Caine was the leader named Arthur. Lancelot was Eggsy, Galahad was Hart and the tech wizard (pun intended played by Mark Strong was Merlin. Everyone blended in nicely to give the film more of a team effort as opposed to the "main" characters driving it through.

Final thought is simple. Kingsman: The Secret Service was a really fun film that had plenty of good action, wonderful spy stuff and a few well placed laughs. With exception of the final joke of the film. If you're interested in knowing what that was checkout the Hulk Spoils Hollywood episode where The Ranger and I dive into the film and said joke HERE! This film was a step up for Vaughn after Kick Ass. I would love to see what he could do with a different comic property that doesn't involve the works of Mark Millar or mutants.

On the 5 star scale. Kingsman: The Secret Service gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"