Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

n

nKingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

n

nDirector: Matthew Vaughn

n

nCast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, MichaelnCaine, Sofia Boutella, Mark Hamill

n

nI love it when I go into a film expecting little and comenout completely excited because the movie I just saw exceeded my expectations.nThis is what happened to me with Kingsman: The Secret Service a movie I onlynhad a vague idea about suddenly falls right into my best of the year list. Thisnmagnificent James Bond spoof comes to us from Matthew Vaughn, the guy whonbrought us Kick Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011) and Stardust (2007) allnentertaining films in my book. Vaughn wanted to make this movie so badly hensaid no to directing X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), so that’s how much of anpassion project this movie is to Vaughn. Not every director will have the gutsnto say no to a sure hit that will make millions in order to make a risky filmnthat’s totally original. Sure Kingsman is based on Matthew Vaughn’s own comicnbook ‘The Secret Service’, but it’s not a household name. It’s not a surenthing. You have to respect a director who believes so much in his film that hisnwilling to do that. The thing is that I see why he did it. Turns out Kingsmannwas way more entertaining than the last X-Men movie every step of the way, sonI’m actually happy Vaughn eschewed X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) fornKingsman.

n

n

nIn Kingsman: The Secret Service we are introduced to Eggsy,na young man who is going down the dark path. He’s all about being a troublenmaker. He likes to go to bars to pick fights and cause a ruckus. But there’snsomething about him, he’s got potential to be something great. Secret ServicenAgent Harry Hart recognizes this, so he gives him a chance to apply to become anKingsman. Just what the hell is a Kingsman and does Eggsy have what it takes tonbecome one? Or is he just another loser?

n

n

nWhat is so awesome about Kingsman is that it has all thesenold James Bond movies to build upon. What Matthew Vaughn did was he watchednevery single James Bond and spy movie ever made, and then he made this one. Hencleverly avoids the famous clichés and makes fun of them while at the same timenbeing a good spy movie. It’s a rule of thumb I have for all spoofs. If you’rengoing to spoof a genre, you still have to be a good film within the genre younare spoofing. Good examples of this are Young Frankenstein (1974) andnSpaceballs (1986), two of Mel Brooks most famous spoofs. Young Frankenstein isna damn good Frankenstein movie (actually it was nominated for Best Screenplaynin 1974) while still making fun of all those Frankenstein films that camenbefore it. Young Frankenstein is such a good Frankenstein movie that it evennsurpasses many of the films it is spoofing. Same with Spaceballs, there’s nonbetter Star Wars spoof out there. Funny, yet mindful to the type of film it is.nAnd this is what Kingsman does so well. It takes all those elements you knownand love from James Bond films and then twists them around and takes them tonanother level. If you are a fan of Bond movies, you will have a blast with Kingsman:nThe Secret Service. It’s always referencing some cliché from the Bond films. Innthis sense it reminds me William Dear’s If Looks Could Kill (1991), which wasnalso about a teenager who turns into a super spy. It was also a lighthearted,nfun film that poked fun at Bond movies, but trust me, Kingsman does it anmillion times better. Still, if you enjoy Kingsman, check out If Looks CouldnKill (1991).

n

n

nBut aside from the spoof aspect of this film, as it turnsnout, it is also an extremely well written film saying a whole lot about thensociety we live in and what is wrong with it and boy, I wasn’t expecting thisnat all, but Kingsman: The Secret Service is one of the most subversive filmsnI’ve seen in a while. It’s a film that sends a big ‘screw you’ to politics andnreligion. There’s an outstanding sequence that takes place inside of anChristian church that showcases everything that is wrong with religion today. Whatnthis story is saying is that politicians and religious leaders are totalnwhackos, they just happen to be running the world, making all the wrong choicesnfor all of us. How do you save the world from these madmen? By becoming a truengentleman, ridding the world of evil. I loved the message that the films putsnacross. It’s basically saying we can become something better, we can improvenourselves, we can do some good in the world. We have the potential, we justnneed to focus. It also speaks about the manipulation of the masses, and thencontrol of how they perceive things. I can see why the film is rated ‘R’, itnhas profanity, nudity and subversive ideas. Its violence quotient is prettynhigh. It feels as if the filmmakers decided that if they we’re going to go withnan ‘R’ rating, they were going to go all in. And that they did; which wasnawesome. It was so refreshing to see a film that wasn’t worrying about beingnpolitically correct.

n

nFinal words:  thisnmovie turned out to be one of my favorite of the year; it was entertainingnevery step of the way. One of the biggest compliments it gets from me is thatnit was never boring. Not for a second. It brought back that fun element thatnmodern James Bond movies lack. If you take a look at Bond films of today, theynare currently on a ‘deadly serious’ phase, all the silly fun from the old moviesnhas been sucked right out of that franchise.  And while I absolutely loved Sky Fall (2012),nI miss the whacky element from the old ones, but don’t worry if you’ve beennmissing that sense of fun adventure from your spy movies, Kingsman: The SecretnService brings it all back.  So remember,nwhat you guys have here is a film that’s very self conscious, it knows thencliché’s and staples of a good spy adventure and plays with them in innovativenways. And one more final note, the Matthew Vaughn’s direction on this one isntop notch, his camera moves and angles, the over all direction of the film isntruly fantastic. It’s dynamic, the camera angles are interesting, innovative.nCase in point? The fights scenes on this movie are a blast! Really fun tonwatch! Now go see Kingsman: The Secret Service and have a blast, it just mightnblow your head into a million colorful pieces.

n

nRating:  5 out of 5  

n

n