Say what you want about the Blockbuster action movie, after the incredibly serious January I just weathered through, it is nice to jump back into familiar waters, to turn off my brain with some 
mindless violence and cheap laughs. Matthew Vaughn is well known for his “no holding back” approach to film making. We know him from Layer Cake (2004), Kick-Ass (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011), all fantastic movies and he seems to have hit his stride with comic book films. Kingsman is yet another comic book adaptation for the director and he really does wonders with the film in terms of acting, plot and action.
Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has grown up in a poor family and lives a life of petty crime. After stealing a car, Eggsy is approached by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a member of the secret spy organization, The Kingsman. Hart owes a debt to Eggsy’s father, a deceased member of the organization, and recruits the troubled teen to face selection for the Kingsman. Eggsy is first skeptical and feels like an outcast when compared to his other Kingsman nominees. Meanwhile, Harry begins to follow up the disappearance, and sudden re-appearance, of a scientist, and his connection with billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson).
Kingsman was very comparable to Kick-Ass. Kinetically, action sequels were incredibly impressive, but screamed of Vaughn’s work on his previous film. I’m not put off by this, like I said, these sequences were a spectacle to behold and are less a carbon copy of Kick-Ass, rather Vaughn’s own stamp on his work. The story was nothing to ride home about. Of course, it is not restrained and is willing to be as violent as possible, but structure-wise, we have seen this before. I was not all that impressed with the set pieces and CGI. It’s hard to determine if fake rocks or the bad CGI were throwbacks to the action films of old, or laziness on the part of the production crew.
It’s refreshing to see someone as posh as Firth through all expectations and be an action star
Egerton is convincing as the lead and likable enough. Firth, though, steals the show. It’s refreshing to see someone as posh as Firth through all expectations and be an action star, while still looking dapper as hell. These two are backed up by a quality supporting cast. Michael Caine and Mark Strong are in great form, especially Strong.
I loved the look and feel of this whole film. The action sequences were great, tense and set to a whole range of excellent music. I did expect a couple of the twists, but a surprising story really wasn’t high on my list of expectations when seeing this film. Mark Hamill’s cameo was appreciated and there was a good amount of humour injected into the film. What strangely put me off were the opening titles; the actual graphics that tell me who is in the movie. They seemed really amateur. Regardless, Kingsman was a welcome return to mindless action and comedy. It was thoroughly enjoyable.
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