KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET Service (2015) movie

Genre             |  Action Adventure

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   129 minutes

Released         |   5 February 2015

cast

​Colin Firth ... Harry Hart / Galahad
Taron Egerton ... Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin
Samuel L. Jackson ... Valentine
Mark Strong ... Merlin
Sofia Boutella ... Gazelle
Michael Caine ... Arthur
​Mark Hamill ... Professor Arnold

director

Matthew Vaughn

writer

​Jane Goldman ... (screenplay by) &
Matthew Vaughn ... (screenplay by)
 
Mark Millar ... (based on the comic book "The Secret Service" by) and
Dave Gibbons ... (based on the comic book "The Secret Service" by)

cinematographer

George Richmond ​

music

Henry Jackman
Matthew Margeson ​

film editor

​Eddie Hamilton
Jon Harris

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box office result

Worldwide             $414,351,546   

Australia                 $​​​​​​14,003,920

North America       $​​​128,261,724 ​

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the best dialogue

Harry Hart: [to bigoted church lady] I'm a Catholic whore, currently enjoying congress out of wedlock with my black Jewish boyfriend who works at a military abortion clinic. So, hail Satan, and have a lovely afternoon, madam.

Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin: Sorry, love. Gotta save the world.
Princess Tilde: [In a thick, Swedish accent] If you save the world, we can do it in the... asshole.
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin: [Calmly] I will be right back.

Valentine: [showing a photo of Lancelot's corpse] Great, you don't know, the CIA don't know. Nobody knows who this guy is? Fine. Seriously, it's fine. Well, it's not really fine, but it's not why I'm here. Hell, man, you know me. Money's not my issue. I could've retired straight out of M.I.T., fucked off to some island and let the business run itself. Nobody told me to try and save the planet. I wanted to. Climate change research, lobbying, years of studying, billions of dollars, and you know why I quit? Because the last time I checked, the planet was still fucked. Hence, my epiphany. Money won't solve this. Those idiots that call themselves politicians have buried their heads in the sand and stood for nothing but re-election. So I spent the last two years trying to find a real solution. And I found it. Now, if you really wanna make the world a better place, I suggest you open your fucking ears, because I'm about to tell it to you.

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015) MOVIE IMAGES

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KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015) STORY SYNOPSIS

​​Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), whose late father secretly worked for a spy organization, lives in a South London housing estate and seems headed for a life behind bars. However, dapper agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) recognizes potential in the youth and recruits him to be a trainee in the secret service. Meanwhile, villainous Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) launches a diabolical plan to solve the problem of climate change via a worldwide killing spree.

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 4 February 2015
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

On the surface, Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service is an entertaining action film that will satisfy the most ardent spy-fi fans. Underneath the surface of Kingsman lies a sly commentary about Great Britain in the 21st Century, the challenges that remain between the classes and the ever-closing gap in the equality of the sexes. Vaughan and fellow long-time screen-writer Jane Goldman take a similar approach to the spy film genre as they did with their comic book film Kick Ass, deconstructing the genre's tropes and allowing their characters to play against expectation. This film will be “praised” as homage to James Bond, but it is anything other. In fact, it pours scorn upon the Bond films as it (sometimes) messily explodes just about everything dear to that enduring series.

The movie is based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. Millar is one of the most influential writers in the comic book industry and his work is optioned for movies before the printed source material is even released. Millar currently splits his creative energy between developing his own comic book stories and Marvel, where he remains contracted as a consultant. Dave Gibbons co-created the legendary Watchmen graphic novel series and has worked in both the British & American comic book industries for nearly forty years.

Central to the success of Kingsman is Colin Firth's portrayal of ageing spy Harry Hart. Unlike James Bond, Hart is a spy who openly acknowledges the sacrifice of others around him and, by giving their lives, has allowed him to keep doing his job. This gratitude combined with an obvious sentimental streak makes him one of the most endearing secret agents to ever grace a cinema screen. Firth pulls the role off with absolute aplomb, striking just the right note between suave, caring and hard-hitting. It's hard not to like Colin Firth, as every movie the 54 year old stars in he seems to be doing everything with effortless ease. It's a testimony to his verisimilitude as an actor that he can take on a role such as Hart and deliver the physicality required in the fight & action scenes that are so much a part of this film. While Firth may have joked about being James Bond; he displays the requisite chops in Kingsman that are vital to the success of modern day spy-fi films.

The black to Harry's white is Taron Egerton's Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, whose lower-class upbringing is the direct result of his father's bravery as a Kingsman twenty years before. “Eggsy” is one out of the box. He's cheeky, full of himself; but underneath he, like Firth's Hart, has a heart of gold. He cares for his Mum and baby sister and wants a better life for all three of them. A run-in with his Mum's hoodlum boyfriend's cronies lead to a car chase through the suburbs of London with the Police in hot pursuit. “Eggsy”, again, sacrifices himself to save his friends and is nicked by the Coppers. With nowhere left to turn, “Eggsy” calls in a long-standing pledge made by the Kingsman at the time of his father's death. It's at this point in the film that Firth and Egerton have their first scenes together and the combination is automatically appealing.

Kingsman works because of the chemistry between Firth and Egerton. It's as simple as that. Firth has the unique ability to command a scene no matter how he's playing it, but he always lets his co-stars into his space and allows them to share the scene with him. The experience and youth of the actors shines through, as Hart and “Eggsy” develop a respectful relationship that sees Hart deliver a protégé Kingsman who wasn’t born with a silver spoon “stuck up his ass”. The two leads get fantastic support from their co-stars including Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine and Mark Strong. 

Jackson plays Valentine, a style-challenged billionaire computer genius who has some very misguided ideas about the future of the human race. Jackson plays the would-be megalomaniac as a cross between Jim Parsons’ Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and an evil fictional version of Bill Gates who has the access and ability to make the world a different place, but not one that is necessarily better. Michael Caine is Arthur, the leader of the Kingsman organisation. After being miscast in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, it’s nice to see Caine back in form and playing against type. Cinema-goers associate the veteran English actor with hard-working Cockney types, so it’s fun to see him playing an upper-class snob, who is convinced that Firth’s Hart is making a massive mistake by bringing “Eggsy” into the Kingsman program. Mark Strong is the stand-out among the supporting players as Merlin, the no-nonsense head instructor at the Kingsman’s training academy. His role expands the longer the film runs and he’s a steadying influence for all the Kingsman as the action spirals out of control in the film’s Final Act.

Kingsman is really well photographed by George Richmond, a highly-regarded English camera operator & cinematographer who has worked on films like Quantum of Solace, Children of Men and Clash of the Titans. The shot design and camera work combine to deliver a film that resonates like a cross between a James Bond & Jason Bourne film but delivers much faster movement. The camera work is enhanced immeasurably by the film editing of Conrad Buff, Eddie Hamilton and Jon Harris. Buff is one of today’s cinema’s most highly regarded editors, having worked with James Cameron on Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Abyss, True Lies and Titanic, as well as Rise of the Planet of the Apes & Snow White and the Huntsman. Hamilton & Harris have previously worked with Vaughn on Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass 2.

​As “Eggsy” might say, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a cracking good film. There’s a lot of sly humour, at times it’s crass and it’s extremely violent. However, these are the reasons why it’s worth seeing. It turns conventions on their head and gives the viewer an unexpected and refreshing action movie experience by doing so.

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015) USEFUL LINKS

​Kingsman: The Secret Service - Wikipedia
​Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) - IMDb
​Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) - Rotten Tomatoes

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