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'Kingsman' puts the laughter in manslaughter
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a blithe James Bond rip-off that gleefully parodies and self-consciously modernizes the spy thriller
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Kingsman: The Secret Service is a blithe James Bond rip-off that gleefully parodies and self-consciously modernizes the spy thriller. (AP/20th Century Fox) (AP/20th Century Fox)
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span class="inline inline-center">Kingsman: The Secret Service is a blithe James Bond rip-off that gleefully parodies and self-consciously modernizes the spy thriller. (AP/20th Century Fox)
British writer-director Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service is a twistedly entertaining film delivered with a well-balanced mix of fun, violence and dark humor.
The film, now in theaters, is another Vaughn-interpretation of a Mark Millar comic book ' this time it's The Secret Service.
As in some of Vaughn's previous work, Kingsman proves that violence can be fun and merry.
There are a lot of things happening in Kingsman, but the director manages to keep them brief and efficiently entertaining.
First, there is a secret organization called the Kingsman, which is essentially a gathering of James Bond-like spies who are not bound to any country, state or political interests, answering to their own conscience to protect good guys from bad guys.
Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is a member of this organization, which is led by Arthur (Michael Caine). Each agent in this organization is given the name of a King Arthur roundtable member. Harry is called Gallahad.
Harry, or Gallahad, is wracked by guilt. In 1997, he let his guard down for a fraction of a second and a fellow Kingsman was killed in the act of saving Harry's life.
Harry seeks out the fallen Kingsman's wife and young son, named Eggsy. He delivers to them a medal and tells them that they can contact him using the phone number printed on the back of the medal and a password, which they must utter aloud, if ever in need of help.
Some 17 years later, another Kingsman, Lancelot, dies while on a mission. Harry, along with the other agents, are tasked by Arthur to find a candidate to fill the empty seat at the roundtable. At the same time, a now adult but jobless Eggsy (Taron Egerton) finds himself constantly in trouble. Since the death of his father, he has struggled to succeed, despite his high IQ and athletic prowess.
Eggsy's mother, meanwhile, lives with an abusive man.
While in police custody for car theft, Eggsy suddenly remembers the medal and decides to call the number. Moments later, he is released and meets Harry.
Harry quickly decides the only way he can repay his life debt is to mentor Eggsy and groom him to become a gentleman and a spy, to which Eggsy consents.
In Eggsy's quest to become a world-saving super-spy, he is forced to compete against other candidates form wealthy and well-established backgrounds in a number of deadly tests: only one of them can become the new Lancelot.
While mentoring Eggsy, Harry investigates Lancelot's death, which leads him to internet multi-billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), who has the 'noble' goal of saving the earth from global warming by killing off large numbers of people using exploding phone chips.
Valentine is one hell of a character. Here is a man who is willing to kill billions of people he deems a 'virus' upon the earth who cannot stomach the sight of blood.
He does not like to kill a man with his own hands and explains that his first experience of shooting a man in the head was 'horrible'.
He likes to spoil his guests with expensive vintage wine and whiskey, some aged for hundreds of years, before bringing out McDonald's Happy Meals for meals.
Valentine has a sidekick named Gazelle, who is also a solid actor. She has the look of a sexy French maid, with blades for legs. She uses the blades, which are similar to the ones used by disgraced paralympian Oscar Pistorius, to slice and kill Valentine's opponents. How Gazelle kills her opponents by cleanly cutting their limbs is both violent and sexy. This is one bad girl who looks poised to crack the list of the 100 greatest villains before it's all said and done.
The balanced cast of good and the bad guys in Kingsman provides Vaughn with ample opportunity to display his unique storytelling style.
He doesn't shy away from political speech in Kingsman, either, taking jabs at runaway consumerism, upper-class snobbery, pseudo-philanthropist activism and capitalism.
One scene shows wealthy peoples' heads exploding, suggesting that Vaughn thinks the superrich ought to die, spectacularly, for their oppression of the common man.
The final action sequence in Kingsman is a gory, high-octane masterpiece presented in a highly entertaining, operatic style.
Apart from strong casting and superbly choreographed battle scenes, Kingsman also features a terrific score.
Kingsman, in short, puts the laughter in manslaughter. It is a supremely violent film, but somehow manages to make that violence humorous and appropriate for most viewers. It is subversive in its messages and stylish in its delivery. A definite five stars out of five.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
(20th Century Fox, 129 minutes)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Music composed by: Henry Jackman, Matthew Margeson
Cast: Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Taron Egerton, Sofia Boutella
