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Kingsman: The Secret Service Review – A Fun-Filled Actioner That Shouldn’t Stay A Secret

By Steve Lam

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Based on The Secret Service (April 2012 – April 2013) limited comic book series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, Kingsman: The Secret Service is director Matthew Vaughn’s latest endeavor, which takes us into the super-spy thriller genre.  An area already comfortably inhabited by the franchises of James Bond and Mission: Impossible, Kingsman: The Secret Service doesn’t copy or parody those films — it adds and bends the category to create one roller coaster of an homage.  By only looking at the trailer or previews, one would think that the film was purely a one-dimensional popcorn flick.  But it’s so much more than that.  It has elements of also being a mentor/student story with a strong character arc.

Vaughn, who also co-wrote the script with Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)), skillfully balances humor, poignancy, and action in what will be a film that will lift box-offices out of their February lulls.  Kingsman: The Secret Service is definitely a can’t miss for people who just want to have fun at the movies.

Spoiler-Free Plot Summary

We open in the Middle East where a team of operatives infiltrate a terrorist hideout.  A terrorist presents a live grenade during an interrogation, and one of the operatives gives his life saving the team.  The operative’s mentor, Harry Hart (Colin Firth), is racked with guilt in not being able to protect his student.

After the mission, Hart pays a visit to the operative’s widow, Michelle Unwin (Samantha Womack), and baby son, Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Alex Nikolov).  He presents to her a medal etched with a phone number, and tells her to call it if she were to ever need assistance.  However, the wife wants nothing to do with the agency, as she blames it for her husband’s untimely death.

Fast-forward seventeen years later and Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has grown up to become a hooligan.  His home life is in shambles and his mother has married an abusive man.  Though a troublemaker, Eggsy still has some redeeming qualities: he deeply cares for his friends, mother, and baby half-sister.

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a Kingsman agent, Lancelot (Jack Davenport), is killed on a mission.  The man responsible for this is a wealthy technology entrepreneur named Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson).  He’s after a scientist the Kingsman were trying to protect and secure — Professor James Arnold (Mark Hamill).

Back in England, Eggsy has been arrested for joyriding.  Seeing no way out, he remembers the medal and the phone number.  Upon calling it, he’s quickly released.  Hart then meets Eggsy and gives him an interesting proposition: a chance to train and work for an elite secret agency.  At first not wanting the opportunity, Eggsy finally relents when he understands that he has no real future.

Eggsy arrives at the training facility and is quickly added to a group of candidates also vying for a position that was left vacant by the death of Lancelot.  Eggsy is soon challenged and pushed to his limits — learning skills that will make him a secret agent just like his father.  The Kingsman are soon thrust into a mission to bring down Valentine, who has a plan to change the world via diabolical means.

Fun Characters

Taron Egerton’s Eggsy is a lovable hero who the audience will certainly root for.  Though introduced as a troublemaker, Eggsy will quickly get the audiences sympathy and empathy because he’s a fun-loving guy.  There’s never a dull moment when watching Eggsy get in and out of trouble.  Where the writing for the character truly shines is the arcing.  Starting him off at almost a lost cause, we see Eggsy grow and mature into a leader with a heart, but still retaining his signature mischief ways.

Colin Firth is very comfortable in the role of Harry Hart.  Though known mostly for his roles as historical figures and romantic-comedy nice guys, Firth pulls off the secret agent persona with aplomb.  Confident and never cocky, Firth’s Hart is James Bond humanized.

Samuel L. Jackson puts aside his tough guy Nick Fury act to play the very quirky and very villainous Richmond Valentine.  The character is filled with so many good moments that you just can’t wait for his next appearance.  The humor in Valentine is that he’s not a villain you laugh at, but a villain you laugh with.  One of the funniest aspects of Valentine is a running joke of him fearing the sight of blood.  Trust me when I say that the payoff at the end for this gag is hilarious.

Michael Caine is in top-notch form as always.  It’s amazing how he can subtly change his character from an almost grandfatherly Alfred Pennyworth in the Dark Knight trilogy to a seasoned leader of a secret agency.  Caine’s performance is convincing with no frills.  To the audience, it seems as if he came in for another day at the office, which is exactly what you want.  We need to believe that Arthur has been doing this day in and day out.

The rest of the cast is just as entertaining.  Mark Strong’s Merlin, a senior Kingsman trainer, is imposing with a streak of paternal likability.  Sophie Cookson’s Roxy acts as a great partner and sidekick to Eggsy.  It would’ve been easy for the writers to relegate her to be the romantic interest, but they didn’t.  And I’m glad they did that.  Her character really balances out the story, as she’s written to be a little bit more of the “straight man” to many of the more eccentric characters.

Turns the Genre on Its Head

The super-spy genre can be a bit oversaturated in modern times due to multiple franchises like James Bond, Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Identity, and other fare.  However, Kingsman: The Secret Service brings something new to the table.  It’s not quite a parody, but it is self-aware enough that you can almost see the characters laughing with the audience.  Many characters are ones we’ve seen before.  However, since they’re played with so much eye-winking humor, you know they’re not copying … they’re giving us an homage.

Rarely do we see a spy movie contain other genres within it.  Kingsman also has a mentor/student relationship — the type you would see in such classics as The Karate Kid (1984) or Star Wars (1978).  This gives the film a new depth.  Let’s face it, heroes in these types of spy-driven action-thrillers rarely arc — they’re super coming in and super going out.  Kingsman gives us a vulnerable protagonist who changes throughout the story.  The end payoff is basically a compare and contrast essay juxtaposing the start of the film.

Final Thoughts

Kingsman: The Secret Service seems like it’s being released during the wrong season.  This film could’ve easily filled a summer slot.  Why the studios chose to release it in February is anybody’s guess.  But I’m glad they did, as it cures the boredom of the type of throwaway movies that come out this time of year.

Containing compelling protagonists, intriguing villains, and a story that mixes fun, action, and humor, this film should be on anyone’s to-do list this President’s Day weekend.  The R-rating for the film has to do with strong language, a semi-nude scene, and gory violence, which is so over-the-top that it seems cartoony anyways (think Kick-Ass-level).

Kingsman: The Secret Service is definitely worth the price of admission.  A word of caution: make sure you strategically time the drinking of your soda.  There are some scenes where you’ll be laughing so hard that the person sitting in front of you will get a cola shower.

Kingsman: The Secret Service was directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, based on The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, and stars Colin Firth as Harry Hart / Galahad, Taron Egerton as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, Alex Nikolov as Young Eggsy, Samuel L. Jackson as Richmond Valentine, Mark Strong as Merlin, Michael Caine as Arthur / Chester King, Sophie Cookson as Roxy, Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, Mark Hamill as Professor James Arnold, Jack Davenport as Lancelot, Samantha Womack as Michelle Unwin, Geoff Bell as Dean, Edward Holcroft as Charlie. Nicholas Banks as Digby, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Rufus, Tom Prior as Hugo, Fiona Hampton as Amelia, and Hanna Altström as Princess Tilde.

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