Seasoned professional Colin Firth and newcomer Taron Egerton star in this James Bond parody-cum-reboot. Matthew Vaughn joins multiple Marvel and DC Comics adapters in turning a comic book into an enthralling, and visually spectacular film.
Galahad – played by Firth – is a super-suave super spy for a super-secret non-governmental organisation. He meets Eggsy (Egerton) after years of no contact, when the former gets into some trouble with the law. Eggsy is a son to one of Galahad’s former partners who died saving their lives. Galahad sees some potential in the young man, and offers him a way out of the life of crime that seems to be waiting for Eggsy.
What follows is a love letter to both Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond, and teenage coming-of-age flicks. There’s an abundance of incredible spy technology – glasses that are actually cameras and Wi-Fi-enabled screens, grenades disguised as lighters, and pens with poisoned tips. There are pretty women, tailored suits, and massive castles.
All through it, Eggsy who brings out the protagonist role, grows from a ruffian with no prospects into a gentleman’s gentleman – polite, smooth and always smiling. He goes through spy training with a group of rich kids with chips on their shoulders, and beats every one of them to the finals where his soft heart keeps him from joining the elite Round Table. Roxxy, the only girl in the programme, “shoots” her dog to get the seat which was the ultimate test and Eggsy fails.
A plot twist forces Eggsy to join the agency and puts him on a path to save the world. The crisis in the story is brought about by the antagonist role of Raymond Valentine, played by Samuel L. Jackson, a rich tech genius who wants to rid the world of all riff raff and keep only the elite. His plan is to use free SIM cards that produce a frequency that turns people into mindless killers, while keeping the elite in a safe house.
The twist is predictable. It follows the same trope followed by spy movies since the invention of the genre: the leader of the spies is in cahoots with the antagonist causing a rift in the organisation and forcing the disgraced hero to rise to the occasion and save the day.
But it does little to take away from the visual thrill of watching highly-trained spies unleash physical prowess on each other. The fight scenes are so well choreographed that it doesn’t matter how little blood comes from huge wounds and bashed faces. The music choices blend beautifully with the on-screen madness, creating scenes of utter chaos.
The plot, however cookie-cutter under the fancy suits, develops at a great pace. It waits until you are just about to get bored, then moves on to the next point.
The ultra-violence, though entertaining, can get a little tedious. Inarguably, the climax of this movie was brought about by the ultimate scene; the church scene. This church act which is the first epic show off of what the action is about unfolds when Valentine first tests his weapon with a few hits, then devolves into a superbly put together massacre that included frequent stabbings, gunshots to the head, and even an axe into the neck.
Eggsy witnesses the whole thing and wants a chance to avenge Harry’s death and so he takes up his position in Kingsman and together with Merlin the caretaker and IT guru of the secret service, start on the mission to avenge. This brings out the resolution as Eggsy saves the whole world from total annihilation and gets appointed officially to the Secret Service.
The writing, although entertaining, does not allow full development of character motivations. Apart from his dog, nothing else is revealed about Galahad or the other Kingsmen. Eggsy’s family members are all also left as single-faceted characters. His mother is a victim of his criminal step father who is only portrayed as an evil sadistic man. More could have been done about character origins, character motivations, meaning there are few to no predictions that can be made about the character’s futures beyond the end-credits.
Vaughn taps the talents of seasoned veterans Michael Caine (Arthur) and Mark Strong (Merlin) to join in making fun of Bond films. The two clearly have their fun as elite spies, with strong modern-day gadgets and tricks flying out of their sleeves.
When all is said and done, Kingsman: The Secret Service scratches an itch that we didn’t even know existed. It caters to an audience that loves to laugh, has a penchant for thrillers, and doesn’t mind making a few leaps in logic for the sake of an entertaining story. It traces the growth of a street ruffian into a gentleman, creating humour in tense situations and tension in the funny ones. It glorifies violence, but waters it down with a loveable cast that is clearly having fun. It is a sharp parody of spy movies with refreshing cinematography, sharp editing, and well-paced screenplay.
The plot clearly brings out the premise, which is; what goes around, comes around. All the antagonists bring out this premise in that they all pay for their actions. This goes for the main protagonist, Valentine, Eggsy’s step Father and also the thugs that bullied Eggsy. It also portrays the world of today, where the elite social class tends to believe they are entitled to control the world and manipulate the members of the lower section of the pyramid to their advantage. However, since karma is real, it comes to bite them and they pay for it dearly.
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