'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Review

Kingsman: The Secret Service Review:

One Heck of a Good Time

BY IAN TAN

Matthew Vaughn has brought us some pretty entertaining films over the past few years, namely the kick-ass Kick-Ass and the well received X-Men: First Class, which is arguably the best X-Men film in the series next to Bryan Singer’s X-Men 2 in 2003 and X-Men: Days of Future Past last May. Suffice to say, he’s pretty talented and knows how to deliver a quality escapist film.

With Kingsman: The Secret Service, Vaughn again delivers another fun, balls-to-the-wall action flick that’s probably the best film to catch in cinemas this February.

First off, this film’s ensemble cast is great. Colin Firth plays a slightly edgier, more comedic character than he usually does, and he seems to be having a ball with his role as Agent Harry Hart. Samuel L. Jackson too, is perfect as the eccentric and short-tongued Valentine - the film’s villain. But this movie would be nothing without Taron Egerton, who plays Eggsy, the main character of the film who’s likable, relatable and smart. Other supporting roles played by Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, Arthur played by Michael Caine, Merlin played by Mark Strong and Professor Arnold played by Mark ‘Luke Skywalker’ Hamil do a good job in their respective roles. Basically, this movie’s full of A-listers, and Vaughn directs each of them equally well and leaves no actor’s talents wasted.

Who says a villain needs to dress all fancy to be bad? 

As far as action’s concerned, this movie’s packed with some really well coordinated action sequences expected from a Matthew Vaughn film. Standouts include a halo jump training sequence and the action finale where things take a turn for the outrageous, and when I say “outrageous”, I'm talking Quentin Tarantino outrageous. I mean, heads explode into bursts of fireworks at one point in the film, and that’s just one of many ridiculously entertaining action sequences Kingsman has to offer. Furthermore, as stylized as the action can get, the film never fails to allow audiences to get into the heads of the characters, allowing us to care about our little heroes’ fates. However, I did think that the action did get a little too prolonged and frenetic at times, which made it a little giddy to watch, especially in IMAX. That halo jump training sequence was pretty thrilling to watch on the larger screen though.

Some Kingsmen 

In a nutshell, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a perfectly adequate escapist movie filled with likable characters, awesome action, funny dialogue and a great sense of fun. This is a spy film turned action-comedy well done, unlike say the Johnny English movies. I wouldn’t say it’s Vaughn’s best film though, I still thought Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class were more engaging overall, but this one’s still a good watch for a Saturday afternoon.

Final Verdict

Kingsman: The Secret Service gets 7.9 out of 10 stars – Great fun.