Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

[CJohn]

Discuss it!

[antovolk]

Richmond Valentine (Samuel L Jackson): "Do you like spy movies, Mr. De Vere?"

Harry Hart (Colin Firth): "Nowadays they're all a little serious for my taste. Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day!"

 

The dialogue above perfectly encapsulates Kingsman's position in today's movie landscape - while it is, like Guardians of the Galaxy (which this is the 2015 equivalent of to be very blunt), an over the top and, amongst all other tentpoles, may stand out as a sore thumb so to say, it still never lets up of its craft and still manages to be an incredibly enjoyable and satisfying film; a breath of fresh air amongst all the "darkness" of other releases. This film manages to achieve everything that GOTG did (for the comic-book space fantasy genre, but here for the comic book spy genre) but better, probably, in my opinion, because of the sort of freedom this film (I think) got in the creative process, and the going all "balls out" thanks to the lack of rating constraints that the film makers had to adhere to, at the same time as staying classy and avoiding being juvenile, likely due to the implications of the spy genre.

The script and story may sound silly on paper, but this proves that with the right director, the audience will go along cheerfully for the ride. Kudos also to Vaughn to making this film very identifiably British, there are bits in there that someone who's aware of the socio-cultural going-on will definitely appreciate, while for those not int he know it provides a nice window into this that is much better than other British-centred tentpoles do which do seem to be a bit more Americanised that you would expect. The amount of moments that totally are worth seeking this out with a packed audience for is also immense and the audience reactions and involvement are brilliant, and I was completely sold on the twists and turns of the story, despite them being pretty damn far fetched and all.

One thing this film got absolutely perfect is the pacing - it never let up, from the completely crazy action scenes (with two scenes in particular being absolute and complete highlights that will no doubt have your theatres erupt) to the more emotional scenes, which the cast carried through perfectly, even better than most films of this type. Colin Firth and Taron Egerton were the real highlights of the cast, with the chemistry between the two characters being the real centerpiece of the film. Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson were also brilliant in their supporting roles and their camaraderie with the two leads. The only weak point was probably Michael Caine, but in a couple of scenes he definitely stood out, and Samuel L Jackson was really great if not way too much on the hammy and scenery-chewing side.

Overall, it is extremely satisfying, way more so than a lot of other similar films, and sets the bar extremely high for 2015 films. Only shame is that unlike GOTG it can't be as big a breakout box-office wise, despite this being the superior movie. One reason is the rating, but the other is that there is yet another "fandom phenomenon/crazy fangirl" movie, that is also R-rated, coming out the same weekend in the US...

9/10

P.S. The 20th Century Fox UK screening room is seriously awesome, incredibly enjoyable atmosphere and audience to watch this with!

Edited January 10, 2015 by antovolk

[MrPink]

So this was pretty fun, it's basically a 70s Bond film but rated R and somehow Fox was okay with it.

 

Perhaps their faith was rewarded as they've got a probable crowd pleaser on their hands, as the film is sharply written, has plenty of great action scenes, and has a likable cast. The film is a bit slow to start, not really finding its footing until Colin Firth makes an example out of some thugs but from there it improves considerably. Taran Egerton is likable enough, having to play a chav but also a dapper agent. I can't profess to liking the chav stereotype, so I was more drawn to the dapper Firth, but that's to be expected. It's a bit disappointing that Firth does have to co-lead with Egerton because I'd rather see a movie with Firth firmly as the lead, no offense to Egerton. Mark Strong is pretty great and has a surprisingly large role in the film. He gets to show off some of his comedic chops too, which is much appreciated.

 

The action is strong, quite stylish and kinetic, perhaps too overly choreographed and too many camera tricks/editing at times that hinders what's going on but the church scene is going to be a definite highlight of the film. And how great it is to see Firth let loose there, retaining his gentlemanly charm while having fun. The movie often works best when it gets over the top, though I wonder if it'll turn off certain audiences but it generated the biggest laughs out of the audience I was at, especially during the end. All in all, it's good. Maybe not as strong as some of the reviews, but it's fun and it reaffirms my belief that Matthew Vaughn is at his best when he has no restraints on him. B

[DeeCee]

Yes. It's a ridiculously wonderful ride.

I think Fox was OK with this as long as they mention Fox/News properties in every shot.

Edited February 7, 2015 by DeeCee

[Deep Wang]

Holy shit this was entertaining as fuck.

[chasmmi]

The film starts of a bit slow (except for the excellent Davenport scene), but it slowly gets better and better and the final 30 minutes is so much fun.

 

It's kind of Kickass meets Johnny English in some ways. I was really dreading the Egsy character when he first appeared, it felt like the sort of role I was going to hate with the tpyical chav who has a grudge against upper class suit-wearers but he's actually very damn good indeed.

 

I can see this film making some top 10 lists next year,

[Jim Shorts]

The Princess's ass at the end was icing on the cake.  

 

 

A

[Thrylos 7]

Awesome movie. It is not a comedy by any means. Change one or two elements (like making Samuel Jackson's character serious) and it plays like a straight action movie . There are twists ( one being huge) , lots of deaths, lots of gore , lots of bad laguage and I feel that some things that happen in the movie really break the "funny movie" factor . It is less serious than GOTG (which was more bizarre than funny) but it is still far from a comedy or even parody with laughs of James Bond movies .

Direction is top notch, some of the sights are amasing (like in bond movies) and the actors are having fun . Top notch movie .

Edited February 14, 2015 by Thrylos 7

[GeneralKong]

I dug it, even with the tonal shifts in the final act. A talented ensemble elevates the material a great deal, with the newcomer Edgerton and Firth each showing off lots of charisma. Samuel L. Jackson's scene-chewing works to perfection, to the point of bringing humor out of some uncomfortable situations (one of his lines in particular after a rather shocking plot point had me holding back laughter.) The action sequences are excellent, with the church scene being particularly impressive, reminding me of something straight out of The Raid. It stumbles a couple times when trying to draw laughs (especially a concluding joke that feels more brazenly sexist than clever), but it thankfully doesn't do it enough to lessen the experience. For my first 2015 release, it was definitely a good way to start off the year.

 

8/10

Edited February 14, 2015 by GeneralKong

[Rsyu]

Kingsman was a remarkably entertaining film and definitely a crowd pleaser, the people at my viewing really dug it. I loved how they made the Kingsman agents to be incredibly efficient killing machines whilst being mild and good mannered gentlemen as exemplified by the excellent Colin Firth. It really highlighted the British tone of the film which I thought was great. My friends commented afterwards that Matthew Vaughn must have been on a drug induced high while directing the film and I could see where they were coming from. Like with Kickass, there were some delightfully ridiculous scenes (the heads exploding in time with the music had me in tears) the like of which you don't often get in other films. The story is very tight too with adequate pacing although there were periods in which I felt it dragged a little. All in all it's one helluva cinematic experience and the reason I love going to the theatres to watch movies. Two thumbs up!

 

I'd say there would be room for the story to expand in a sequel but I feel it just won't be the same without Colin Firth. 

 

Rating:9.2/10 

[chasmmi]

Kingsman was a remarkably entertaining film and definitely a crowd pleaser, the people at my viewing really dug it. I loved how they made the Kingsman agents to be incredibly efficient killing machines whilst being mild and good mannered gentlemen as exemplified by the excellent Colin Firth. It really highlighted the British tone of the film which I thought was great. My friends commented afterwards that Matthew Vaughn must have been on a drug induced high while directing the film and I could see where they were coming from. Like with Kickass, there were some delightfully ridiculous scenes (the heads exploding in time with the music had me in tears) the like of which you don't often get in other films. The story is very tight too with adequate pacing although there were periods in which I felt it dragged a little. All in all it's one helluva cinematic experience and the reason I love going to the theatres to watch movies. Two thumbs up!

 

I'd say there would be room for the story to expand in a sequel but I feel it just won't be the same without Colin Firth. 

 

Rating:9.2/10

i can agree with this and i was pleasantly surpassed with how much the korean audience enjoyed it.

even if it was a little awkward how much the ajjumma next to me laughed at the princesses' promise if he saved the world

[Jessie]

I dug it, even with the tonal shifts in the final act. A talented ensemble elevates the material a great deal, with the newcomer Edgerton and Firth each showing off lots of charisma. Samuel L. Jackson's scene-chewing works to perfection, to the point of bringing humor out of some uncomfortable situations (one of his lines in particular after a rather shocking plot point had me holding back laughter.) The action sequences are excellent, with the church scene being particularly impressive, reminding me of something straight out of The Raid. It stumbles a couple times when trying to draw laughs (especially a concluding joke that feels more brazenly sexist than clever), but it thankfully doesn't do it enough to lessen the experience. For my first 2015 release, it was definitely a good way to start off the year.

8/10

Agree with everything apart from the stumbled attempt at humour. That part was the funniest bit in the movie and had the whole cinema in hysterics. Definitely wasn't a stumble, it was genius, even my girlfriend found it hilarious. Edited February 14, 2015 by jessie

[Rsyu]

i can agree with this and i was pleasantly surpassed with how much the korean audience enjoyed it.

even if it was a little awkward how much the ajjumma next to me laughed at the princesses' promise if he saved the world

 

Agreed, it's getting very good ratings from audiences too. I always feel these types of films are best watched in a cinema with a responsive audience so I was grateful for that. 

 

There is often more than meets the eye when it comes to those ajummas... 

[RobinHood26]

Lots of fun stuff going on, the film is a little clunky but you don't care because its a blast. My only big complaint is Sam Jackson as the villain. The tone works, but I think the movie needed the Villain to ham it up but play it 100% straight. Would have took the film to the next level.

The fight scenes though, woah. Also props for killing Firth. 

 

B+ (87)

Edited February 16, 2015 by Jay Hollywood

[Ozymandias]

The amazingly choreographed and very violent church scene with fucking Freebird playing was the definition of glorious  The last 30 minutes of this movie was just amazing, its like they saved most of their money for this part of the movie... the part where all the heads were exploding was hysterical, I couldn't stop laughing and Mark Strong topped it off with "Fucking spectacular!".  Samuel L. Jackson was great as an old school Bond villain, whenever Samuel L. Jackson knows hes in a good movie and gives a shit hes just great. 

 

I think my only problem with this movie besides some uneven pacing/slow parts is that there were moments where the British accents were so thick I couldn't understand what the hell was being said, like those punk kids that got their asses kicked by Colin Firth.

 

With the success of this and John Wick(both of which are definitely going to have sequels), I hope we can see the return of smartly made R-rated action movies, I can't get enough of these kinds of movies.

[Jessie]

The amazingly choreographed and very violent church scene with fucking Freebird playing was the definition of glorious The last 30 minutes of this movie was just amazing, its like they saved most of their money for this part of the movie... the part where all the heads were exploding was hysterical, I couldn't stop laughing and Mark Strong topped it off with "Fucking spectacular!". Samuel L. Jackson was great as an old school Bond villain, whenever Samuel L. Jackson knows hes in a good movie and gives a shit hes just great.

I think my only problem with this movie besides some uneven pacing/slow parts is that there were moments where the British accents were so thick I couldn't understand what the hell was being said, like those punk kids that got their asses kicked by Colin Firth.

With the success of this and John Wick(both of which are definitely going to have sequels), I hope we can see the return of smartly made R-rated action movies, I can't get enough of these kinds of movies.

Being British and all, those accents are heard far too often in the real world, and it makes me cringe.

Also I must be a sick bastard or something because a huge part of me was disappointed at the lack of blood and brain splatter when those heads started to explode

Edited February 14, 2015 by jessie

[75Live]

It was a really fun movie and I needed that after the movie I saw previously

 

I think everyone did well in it and I like the over the top approach.

 

The crowd couldn't stop laughing at the heads exploding as fireworks scene.  I can agree that it could have been done with some crazy bloody effects and i would have loved that too, but it worked really well this way too.  Especially with the Pomp and Circumstance music playing

 

B+  (maybe higher, but that's my original take leaving the theater last night)

[Webslinger]

Kingsman is about as much of a blast as one could expect between the concept, the cast, and Matthew Vaughn's involvement. Admittedly, the first half is a little slow and conventional, but once the action kicks into high gear, it's a gleefully violent and deliriously entertaining film that goes even more enjoyably over-the-top than even the loopiest segments of Vaughn's previous action-comedy, Kick-Ass. Without giving anything away, the set pieces are shot and choreographed with verve, disregard tastefulness, and don't skimp on violence in order to achieve a more accessible rating. In particular, the church scene that has been teased in the trailers is an absolute showstopper that scored applause from the audience I saw it with, and it's arguably worth the price of admission all on its own. No one will confuse Kingsman for Oscar fare, even despite the presence of the dignified Colin Firth (in a performance that makes me wonder what he could have done with the James Bond role in his younger years, and that's not a statement I ever expected to make), but it's damned entertaining popcorn fare. 

 

B+

[Jessie]

Parts of kingsman reminded me of an Edgar Wright movie, they are edited similar

[Water Bottle]

Flawlessly directed with a strong script. Matthew Vaugn, who directed the best X-Men movie ever, continues to prove he's becoming quite a top-notch director.

 

A-

Edited February 15, 2015 by Water Bottle