Kingsmen: The Secret Service follows Harry Hart (played by Colin Firth) and his chosen student named Eggsy (played by Taron Egerton). After the loss of his partner, Hart intends for Eggsy to become a fellow Kingsmen agent; however other agents have brought in their nominees as well and only one can be chosen. When a tech genius named Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) reveals a brand new technological marvel to the world, Eggsy and Hart must find out his true intentions before the end of civilisation as we know it!
First and foremost my favourite thing about this film is the film's rising star, Taron Egerton. While you would almost certainly think that Jackson and Firth would steal every scene, Egerton not only holds his own but he often overshadows them, especially in the second half of the film. Egerton shows a great character metamorphosis throughout the film, without actually changing the character that much. He goes from irritable London chav to super spy, but it's still very obviously the same character. He is one of the only likeable lead characters in cinema right now, and he oozes charm and swagger in every scene, much to the enjoyment of the audience. A great all-round performance for the newcomer!
With that being said however, the cast in this film as a whole are brilliant! Firth and Jackson are the remaining MVP's of this movie. Firth plays the classic Bond-esque role with the greatest of ease, but with the highly violent and exaggerated nature of the film, it is clearly a chance for him to do something different whilst having the time of his life. He kicks ass, makes the classic quotable quips whilst still providing a strong father figure to Eggsy. Jackson is less comfortable in his role but he still gives the part his all and becomes a perfectly convincing, yet not fully realised villain. However with every great villain usually comes an even better henchmen, Sofia Boutella is blessed with the coolest role in the film from an action standpoint as Valentine's bodyguard Gazelle. The double leg amputee with razor sharp feet utilises her limitation to limb hacking and head piercing effect, with some of the most original kills I've seen in a long time. Mark Hamill has a great cameo role, Michael Caine is excellent in his brief time on screen and Mark Strong is fantastic as always in the role of Merlin, the Kingsmen test runner and tech machine.
Some of Vaughn's cinematography is great, but the action scenes do sometimes get away from him with the longer shots. During some long tracking shots, the shaky-cam is utilised well, however on a number of occasions it does go a little too long and the shakes do get distracting once or twice. The action scenes on the whole are awesome to watch, with some super inventive umbrella related takedowns and some fantastic gunplay that would make the biggest Bond fan proud. The pacing is well done, with the Kingsmen student testing sequences being some of the action packed highlights of the film.
The script is excellent, with some very quotable lines from most of the characters, especially Egerton's Eggsy. The script does what all the classic spy movies were known for, balances the humour with the action and drama, though when push comes to shove, Kingsmen is exceedingly funny. With a keen and obvious self awareness of other spy films, Kingsmen is clearly not only paying homage but acknowledging the far-fetched plots as well. This 100% applies to this film as it's plot really is far-fetched and totally unbelievable. However, in a world where spy movies and thriller are all based in some sort of 'grounded realism', this approach is more than welcome.
Overall Kingsmen is a great fun flick for spy fans and lovers of action/comedy movies. It may not be remotely believable or original, the story may not add up and have a few plot holes, the villain may be a completely unbelievable character, the story may seem completely bonkers and everything just may not add up, but Matthew Vaughn's secret agent flick is a hilarious, ridiculous-in-the-best-way, action packed joyride for people who are fans of the classic spy movie formula and are maybe a little tired of the modern 'realistic' thriller.
Kingsmen: The Secret Service is 100% shaken, 0% stirred.