Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael
Caine, Sofia Boutella, Mark Hamill
I love it when I go into a film expecting little and come
out completely excited because the movie I just saw exceeded my expectations.
This is what happened to me with Kingsman: The Secret Service a movie I only
had a vague idea about suddenly falls right into my best of the year list. This
magnificent James Bond spoof comes to us from Matthew Vaughn, the guy who
brought us Kick Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011) and Stardust (2007) all
entertaining films in my book. Vaughn wanted to make this movie so badly he
said no to directing X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), so that’s how much of a
passion project this movie is to Vaughn. Not every director will have the guts
to say no to a sure hit that will make millions in order to make a risky film
that’s totally original. Sure Kingsman is based on Matthew Vaughn’s own comic
book ‘The Secret Service’, but it’s not a household name. It’s not a sure
thing. You have to respect a director who believes so much in his film that his
willing to do that. The thing is that I see why he did it. Turns out Kingsman
was way more entertaining than the last X-Men movie every step of the way, so
I’m actually happy Vaughn eschewed X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) for
Kingsman.
In Kingsman: The Secret Service we are introduced to Eggsy,
a young man who is going down the dark path. He’s all about being a trouble
maker. He likes to go to bars to pick fights and cause a ruckus. But there’s
something about him, he’s got potential to be something great. Secret Service
Agent Harry Hart recognizes this, so he gives him a chance to apply to become a
Kingsman. Just what the hell is a Kingsman and does Eggsy have what it takes to
become one? Or is he just another loser?
What is so awesome about Kingsman is that it has all these
old James Bond movies to build upon. What Matthew Vaughn did was he watched
every single James Bond and spy movie ever made, and then he made this one. He
cleverly avoids the famous clichés and makes fun of them while at the same time
being a good spy movie. It’s a rule of thumb I have for all spoofs. If you’re
going to spoof a genre, you still have to be a good film within the genre you
are spoofing. Good examples of this are Young Frankenstein (1974) and
Spaceballs (1986), two of Mel Brooks most famous spoofs. Young Frankenstein is
a damn good Frankenstein movie (actually it was nominated for Best Screenplay
in 1974) while still making fun of all those Frankenstein films that came
before it. Young Frankenstein is such a good Frankenstein movie that it even
surpasses many of the films it is spoofing. Same with Spaceballs, there’s no
better Star Wars spoof out there. Funny, yet mindful to the type of film it is.
And this is what Kingsman does so well. It takes all those elements you know
and love from James Bond films and then twists them around and takes them to
another level. If you are a fan of Bond movies, you will have a blast with Kingsman:
The Secret Service. It’s always referencing some cliché from the Bond films. In
this sense it reminds me William Dear’s If Looks Could Kill (1991), which was
also about a teenager who turns into a super spy. It was also a lighthearted,
fun film that poked fun at Bond movies, but trust me, Kingsman does it a
million times better. Still, if you enjoy Kingsman, check out If Looks Could
Kill (1991).
But aside from the spoof aspect of this film, as it turns
out, it is also an extremely well written film saying a whole lot about the
society we live in and what is wrong with it and boy, I wasn’t expecting this
at all, but Kingsman: The Secret Service is one of the most subversive films
I’ve seen in a while. It’s a film that sends a big ‘screw you’ to politics and
religion. There’s an outstanding sequence that takes place inside of a
Christian church that showcases everything that is wrong with religion today. What
this story is saying is that politicians and religious leaders are total
whackos, they just happen to be running the world, making all the wrong choices
for all of us. How do you save the world from these madmen? By becoming a true
gentleman, ridding the world of evil. I loved the message that the films puts
across. It’s basically saying we can become something better, we can improve
ourselves, we can do some good in the world. We have the potential, we just
need to focus. It also speaks about the manipulation of the masses, and the
control of how they perceive things. I can see why the film is rated ‘R’, it
has profanity, nudity and subversive ideas. Its violence quotient is pretty
high. It feels as if the filmmakers decided that if they we’re going to go with
an ‘R’ rating, they were going to go all in. And that they did; which was
awesome. It was so refreshing to see a film that wasn’t worrying about being
politically correct.
Final words: this
movie turned out to be one of my favorite of the year; it was entertaining
every step of the way. One of the biggest compliments it gets from me is that
it was never boring. Not for a second. It brought back that fun element that
modern James Bond movies lack. If you take a look at Bond films of today, they
are currently on a ‘deadly serious’ phase, all the silly fun from the old movies
has been sucked right out of that franchise. And while I absolutely loved Sky Fall (2012),
I miss the whacky element from the old ones, but don’t worry if you’ve been
missing that sense of fun adventure from your spy movies, Kingsman: The Secret
Service brings it all back. So remember,
what you guys have here is a film that’s very self conscious, it knows the
cliché’s and staples of a good spy adventure and plays with them in innovative
ways. And one more final note, the Matthew Vaughn’s direction on this one is
top notch, his camera moves and angles, the over all direction of the film is
truly fantastic. It’s dynamic, the camera angles are interesting, innovative.
Case in point? The fights scenes on this movie are a blast! Really fun to
watch! Now go see Kingsman: The Secret Service and have a blast, it just might
blow your head into a million colorful pieces.
Rating: 5 out of 5
2 comments:
A piece of crap. Nothing to be admired about evil, murderous freaks who go around shooting people in the face.
It seemed ok to me, nowhere near the level that this review claimed. The animation sequence left me pondering. Didn't see why it was there when it started and when it ended there was a continuity problem. Perhaps a TV cutting problem? I have no idea.
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