Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Taron Egerton) is recruited by a colleague of his late father named Harry Hart (Colin Firth) to join an incredibly elite, top-secret, independent intelligence agency known as Kingsman.
The organisation is headed by a man who goes by the name Arthur (Michael Caine), and in fact all the members have codenames taken from the legend of King Arthur. Harry (who goes by Galahad) hand-picks Eggsy when the agent known as Lancelot (Jack Davenport) is killed in the line of duty.
Eggsy is among several recruits vying for the new position. He feels the closest affinity with a girl named Roxy (Sophie Cookson), and doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the group at all, who are mostly upper-class boys who have had everything handed to them and haven’t had to work for anything.
You see, Eggsy has grown up on a housing estate, with single mother Michelle (Samantha Womack) and her latest live-in boyfriend Dean (Geoff Bell), ever since his father died when Eggsy was quite young.
Add to the mix a megalomaniacal, self-appointed philanthropist named Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) and his sidekick, a vicious killing machine skilled in martial arts known as Gazelle (Sofia Boutella), and you have the makings of a really great showdown for the fate of the entire world.
Now, the Kingsmen, with the help of Merlin (Mark Strong), must overthrow Valentine’s evil plot, before the planet is thrown into chaos.
The adapted screenplay (by director Matthew Vaughn with Jane Goldman) is incredibly well written, with all the characters very well developed, and the balance of the dramatic scenes with the expository scenes and the action sequences handled with precision. The script is funny, heartfelt at times and, in the case of the fight sequences, incredibly violent.
George Richmond’s cinematography is stunning, to say the least. The film takes the viewer around the world (and even into outer space at one point), and the visuals of the various locations are absolutely gorgeous, with breathtaking panoramic shots of amazing scenery and nature.
The framing of shots too, in particular during the fight sequences, is very well done (as selected by the director and the cinematographer). These scenes look like they could have come straight out of a comic book panel. This is also due to the fight choreography, I suppose, that at many times, feels like it could have been directed by Quentin Tarantino. Every single moment has been worked out with such precision, it feels incredibly real.
The score by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson is incredibly grandiose in parts, and beautifully subdued in others. It is hard to describe exactly what it is about the music, but it just works.
The cast are all well-suited to their roles, which they perform to the absolute peak of their ability. In particular, Colin Firth and Mark Strong are wonderful in their respective roles. Firth’s role is unlike anything we have seen him in before, but still, it just feels right. Egerton is also fantastic as the young new recruit Eggsy, bringing a new element to the agency that hitherto has consisted entirely of ‘gentlemen’ spies.
Keep your eyes open for a great cameo by Mark Hamill as a university professor. The first time I saw this film (in the cinema), I didn’t recognise him to begin with; his role is also different to anything else he has done before, but it seems like he has relished the opportunity to take it on.
This film is incredibly enjoyable, and one I feel like I could watch again and again without getting tired of it.
8 out of 10.
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