Kingsman: The Secret Service

Image Source

Kingsman is easily the first great straight-up action movie of the year. It’s clear the filmmakers, lead by director Matthew Vaughn of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, understand and appreciate old school spy movies. The plot is ridiculous in the best way possible. The entire cast is well-used. Samuel L. Jackson is both terrifying and out-right hilarious as a villain who wants to wipe out a good chunk of the population, but can’t stand the sight of blood. Newcomer Taron Egerton showcases huge potential. Colin Firth, Michael Caine, and Mark Strong all bring the right balance of bad-ass and elegant to the story that is needed. Firth’s mentor character, Harry Hart is easily my absolute favorite character in the movie. The young protagonist character does feel a tad familiar, though Taron Egerton manages to help make the character understandable and likable. Certain plot elements that are brought up in the movie probably could have been smoothed over, or explained better, but the out-and-out fun this movie brings to the table with its memorable characters and balls-to-the-wall action sequences easily overshadow certain short-comings in plot and certain character’s actions.

9 / 10