‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is one of those films that caught me by surprise. After seeing some promo items for the film a few months back I started getting excited at the possibilities. However after the first few trailers came out I was vastly disappointed in what I saw. However being that there has been nothing noteworthy out in theaters as of late, Emily and I decided to give it a watch. The movie is about Eggsy, a kid from London with a troubled and unfortunate past who is given the chance to join the Kingsmen, a secret service organization in London that takes down global terrorist threats without the knowledge of much of the world. First off the movie takes itself a lot more seriously than I had previously thought. Don’t get me wrong the film is full of funny-cheesy bits and it obviously makes fun of itself more than a few times but I caught myself on the edge of my seat, waiting to see the outcome of an action scene more than a few times. That being said some scenes are over the top cheesy, purposefully done however. I felt the film could have done without these scenes to take itself more seriously. There was also a scene or two I felt could have been added to explain the story a little more. The action scenes are well done and very entertaining and there are definitely a few heartfelt moments that will pull at your emotions.
The plot was actually more in-depth and enjoyable than I had previously predicted it would be. The acting in ‘Kingsman’ is also top notch with great performances from some actors that I have yet to see on the big screen. (You might even get a surprise performance from a former Jedi Knight). Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Michael Caine all do wonderful jobs portraying their prospective characters as do most of the cast in the film. My only gripe when it comes to the casting is Samuel L Jackson. To me he has lost his ability to be taken serious in many of his roles. All of his bits seem overly-corny and are hard to take seriously. In this film it’s more of the same from Samuel. I feel like the rest of the characters in the film can be looked at as believable characters except Samuel Jackson’s character. He definitely takes away from the seriousness of the film, but to his credit he does have some good lines that are some of the films funniest. I loved the music in the film as it added a lot of excitement and fun to many of the scenes. That being said the movie definitely has some very memorable scenes that I am looking forward to seeing again once it comes out on video. The movie has many emotions and is definitely not a one trick pony. The best way to look at this movie is a mix between ‘James Bond’ and ‘Superbad’. If you’re looking for a good time at the movies this weekend with laughs, good action scenes and an entertaining story and characters, then I would definitely recommend checking out ‘Kingsman’.
Positives: Good mix of action, comedic and emotional scenes/ great acting and entertaining story.
Negatives: Samuel L Jackson lacks believability/ some scenes are too cheesy and over-the-top.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
Take-Two Film Review 