KINGSMAN : THE SECRET SERVICE - Tuesday 10th February 2015.

Well, it's official! Colin Firth can now say that he is a bona fide movie action star having kicked more butt and amassed a body count to match that of any of Sly's, Arnie's or Bruce's singular movie outings of yesteryear, and along the way spin a mightily entertaining yarn that is 'KINGSMAN : THE SECRET SERVICE' which I saw last night with a couple of movie buddies. From Matthew Vaughan's opening title sequence that sees two middle eastern looking insurgents taken out by two black clad dudes hanging perilously from an oncoming chopper to the opening riffs of Dire Straits 'Money for Nothing' you just know you're in for a treat!

In Directing this modern take on the spy spoof that winks all the way at James Bond, Derek Flint, John Steed with a little Harry Palmer too (note the specs worn by the Kingsmen) and more recently Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer and thankfully not Austin Powers, Matthew Vaughan has added all the touchstones we have come to know and love over the years from the action spy genre, shaken them up, thrown them asunder and given us the middle finger of his right hand as if to say 'I did it my way'!

And so he has . . . and in spades! We have the English gentlemen types, the suave Saville Row suits, gadgets galore, space age technology, sophisticated residences, hideaway command centres, stunning locations as well as some pretty down to Earth ones, a megalomaniac villain with a plan to change the world and a beautiful henchwoman with the most evil pair of 'legs' you have ever seen. It's all good fun, and then of course there is the body count, and Vaughan's creative imaginative way of dispensing death at the hands of our heroes and villains. It all makes for a very enjoyable romp, and I bet that Colin Firth has not had so much fun on a movie set in years . . . if ever!

The story opens in the mid-90's with the opening credits sequence that for the Kingsmen doesn't quite go according to plan and one of them ends up very dead at the hands of a suicide vest wearing insurgent. Back in some downbeat looking council estate in London and Harry Hart (aka 'Galahad', played by Colin Firth) breaks the news to his wife and the young boy 'Eggsy' who then is about four years of age. He hands over a Kingsman medallion and says that is ever she needs help to call the number on the reverse said and say simply 'Oxfords not Brogues' and the matter will be dealt with.

Seventeen years later and we cut to a scene in deepest mountainous Argentina where a man is being held hostage -  and in arrives 'Lancelot' (Jack Davenport) who takes out the captors swiftly and with Kingsman precision, but in turn becomes a casualty at the hands of 'Gazelle' (Sofia Boutella) who has prosthetic razor sharp steel blades for legs . . . and she knows how to use 'em! Gazelle, is the henchwoman of Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) the semi-retired multi-billionaire who speaks with a lisp, is always colourfully attired and hates violence and the sight of blood but just wants to make the world a better place by seriously downsizing the population to deal with the climate change issue! As such, he has hatched a cunning plan involving the free distribution of his manufactured SIM cards that when activated by a certain broadcast signal set off a neurological impulse that turns humans uncontrollably violent against each other.

Eggsy (played in young adulthood by newcomer and one to watch Taron Egerton) meanwhile makes contact with the Kingsman through the medallion given to his mother and is recruited in this Secret Service by Galahad in an attempt to make good on the death of his father all those years ago. Eggsy has a life of council estate petty crime and no hope to look forward to so jumps at the chance for some adventure and daring-do! What follows is the usual training sequence where other hopefuls are put to the test and through their paces over several months as they all fall by the way side one by one leaving only one successful! The training regime is managed by 'Merlin' (Mark Strong) under the watchful eye of 'Arthur' (Michael Caine) to ensure the best outcome is achieved for the Secret Service.

All the while Valentine's plan is unfolding as he persuades more & more world leaders that his plan has credence and should been adopted to prevent climate and environmental disasters in the not too distant future that thus far have been caused by human over population. This all plays out on screen as the clock ticks down on the broadcast of the necessary signal to unleash violent mayhem on an unsuspecting global populace. Vaughan has choreographed some great action set pieces - most notably when Valentine tests his signal on an amassed Church congregation in the US mid-west that Galahad attends having been tipped off. Here we see Firth like you have never seen him before dispensing with crazed churchgoers with acts of extreme violence that result in impalings, dismemberment's, shootings, spearings, stranglings, bone crunching body blows, pistol acrobatics and fist fight gymnastics aplenty - it's a hoot and all largely at the hands of the English gent himself.

The final act as the countdown is on for gathered world dignitaries who have succumbed to Valentine's moral platitudes, is also a finale to behold as the resultant 'firework' display takes us into hitherto unknown territory - brilliantly executed (pardon the pun) and laugh out load OTT.

Needless to say the good guys win the day in what is another nod to Bond, and live to fight another day (or 'Die Another Day')  (well, most of them anyway) and in Eggsy it would appear we have a new suave, savvy, street smart secret service spy in the making. Hugely entertaining,  lavish and stylish, violent and extreme, well cast and deftly handled throughout this is delivered with the tongue firmly planted in the cheek, and definitely one of the most entertaining and engaging films of the year so far. Can't wait for the sequel.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-