First Posted: 2/18/2015
The Story
“Manners maketh man,” says Harry Hart/Galahad (Colin Firth). “Do you know what that means? Then let me give you a lesson.” Harry’s talking to young Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) and his street-wise, delinquent mates. They’ve mocked Harry’s polite demeanor, Oxford shoes and tailored suit. But they’re in for big trouble. That’s the setup for an affectionate, if uber-violent, sendup of James Bond gentleman-spy flicks like “Moonraker” (1979).
Will Eggsy make it through Kingsman training? Does Valentine’s (Samuel L. Jackson) dastardly plot to turn cellphone users, world-wide, into murderous psychopaths succeed? Can Harry transform working-class Eggsy into a Saville Row gentleman spy? See “Kingsman” for answers.
The Actors
“All I cared about,” says director/co-writer Matthew Vaughn, “was that the audience’s jaws hit the ground seeing this David Niven-style, absolute dapper gentleman using his umbrella and his [martial-arts] skills to beat the crap out of people.” And that’s what Colin Firth does, convincingly, and with great aplomb. In the movie, that’s the central joke. Wales-born Taron Egerton is excellent as young Eggsy who, like Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” — a comparison Eggsy makes in the movie — transforms from street-wise coarse to upper-middle class polite, thanks to fatherly mentoring by Harry Hart (think Henry Higgins).
Others in the smart cast include Michael Caine as supercilious Arthur, leader of the Kingsman Secret Service. Mark Strong is Merlin, trainer for nine young candidates who each want to be the next Lancelot. Samuel L. Jackson is bad guy Richmond Valentine, cellphone billionaire and lisping left-wing madman who can’t stand the sight of blood. Sophie Cookson is Roxy, only female candidate for Lancelot. Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker) is Professor Arthur.
Other Comments
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” brings together in one (mostly) entertaining, if cartoonishly violent, mash-up: gentleman-spy movies — Roger-Moore James Bond — outrageous villains, outlandish plots, amazing gadgetry (bullet-proof umbrellas, exploding cigarette lighters, lethal fountain pens), King Arthur, Pygmalion, global warming, and overpopulation. Based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbon’s comic books, directed and co-written (with Jane Goldman) by Matthew Vaughn, “Kingsman” is a clever enterprise, with characters who remind us we’re watching a movie. When villain Valentine predicts a James-Bond ending for himself, Eggsy says, “Sorry, bro, this ain’t that kind of movie.”
Rated R (deservedly) for pervasive language, disturbing violence and sexual content, “Kingsman” runs 129 minutes. It’s adult entertainment, one of those movies that, when I think about them after, I find more interesting.
Final Words
“Kingsman: The Secret Service,”
Absurdist plot, dapper Brits,
Colin Firth: action spy,
It’s a stretch, but it fits.
