kingsman: The secret service
As an avid comic book movie fan, sometimes it can be hard to differentiate all the movies’ directorial styles from one another. Taika Waititi Thor feels much, much different from Kenneth Branaugh Thor, for example. Yet, many comic book movies feel like they’re all cut from the same cloth by the same person or corporate committee- looking, sounding and feeling very similar (which is not always a bad thing, just an observation). So comic book fans must be on the lookout for anything that stands out from the crowd. And as the only person to have ever directed a semi-decent X-Men movie without an ‘Allegations’ tab on their Wikipedia page, Matthew Vaughn is a great place to start if one is on the hunt for uniqueness.
Kingsman: The Secret Service, in addition to being a clear Bond homage, reminds me very heavily of X-Men: First Class. It’s colorful (albeit mostly yellow, orange and brown), mostly set at a mansion that happens to have a secret jet underneath the courtyard, littered with celebrities, and is unabashedly and unapologetically British. Also like First Class, this movie is fantastic, but unlike it, it feels much more like a passion project made by one person with a distinctly unique style and an M.O. on how to get it across on screen. The colors are vibrant, text font is stylized, the action is tight, claustrophobic and intense, and the characters are realized and genuine, yet still caricatures at times. There are few comic book movies out there quite like this, unless also directed by Vaughn himself.
Taron Egerton’s Eggsy Unwin, which sounds like I got my tongue stung by a bee and am trying not to spout nonsense, and his arc is the star of the show. Him going from a hot-headed, sticky-fingered delinquent to a pristine, collected, suit-wearing gentleman living up to both his father and his mentor’s legacy is not only satisfying, but also earned and genuine. We see his character and the way he approaches problems change and evolve, and we see him being put to the test with unique tasks and challenges. This pairs perfectly with the Roxy character, who also has a satisfying character arc. When people criticize main protagonists for just knowing all their skills off the bat and not having any proper training, this is what they’re talking about- the training montage makes everything feel so much more earned.
Despite fitting into a very clear pre-established ‘Bond’ formula, there are many elements to Kingsman that make its elements stand out, such as the cackling and maniacal villain. I don’t normally love the “we’re trying to do a villain that’s unique, but therefore, because everyone else is doing it he blends into the crowd” cliche, but Samuel L Jackson’s cackling Bond villain was a light exception. I don’t love the “oh, he has a speech impediment, oh he pukes at the sight of violence, look how different he is” angle, but I don’t mind the climate change angle. Just give me that and a more concrete reason to like him and we’re golden. That’s not to say villain Richmond Valentine is portrayed poorly, though. Performance wise, SLJ is the star of the show, which should be no surprise to anyone, with Egerton as an eager second place.
In addition to wonderful characters and a transformation from hoodlum to gentleman to die for, Kingsman has some great locations and settings. The mansion they train at is half as home-feeling as Hogwarts and almost as home-feeling as the Xavier Institute, the bunker for the final battle is just fresh enough to stand out from the crowd, and, the reason for this paragraph being written, the presumably-realistic depiction of a Kentucky church mid-sermon made me widen my eyes and nod my head in mutual agreement. I guess I’m having more fun with this review than attempting to go full on Roger Ebert, but this is all for fun anyway, right? (Christ almighty, you couldn’t pay me a million bucks to sit through a real life church sermon in a Sun Belt state.)
My favorite action sequence by far is the guns-blazing, uber-violent Free Bird slaughter in the aforementioned Kentucky church, and quite honestly, without it, this film’s action would fall flat of its reputation. It is quite simply incredible, and even if you don’t plan on seeing this movie, YouTube this scene just for the hell of it. I love that when the grenade goes off and the ringing starts, Harry’s expression changes to horror for a split second as he breaks free of the hypnosis because he can no longer hear the signal, before going right back into it. Beautiful touch.
However, the rest of the action isn’t on the same plane of existence as this. Unnecessary shaky cam and unfocused and cluttered fights bring this otherwise excellent experience down an unfortunate peg. Seriously, Hollywood, stop giving me nausea just cause your guy can’t hold the camera straight.
My girlfriend and I had so much fun with this movie, with this particular viewing being our first, but definitely not our last. I love Eggsy and Roxy as characters, I love the crazy gadgets and weapons, I love the unique visual effects and text fonts, I love the locations and scenery, and I love the character development. Kingsman: The Secret Service has a firm handle on what makes an action, spy and comic book movie exciting all at once, and I very highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something actually unique, instead of something hailed as unique by Rotten Tomatoes or the Academy.
Also, Mark Hammill is in this. And he’s awesome.
