“I’ve Never Met a Tailor Before, but I Know You Ain’t One.”
I don’t remember hearing about Kingsman: The Secret Service until a friend threw it out as a film to possibly watch together. I heard comedic spy movie, and I was in. Like many of the movies we’ve been watching together, there were parts I enjoyed and parts I didn’t.
The movie tells the story of Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a young man who has struggled through life after his father passed away. Things change when Harry Hart (Colin Firth) walks into his life. Eggsy’s dad died saving Harry’s life, and Harry feels he owes Eggsy as a result. And so Eggsy is recruited to a secret society of highly trained spies. They’ve just had an opening, and the competition to fill that spot is fierce.
Meanwhile, tech billionaire Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) is trying to save the planet with a secret plan. Harry’s organization has a hint that something is up, but they have no idea what. Will they figure it out in time? Will Eggsy complete his training in time?
This movie is clearly a loving homage to classic James Bond. I wouldn’t say it is an outright spoof, but it is more comedy than anything else. The characters also recognize this at times commenting on “if this were a movie.” I really enjoyed that aspect of the film. There are some references to other classic spy shows and franchises as well.
Some of that comedy extends to Valentine’s plans. It’s a strange plan, but somehow, you buy it when you are watching. This movie came out in 2014, and honestly, based on some of what has happened in the last couple of years, I feel like it was a bit prophetic. Oh, the ultimate details were still over the top, but I feel like some of how this is playing out is infecting our society these days.
On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy all of the humor. There were some sexually suggestion jokes that I could have done without. Most of them were near the end, fortunately, so this wasn’t an ongoing thing.
The violence in the movie was also stylized and over the top in an effort to be funny. Honestly, most of that didn’t work for me either. There is one extended scene that was especially hard to watch.
I did appreciate that they picked on both sides of the political spectrum in the movie.
There are some great action sequences in the film that aren’t overly violent, and I enjoyed those. They and the special effects worked for me. Yes, there are definitely some special effects here.
The cast is all good. They brought their characters to life and drew me into the film. The character development was pretty predictable, but that’s on the writers.
As I said, Kingsman: The Secret Service was a mixed bag. I enjoyed it enough I’d be willing to give the sequel a shot, but this isn’t anything I’m going to rush out to rewatch.
I remember this film. It was going so well and then the ending -- particularly the Swedish heiress' offer to our hero -- ruined it for me.
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