FILM REVIEW: Kingsman: The Secret Service a must watch

21 Jun, 2015 - 00:06 0 Views
FILM REVIEW: Kingsman: The Secret Service a must watch

The Sunday Mail

1806-2-1-MOVIE REVIEWIF you are going to watch only one movie this year, then let it be something worthwhile.

It’s unfortunate that for your average movie watcher, odds are its going to be either some one-dimensional drama flick, your typical slapstick comedy or blockbuster movie.

You know films like “Pitch Perfect 2”, “Avengers – Age of Ultron”, “Furious 7”, “Mad Max” or “Jurassic Park”, big money films which receive rave reviews largely due to their monetary success.

However, for those feeling a little bit frisky or adventurous, then I would recommend that you give “Kingsmen: The Secret Service”, a try.

I have nothing against aforementioned blockbuster flicks, but I found this James Bond inspired thriller to be refreshingly new and wildly entertaining.

And yes, I do realise the irony in that statement!

With Hollywood basically employing template-based movie making techniques, I often find myself starved of the classics, shock and awe or entertainment value from the drivel that seems to be coming these days.

No wonder, more and more seem to be making that switch to television (series).

Now with Kingsmen, there is nothing shocking or classic about the film but boy it is entertaining.

Unlike most movies coming out these days, there is so much to admire about Kingsmen.

Whether it be the sight of Samuel L Jackson donning the cap of a protagonist -weird fashion sense, comic accent and all – the old school fight sequences, James Bond Easter Eggs or the opportunity to marvel at the vocal talents of Colin Firth.

Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaugh, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” tells the story of a super-secret spy organisation that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training programme just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Harry Hart (Filth) is the head of an elite secret spy organisation called the Kingsman: The Secret Service.

When he finds a regular street kid named Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) down on his luck, he recruits him into the organisation, just as a criminal tech mastermind Richard Valentine (Jackson) begins his plans of mass genocide by encoding a certain DNA code that makes people, into his electronic gadgets and gives them out for free.

Unwin and Hart are then called into action as they race against time to stop this impending Armageddon.

While the obvious temptation is to point out how unoriginal the film’s premise is, I saw it more as paying homage to every James Bond or Agent 007 inspired movie ever made.

Here, Firth’s is the seasoned Agent 007 type of character: refined, sophisticated and with his head above water even as he faces an impending doom.

His classical trained and natural English accent, that if one squints their left eye and looks straight up sounds more like a cross between Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosman, sees him a perfect fit. Taron Egerton as “Eggsy” is heir apparent and while he does not display a convincing performance, he cannot do any worse than what Daniel Craig has done to the James Bond role so we can forgive him.

The only actor better is the incomparable Samuel L Jackson (Valentine) who gives new meaning to the term “not taking oneself too seriously”.

It is a totally new look for Jackson as he moves further away from the loud ego-maniacal lunatic and looks more like a ’90’s wanna-be white boy rapper.

The things he wears, chief being this ridiculous flat-based cap, his “lisp” inspired accent and comic timing would make eve Mike Myers’ Dr Evil, of the Austin Powers’ fame, green with envy.

The plot is nothing to write about but who needs a good script when you have the aforementioned merits and more. Director Michael Vaughn continues with impressive resume churning out yet another gore inspired action movie, taking a page from Quentin Tarantino’s hand book.

There is one Church scene that achingly reminded me of the 2003 /4 classic “Kill Bill” movie, in which church congregation is exposed to the tech virus and beat each other to a pulp.

The music soundtrack, fast paced action sequence, use of blood and extend of violence is truly something to remember. With the exception of the above scene, Vaughn goes extremely old school in the action and fight sequences imploring singular camera shots, slow motion pace and Goth-like music scores.

Kudos for that Mike!

As far as performances are concerned; Firth, Egerton and Jackson remain stand-outs but there is something to be said about a few supporting acts and cameos.

Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Mark Harmill and blade-yielding Sofia Boutella all deserve special mention. Watch out for James Bond, Austin Powers and Spy movie inspired Easter Eggs.

 

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