Why it took my so long to write about this one is beyond me.
The only honest answer I can give is the deluge of other items I’ve been
watching and writing about that have preoccupied me. It certainly wasn’t that the
film was bad, far from it. Recent news is that a sequel is in the works and
that’s something I can’t wait to see if it holds up to this one.
The film opens with a secret agent ops in the works that
results in one member of the team killed. The agent who feels responsible,
Harry Hart aka Galahad (Colin Firth), stops by to pay his respect to the man’s
widow and leaves behind a medallion that has a number he tells her to call
anytime there is a need. Fast forward to years later and the widow has taken up
with a local thug, has a young child by him and the aforementioned deceased
hero’s son has grown and hangs with the wrong crowd.
Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Taron Egerton) is heading down the wrong
path. With no love lost for his surrogate father and wishing he could do more
for his mother he instead finds himself doing all he can to insult and anger
said surrogate. His latest ends him in jail and with no one to turn to he calls
the number on the back of the medallion. Harry shows and makes him an offer. He
wants Eggsy to become the next member of the Kingsmen. But he must prove
himself first.
Harry explains to Eggsy that the Kingsmen are a secret
organization formed centuries ago that operates outside of the mainstream,
untied to any government of political system. Instead their goal is to protect
mankind in general. Past members have all come from high placed members of
society. That is until Eggsy’s father. He was an experiment to quote the head
of the organization Arthur (Michael Caine), an experiment begun by Harry
himself. Now he wants to continue that with Eggsy, someone he feels is worthy
of becoming the next knight.
With only one spot in the group open to join Eggsy finds
himself in a boot camp of sorts with fellow applicants. Some welcome him like
any other while the snobbish ones look down on him, a big mistake on their
part. What most don’t realize is Eggsy’s past, not just who his father was but
his intelligence and the fact he served in the military. As members are booted
out, it comes down to two final applicants and it is Eggsy’s humanity that
forces him to lose.
While all of this is going on there is a megalomaniacal
madman on the loose. Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) plays a lisping billionaire
who has plans on taking over the world. It was his doing that opened up the
position Eggsy was applying for when he killed on of the Kingsmen. Using
advanced technology, Valentine has sent out free cell phones to anyone who
wants one which of course means everyone. What he can do with those phones once
they’re in the hands of the world is something else. A final confrontation
between good guys and bad must take place and of course circumstances arise
that force Eggsy to be taken back in to become a member of Kingsmen.
What makes this movie work is the deft combination of humor,
adventure, action and over the top madness that make it one of the best movies
to come out this year. Weaving together the aristocratic world of the Kingsmen
with the low class neighborhood that raised Eggsy pays off, adding a depth of character
that needs less exposition as we witness both his possibilities and his
capabilities. Egerton makes the character sympathetic and likeable that plays
both on his world weariness and innocence in the same person. It’s one of the
things that makes the movie work best.
The three other major components that make the movie work
begin with Colin Firth as Harry. Firth might be well known of his role in THE
KING’S SPEECH but who would have expected him to carry off a role as a superspy
who possibly exceeds James Bond? Alongside Firth is Mark Strong as Merlin, the
armaments and tech support member of the team. Having gone through a string of
roles where he plays the bad guy, Strong does an amazing job of being straight
faced where a quick laugh is possible. Lastly are the effects laden weapons we
see on display here, much like those of Bond in the character’s numerous films.
Everything from exploding cigarette lighters to bulletproof umbrellas make the
arsenal of each Kingsman ready for anything.
As with Bond films the movie plays fast and loose with
logistics and time zones and feels more like it was made for fun the fact. It
delivers on the promise of that fun with some of the funniest moments alongside
some of the most breath taking. By the end of the movie you’ll want to start it
up and watch it again. You’ll also wish that the sequel were already there
ready to be viewed. For me, it is a wonderful pleasure that I’ve added to my
collection and one I know I’ll pull out more often than not to watch and enjoy
again.
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