Kingsman: The Secret Service

We've all seen espionage films before, even some that are a comedic version of the genre, but "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is actually a very well delineated version of both drama and comedy. Between the Bond franchise, a number of political spy flicks too numerous to list, and some spoofs this rendition not only is a fresh and original way to tell this story, but tells in a way that simply captivates its audience.

This tells the story of a super-secret spy organization lead up by Arthur (Michael Caine) that eventually recruits an unrefined but promising street kid, Eggsby Unwin (Taron Egerton) into the agency's ultra-competitive training program by one of the agency's best agents, Harry Hart/Galahad (Colin Firth) just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius, Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) and his lethal cohort, Amelia (Fiona Hampton).
Through the grueling training mostly by instructor Merlin (Mark Strong), several candidates are weeded out, but only one will remain 'standing' to replace another Kingsman that didn't make it on a previous mission he was on.

Others to round out the cast are Samantha Womack as Roxy, Bjorn Floberg as Scandinavian Prime Minister, Hanna Alstrom as Princess Tilde, Edward Holcroft as Charlie, Nicholas Banks as Digby, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Rufus, Corey Johnson as Church Leader and Jack Davenport as Lancelot.

This was slickly directed by Matthew Vaughn ("Layer Cake" '04, "Stardust" '07, "Kick-Ass" '10, "X-Men: First Class" '11). The way this guy was able to convey this film as a parody, however not a silly, stupid one was brilliance. Actors Firth and Caine have played snobby, upper-crust characters before, but in this, it was as they were parodying other dramatic roles they've played. It was effectively written by Jane Goldman and Vaughn based on the comic book "The Secret Service" by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. With the small exceptions of a couple of choppy areas in continuity, this script was written with slickness and tightness with a healthy dose of fluidity. I could go on about it, but suffice it to say, this film is amazing on so many levels. And Samuel L. Jackson as the badie was perfection--basically the more he hammed it up the better he was.

What can I say, great cast, direction and writing--all anyone could or would want out of this particular film. Even the visuals didn't distract from the storyline, but rather enhanced. This is pure escapism at its finest. Enjoy!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: R                               129mins.