After a heavy Oscar season (as usual), it's nice to have some "fun" movies to go see. Of course, that usually means they're pretty bad, too. January and February notoriously have little to offer -- besides post-awards-season screenings and re-shows of the winners -- but every once in a while we get a real treat.
Kingsman: The Secret Service is just about everything it claimed to be: a spy/action/comedy film that thoroughly owns its pulpy, meta material. Not unlike the first Die Hard in that respect, this film rather concerns the coming of age of a young British man into a secret society of do-gooders. But it's not this basic, familiar plot that makes the film so enjoyable.
Stylish and subversive, the film follows director Matthew Vaughn's kinetic energy much like we might see in a graphic novel. Sharp color contrast and crystal clear images shine through both sped-up and slowed-down action sequences, which are used alternately by Vaughn to establish an atmosphere of simple Fun. The actors are dressed in gorgeous outfits that play to their idiosyncracies (Jackson's fifty shades of the same color are hilarious) while highlighting the ironic and classy disconnect between their posh appearance and violent behavior. Vaughn's screenplay, co-written with Jane Goldman, ties these elements together with lots of self-aware dialogue, ironic twists, disturbing implications, and surprisingly intelligent self-revelations. And, frankly, the main Sinister Plot is smarter and more engaging than many self-involved spy thrillers, probably because it doesn't take itself too seriously.
I have little else to say about this movie. It's fun, and it's actually quite good at being fun. In that way, I would almost compare it to Scream, in that it takes spy movie tropes (in a fairly tired genre) and puts a new spin on them: young people become plausible protagonists, comedy perfectly counters the more weighty plot devices, and a cast of familiar actors dive together into an adrenaline-rush of action. Why wouldn't you want to see gentleman Colin Firth whooping ass in a hate-mongering church? Why wouldn't you want to see Samuel L. Jackson as a foul-mouthed megalomaniac with a lisp? Why wouldn't you want to see ridiculously attractive British spies in fabulous costumes fighting, swearing, and learning proper manners?
For a late-winter action movie, you could do a hell of a lot worse.
IMDb: Kingsman
