Kingsman: The Secret Service

While Matthew Vaughn earned some star power for making movies like Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, it wouldn’t be until his 2014 spy flick, Kingsman: The Secret Service, that he would evolve to a level of significant cult status. While it didn’t result in many more project opportunities and the failure of his 2024 spy film, Argylle, shows he’s still a niche director, Kingsman was and still is his most successful film financially, earning $414 million worldwide, and had enough staying power to result in a sequel in 2017 and a prequel film in 2021 (both of which weren’t as well received). With solid reviews and a favorable response from audiences, it felt like Vaughn was successfully able to claim another gem for his collection with this release.

A rebellious British youth named Eggsy (played by Taron Edgerton) has thrown away several big opportunities despite having extreme talent, spending most of his days performing petty crimes and acts of rebellion. This course is changed when he encounters Harry Hart (played by Colin Firth), a member of a private intelligence service who is trying to recruit Eggsy since his father was a high-ranking official. With nothing else to do, Eggsy agrees to give it a shot and although he is initially surrounded by fellow recruits who have more credibility and experience, his street smarts and natural talent allow him to keep up. They will all need to fast-track their recruitment as the world is under threat from billionaire philanthropist, Richmond Valentine (played by Samuel L. Jackson), who is planning a ‘’scorched earth’’ event by using rage-inducing sim cards hidden in a newly released cell phone that will create mass chaos and eliminate a good portion of earth’s population. With most of world’s elite indoctrinated into Valentine’s plan and with a lot of Kingsman either being killed or comprised, Eggsy will have to step up to save the day.

Based on a comic series Vaughn helped conceptualize along with Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, Kingsman can get a little lost in its wackiness at times and has some choppy writing moments that prevent it from reaching the realms of a classic, but with enough fun set pieces, solid performances and a legitimately great final act, it deserve to be recognized as Vaughn’s best success as of late.

Kingsman may’ve originally looked like a parody or satire of a spy film, but it was able to carve its own space despite containing notable tropes and references to other big franchises like James Bond, Mission Impossible, The Bourne Identity, etc. While it’s hard to determine whether or not the original source was supposed to be full-on satire the same way something like Kick-Ass was for the superhero genre, it doesn’t entirely fall into the territory despite its overtly comedic wacky tone and several instances that feel ripped from another source (Samuel L. Jackson is essentially playing a Bond villain and the movie doesn’t even try to hide it). This wouldn’t be a problem as long as the unique elements shined brighter than the repeated ones, and while it certainly has a distinct personality, the writing is anything but. The screenplay by both Vaughn and frequent collaborator, Jane Goldman, has several rough patches that are particularly noticeable in the opening act, with clunky dialogue, cliched characters and a vibe that borders a little too close to parody to the point that it sucks out any urgency in what should be stressful situations. The script does a lot of ‘’tell, not show’’, with the characters spewing out what should be crucial exposition in such a soulless, seemingly indifferent fashion that it comes across like it just wants to get lost in the high of its weirdness rather than dedicate time to building up the characters or the drama.

Vaughn’s directing can be hit or miss, but no one can deny that he brings a lively passion and colorful energy to most of his features, and its inclusion here bounces back and forth between benefiting and damaging the film. With a two-hour running time, pretty generic characters and a plot that seems too referential to be taken legitimately, it’s not going to entertain everybody on the same level and for those that aren’t vibing with the goofier tone, it might become irritating. However, most of these problems are slowly ironed out as the film keeps going, resulting in a fairly entertaining second act that features some cool action and a better kinetic energy that isn’t too overwhelming, and eventually a really great final act that has a fantastically fun climax that still somehow manages to feel slightly suspenseful and tense, it’s a really impressive turnaround and shows the appeal and potential of this brand.

Since Vaughn’s style is usually the main draw of his films, this means that sometimes his characters can suffer as a consequence. This isn’t always the case, but it feels like more effort is usually put into the casting of the characters (which is usually pretty good, to be fair) than the writing behind them and it’s no different here, as despite every character either being basically cartoonish or extremely archetypal, most of the cast seems to do the heavy lifting. You can envision how they would function well within a spy story, and mostly do a good job emulating the larger-than-life spectacle of this premise while still restraining themselves just enough to still feel believable and authentic. Some don’t entirely work, as people like Mark Strong and Michael Caine are fine from an acting standpoint but aren’t really bringing anything other actors couldn’t delivered, but for the most part, the others hit bullseye. Taron Edgerton at first seems a little generic as Eggsy due to some lost expressions and a somewhat bland delivery, but once the climax gets started, you clearly see why he was cast as this character, as he effortlessly pulls off the charismatic and capable spy persona very nicely yet also distinctly. He’s got the usual suaveness and attitude that feels delightfully familiar, but in a nice twist, his cockney accent and street-level ruggedness don’t get erased once he makes this transition, following through on the film’s message and allowing someone who on the surface, sounds very lower-class, to still hold the title of prestigious secret agent. Sophie Cookson as his support is a little bland and feels poorly utilized, but she isn’t unlikeable and stands out more than the remaining support cast who have very little screentime.

Colin Firth is weirdly the best part of this movie, and given that he’s an actor with a likeable albeit sappy quality that’s situationally tolerable, you wouldn’t picture him as someone who would flourish in this space, yet he really does as his typical quirks are on full display which when paired with his composed demeanor and effortless skill, makes for a fun character you want to see more of. He also shares a fun dynamic with Samuel L. Jackson as the villain, who despite at first feeling a little lost and housing a really distracting lisp, eventually finds his footing and has some really great hero/villain chemistry with Firth which leads to some really fun banter. He along with his pretty cool cyborg bodyguard, Gazelle (played by Sofia Boutella) get a lot of good moments as the film continues, and Jackson feels like he gets the energy and personality the film is going for down perfectly.

Before John Wick would hold the title for most impressive action in a modern film (with it coming out the exact same year this film did), Kingsman was credited for having one of the most entertaining and wildly fun action scenes put on the big screen for a long time. While it might not reach that level of awe-inspiring with hindsight, most of the action is over-the-top and filmed in a very unique way but does still result in some pretty cool sequences. Right out the gate, the opening fight is a bit messy, with camera work by George Richmond and editing by Eddie Hamilton and Jon Harris that is a little too hard to follow, and framing that might look cool in a comic pan but doesn’t really translate well. There is some cool stunt work involved and every once and a while when the camera stops moving for a choice few seconds, there’s time to appreciate said craft, but it feels like it’s feeding into its style a little too much and distracts more than engages.

With that said, like everything else in the movie, the fights get better and more effectively filmed as it gets further into it, with the best example being a giant brawl in a church that has some wonderfully over-the-top kills, and a climax that has all the workings of a traditional spy final bout, but with the flair and energy of a superhero flick. It has great build up, the stunts are really cool, the manner in which the film uses Gazelle’s bionic legs are really impressive, and even if some of these moments are still shot in a way that feels unique and odd for the sake it of it, they’re still a nice element for the film to have. The musical score by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson does have a theatrical flair to it that at first seems too genre-specific, unmemorable and overly pronounced (again, feels a lot like a superhero score), but it does mellow out and starts to feel more like its own entity with time.

Despite being his most successful film, Kingsman hasn’t spawned into the franchise that Vaughn thought and hoped it would become, with both follow-ups failing to connect with both audiences or critics. With another film currently being in development, it makes sense why he would want to hold onto his biggest hit for as long as possible, and even if it’s never able to reach the same heights again, he should be proud with the movie that got him more attention as a filmmaker. Kingsman: The Secret Service does have its fair share of problems like its generic characters, slightly poor writing and occasional moments of the style being too much to handle, but on the other hand, the action is pretty fun, the movie ends on a pretty great note, and it does manage to create its own space in an already packed movie genre. May not be for everybody, but for those that aren’t disturbed by an abundance of British slang, this secret might be one you’d be happy to take part in.