Kingsman: The Secret Service - FILM REVIEW

Carrying with him the same brilliantly choreographed fights and clever storyline techniques from his 2010 superhero film, 'Kick-Ass' director Matthew Vaughn creates a stylistic film that works as an action-thriller, and is, at least three months in, the best film of 2015 so far. This review is unbelievably delayed, and almost everyone now has seen it, so there may be some spoilers and plot destined revealed in this review. The story follows Gary Unwin, played by Taran Edgerton, who is almost always referred to as 'Eggsy'. He lives with his mother and her newborn, along with his extremely violent and rude stepfather. He lives a troubling life, which includes stealing a car from a fellow teenager who humiliates him and his friends at a local pub. This causes him to be arrested, where Colin Firth's character, a veteran Kingsman agent, bails him out. He approaches Edgerton, here and in the entire film, firmly but with a friendly touch. We can tell Firth is superior, but takes a liking to Eggsy. Their bond and the fact that Eggsy's father was a respected Kingsman leads Eggsy into the recruiting stage, a series of set life-or-death situations on land, water, and up in the air. The recruiting/training aspect is something I am find of in recent films, and the main reason I didn't give Divergent a very low score, but rather a C+. Kingsman, with its immeasurable charm, wit, and absolute fun, handled the training perfectly. There are plenty of comedic subplots, including Eggsy's pug that he chooses to look after whilst mistaking it for a bulldog; the royalty member that promises to treat Eggsy if he releases her from a dungeon; and there are even some comedic elements found within Valentine's lisp, done by Samuel L. Jackson. On the subject of the lisp, I didn't let it bother me, but it certainly didn't add anything, and was pointless to use. Edgerton could potentially be the biggest problem because he is a teen actor, but he was great and led a really investing character. I cared for his character in a major way. I also cared for the friendships he made during training. The characters were written well, but the acting wasn't what I expected in terms of care or developing value. The story and script is really, really well done. The screenwriters were very original and inclusive of strong characters, dialogue, and fantastic material that makes a great spy film. But like I said before, the other teenage acting could've been done better. The cinematography is very atmospheric and very useful of its surroundings, the editing is very brilliant, bizarre, and top-notch. The fight scenes in particular were edited with no holding back, yet very subdued and not unbelievably gory, but still effective. The soundtrack is fine, not something I'll necessarily hunt down to listen to. The directing is great, and the cornerstone of this film's style is Matthew Vaughn. Not his best film, but definitely one of his best directing jobs. Kingsman offers to thrill you, to entrance you, to entertain you, and Matthew Vaughn's action-thriller does all of the above, while simultaneously being level-headed, complete, and the best film of 2015 so far.

THE VERDICT: This is certainly not an Oscar-bait film, one that anyone who doesn't mind a little blood and McDonald's fries can enjoy thoroughly. Overall, I will give Kingsman: The Secret Service an A-.

STORY AND SCRIPT- 20/20

ACTING/CHARACTERS- 18/20

SIGHT- 18/20

SOUND- 17/20

DIRECTING- 19/20

OVERALL: 92/100 (A-)