Britflix – Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service was the film that Matthew Vaughn choose to do instead of X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was a decision that led to two great comic book films being created and started a kick-ass spy franchise.

Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) is a young man who has had a tough life. His dad died when he was young, has an abusive stepdad, and has fallen into delinquency. After getting arrested for joyriding Eggsy calls in a favour from a mysterious organisation and the secret agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) believes the young man has the potential to be a Kingsman agent.

Whilst Eggsy goes through the Kingsman’s gruelling recruitment process, Harry investigates the disappearance of many public figures. His investigations lead him to the eccentric tech billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson).

Kingsman: The Secret Service was the second adaptation by Vaughn of a Mark Millar comic book series. The first time was with Kick-Ass which was an excellent deconstruction of the superhero genre. Vaughn was able to temper some of Millar’s worst instincts like the reason why Big Daddy and Hit-Girl became costumed vigilantes and the relationship between Dave and Katie. Kingsman: The Secret Service was an even looser adaptation and owned more to Kick-Ass than the comic book.

Kingsman: The Secret Service had Vaughn’s colourful visuals, a mix of action, drama, and comedy, and had kinetic energy to it. Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman seemed to have used Kick-Ass as Kingsman‘s template. Both films had a parallel storyline that merged together, had a major character die to act as an emotional catalyst, and had an insane final act. Whilst some of these ideas seemed repetitive, it worked for Kick-Ass and worked again for Kingsman: The Secret Service.

The other influence on Kingsman: The Secret Service was other spy franchises, particularly the Bond series. Kingsman: The Secret Service wasn’t even subtle about it. There were gentlemen spies who saved the world and looked good doing it, have gadgets which are distributed by a tech expert, a superrich villain with some sort of quirk, and a badass henchman who does a lot of the villain’s dirty work. The climax takes place in the villain’s secret lair, and the villain’s plan has global implications. As Harry said to Valentine ‘give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.’ Jack Davenport’s small role as Lancelot was essentially James Bond since he was a cool spy who liked an expensive drink.

Kingsman: The Secret Service also twisted some of the Bond tropes. An example was the use of seduction in Kingsman. The two big scenes were a training exercise where Kingsman candidates had to seduce the same woman, including the only female candidate, and the ending was a cruder take on Bond’s celebratory shag. Another subversion involved the villain’s monologue, or in Valentine’s case, avoiding it. It was like Austin Powers if it was treated a little more seriously.

As well as being a spy movie pastiche, Kingsman: The Secret Service overtly stated it was influenced by My Fair Lady. It was a story about a man from the wrong side of the tracks getting taught to become a gentleman as well as a spy. A lot of the heart in the film comes from the relationship Eggsy and Harry have since Harry acts as a father figure. Harry could see the potential in Eggsy and he wanted to make amends for Eggsy’s father’s death.

Classism was a major theme of the film since the Kingsman were stuffy aristocrats and Harry wanted to shake things up by bringing in Eggsy.  Most of the other candidates at Kingsman were posh twats who underestimated Eggsy. This classism concluded in a darkly hilarious fashion with a lot of colourful head explosions.

Kingsman: The Secret Service did bear some similarities to another loose comic book adaptation: Men in Black. Both films were about secret organisations that protect the world and an unexpected outsider getting recruited. It’s a formula that worked well for both films.

Eggsy was a stereotypical chav who partook in juvenile delinquency but was a victim of circumstances: he has grown up in a rough estate with an abusive stepfather. He was shown to be a good egg since he cared for his mum, sister, and friends. Kingsman’s The Secret Service was only Egerton’s second role in a major film and he was able to show off his talent and star power as the main character.

Kingsman: The Secret Service did have a hell of a cast. There were big names like Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, and Mark Hamill and emerging talent in the form of Sophie Cookson. Jackson and Strong were fantastic in their roles as a Steve Jobs’ style billionaire and the Kingsman’s Quartermaster. Strong earned himself a bigger part in the sequel. Whilst Cookson was likeable as Roxy, another Kingsman candidate and the only one who was friendly to Eggsy.

However, the highlight of the film was Colin Firth. This film gave the audience a glimpse at what a Firth Bond could have been like. He was sincere in his mentoring of Eggsy and had funny lines he delivered in a deadpan way. A great moment was when Harry interacted with a Christian fundamentalist. Firth also had some of the film’s greatest action moments, like the fight in the pub and of course the battle royale in the church. The church scene was so iconic that The Simpsons and Family Guy parodied it. The Family Guy parody was better.

Sofia Boutella was also a great member of the cast. She played Gazelle, Valentine’s henchman, and was lethal with her prosthetic legs. As well as being a physical threat she was a competent adviser to Valentine. Gazelle had brains, beauty, and deadly abilities.

Kingsman: The Secret Service was a great comic book film that homages and parodies the spy action genre. It concluded a comic book hattrick for Vaughn who made Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class beforehand.