Crowning the Kingsman
a review by Amish Dalvi
edited by Anthony Zangrillo
Calamity and comedy collide in the oddball spy flick Kingsman: The Secret Service. Kingsman is a secret, elite organization of spies operating in the shadows of an aging clothing shop somewhere in Britain. A respected Kingsman agent Galahad (Colin Firth) seeks to protect the world, under the guise of an abiding altruism. A Kingsman agent seeks no gratitude and ultimately hungers for anonymity. The hardships they prevent is seldom ascribed to an individual agent’s sacrifice.
The film revolves around a young boy with a troubled past named Eggsy, whose life is tattered and stale, a product of horrible parenting tossed onto a canvas of unrelenting emotional cruelty. He is a child of the streets, whose unvenerable skill set includes brawling, carjacking, and parkour. Galahad sees potential in the troubled youth and offers him the opportunity to assimilate into the favor of the elite Kingsmen. Suddenly, Eggsy is thrust into a complex training program that tests his mettle, loyalty, and sanity. At the same time, Galahad mentors Eggsy in the manners of proper gentleman conduct. The antagonist is a menacing media mogul Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), who devises a plan to transform the world’s minds, arms, and legs into a murderous horde. Valentine claims to have noble goals, as his unconceivable methods seek to attenuate the uncontrollably large population.
Ultimately, Valentine is an insane genius. Jackson completely embraces the absurdity of this character, sporting thick eyebrows, a dusty baseball cap, and a brooding lisp. Valentine is devoid of any moral compass, and some may claim that Valentine merely represents the archetypal movie megalomaniac trying to take over the world. These viewers have missed the beauty of this refreshing villain in a tried and true genre. Director Matthew Vaughn artfully subverts the spy genre, and provides audiences with an amalgamation of the genre’s “super villain.” Valentine makes a cliché speech interspersed with a grand scheme that will harmonize a world full of discord. I will admit that Valentine’s assistant Gazelle falls prey to outrageous sensationalism. She boasts a feral weave and feet ornate with sharp blades, along with a grace of motion powerful enough to slay dozens of people with a mere swish and tug. Unfortunately, Gazelle is devoid of character development, so most audiences will regard her as only a weapon in the war against humanity.
Admittedly, the majority of the film resembles a boilerplate chase, pitting agent against mysterious billionaire criminal. In fact, some audiences may become frustrated from the slow plot development, yet once Vaughn’s film reaches a frantic pace, this film really soars. In particular, an unbelievable scene set in a church will leave viewers speechless. As the plot develops, Eggsy transformed into a suited figure eerily reminiscent of Bond in boots, with some fancier arsenal and less imperious dialogue. Complete with a fresh tie and a studious smirk, the new Eggsy embarks on a mission to find and stop Valentine from crushing the world. Overall, the film is a cluster of compendious overtones, fluid fights, and subtle, daring comedy that breathes a sense of relief into an otherwise sleepy genre. By the end of the film, Eggsy receives a hero’s greatest reward, while the service aims to sneak back into anonymity.
Score: 8/10
Rated R for strong language, violence, and some innocuous sexual content
