Avid comic book fan that I am Mark Millar’s body of work is well known to me. His run at Marvel included work on The Ultimates, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and the Civil War comic event. All of which are some of my absolute favorites. I also very much enjoyed his creator owned titles Kick-Ass and Wanted. So I have to admit that I’m a bit ashamed that I didn’t realize Kingsman: The Secret Service was based on one of his books until it was already out of theaters. Now just because a movie is based on a Millar comic doesn’t mean it’s going to be any good. To prove that point you just have to remember the travesty that was Wanted. However with Matt Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class) directing I decided that this was something that I definitely wanted to check out. So for this month’s edition of Worth It? I review Kingsman: the Secret Service.
This movie was amazeballs. And I’m not the kind of man who uses a made up word like amazeballs unless I really mean it. The story follows Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of his father by entering the world of super spies and megalomaniacs. Taking him on this journey is the super spy whose life Eggsy’s father saved, Colin Firth (he has another name in the movie, two in fact, but let’s be honest when you see Colin Firth all you see is Colin Firth). The duo battle none other than Samuel L. Jackson as a scenery chewing internet billionaire convinced he must wipe out most of humanity so the rest may live.
That’s the plot. Not overly complicated. It’s not meant to be. The beauty of Kingsman is that it knows what it is and revels in it. It combines retro camp with gleeful gore and the result is pure fun. The actions scenes are amazingly choreographed and the lines are delivered with tongue in cheek amusement. This is one of those movies where you can tell everyone in it is having a great time. And I can see why. How often does Colin Firth get to kick ass in pub fight? And you know Samuel L Jackson was relishing the opportunity to dial up the camp. I mean there’s a lady with razor sharp swords for legs. And since your next question was going to be does she cut anybody in half with those legs I’ll go ahead and answer you. Yes. Yes she does.
Now I suppose since I’ve pointed out the violence it’s time to point out that this is an R rated film with more than a few instances of over the top action. So if that bothers you it might be a good idea to opt out but other than that caveat I’d recommend this movie wholeheartedly. I’m looking forward to watching it again in the near future. So when asked the question Kingsman: the Secret Service worth it? I say yes absofreakinglutely.