Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a 2014 British-American spy film directed by Matthew Vaughn, and based on the comic book The Secret Service, created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. The screenplay was written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. It follows the recruitment and training of a potential secret agent, Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), into a secret spy organisation. Eggsy joins a mission to tackle a global threat from Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), a wealthy megalomaniac. The film also stars Colin Firth, Mark Strong, and Michael Caine.

Kingsman: The Secret Service premiered at the annual film marathon Butt-Numb-A-Thon on 13 December 2014, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2015. The film received positive reviews, and has grossed over $414 million worldwide, becoming Vaughn's most commercially successful film to date

Storyline

Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn, Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Plot

During a raid in the Middle East, a probationary secret agent sacrifices himself to save his team. Feeling guilt over the loss of his colleague, Harry Hart, code-named "Galahad", delivers a bravery medal to the agent's widow, Michelle Unwin, and her young son, Gary "Eggsy", saying that if they ever need help, they should call the phone number on the back of the medal and deliver a coded message.

Seventeen years later Professor James Arnold is kidnapped by unknown assailants, led by Internet billionaire Richmond Valentine. One of Hart's fellow agents, "Lancelot", attempts to stage a rescue, but is killed by Gazelle, Valentine's henchwoman. Valentine, known for his philanthropy, continues to meet with various heads of state and VIPs, some of whom go missing afterwards. He also announces a giveaway of SIM Smart cards, granting a lifetime of free cellular and Internet access to anyone who wants it.

During this time, Kingsman has been investigating Valentine in connection with VIP disappearances and notes that Arnold is no longer missing. Hart tracks down Arnold and confronts him about his abduction. A chip implanted in Arnold's head explodes, killing him; Hart is injured during his escape from unknown assailants. Undeterred, Hart poses as a billionaire and dines with Valentine to try to discern his plans.

In London Eggsy is now an unemployed young adult living with his mother, infant half-sister, and abusive stepfather Dean. Despite being intelligent and capable, he left training for the Royal Marines and lives an aimless life. After being arrested for stealing a car, Eggsy calls the number on the back of the medal. Hart arranges for his release and tells Eggsy about the existence of Kingsman, a secret intelligence agency for which both he and Eggsy's father worked. In the wake of Lancelot's death, the agency opens a vacancy for a new agent, and Eggsy agrees to apply as Hart's candidate. He joins a group of other candidates including a woman named Roxy, whom he befriends. Training is overseen by "Merlin", a senior Kingsman who acts as teacher, quartermaster, pilot and Ops co-ordinator. The candidates are eliminated one by one until only Eggsy and Roxy remain. Eggsy fails his final test - asked to shoot a dog he had raised from a puppy with a gun secretly loaded with blanks - and Roxy becomes the new Lancelot.

Hart tracks Valentine to an obscure hate group church in Kentucky, where Valentine and Gazelle are conducting a test. They broadcast a signal, which is picked up by cellphone SIM cards and causes everyone in the church, including Hart, to become uncontrollably violent. A mass brawl breaks out, with Hart the sole survivor, while Eggsy, Merlin and "Arthur" — Kingsman's leader — watch via video link. Valentine approaches Hart and kills him after revealing his plan.

Eggsy returns to the Kingsman headquarters, where he discovers that Arthur is one of Valentine’s converts. Arthur explains Valentine's views: humanity is akin to a virus, and global warming is the Earth's equivalent of a fever. Valentine intends to kill the virus before it kills the host, broadcasting his signal worldwide to cause a massive culling of the human race. Only a select few that Valentine has deemed worthy of living—those who have sided with him and thus received the protective microchips in their heads, and the VIPs he kidnapped—will be spared.

After avoiding Arthur’s attempt to kill him — killing Arthur as he does so — Eggsy teams up with Merlin and Roxy, the new Lancelot. Lancelot pilots a high-altitude balloon vehicle into the stratosphere to disrupt Valentine's satellite network with a missile, while Eggsy and Merlin directly assault Valentine’s mountain bunker. Lancelot knocks out the satellite, not realising that Valentine has a substitute satellite. Valentine activates the signal, causing global pandemonium.

Eggsy and Merlin infiltrate the bunker. Merlin hacks the system, successfully disturbing the signal for a while, before Valentine activates the fingerprint scanner, thus countering the hack. Eggsy is later surrounded by the guards, but Merlin activates the chips implanted into everyone involved in Valentine's scheme, killing everyone except Valentine and Gazelle. Eggsy fights Gazelle and kills her with a booby-trapped shoe given to him earlier by Hart. Eggsy then manages to kill Valentine, ending the worldwide carnage.

Ultimately Eggsy, presumably Harry's replacement as Galahad, reaches out to his mother, offering her a new home and a chance to get away from Dean. Remembering when Harry recruited Eggsy, Dean and his subordinates move to attack, and Eggsy quotes his old mentor by saying "manners maketh man" before moving on to effortlessly knocking Dean down with a mug of beer.

Cast

• Taron Egerton as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, a poor Londoner who is chosen by Galahad as his Kingsman candidate. Alex Nikolov portrays a young Eggsy.
• Colin Firth as Harry Hart / Galahad, a veteran Kingsman agent who takes Eggsy under his wing.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Richmond Valentine, a billionaire philanthropist who speaks with a lisp and has a weak stomach for blood and violence.
• Mark Strong as Merlin, a senior Kingsman agent and trainer.
• Michael Caine as Chester King / Arthur, the leader of the Kingsman organisation.
• Sophie Cookson as Roxanne "Roxy" Morton, a trainee who befriends Eggsy. She later becomes the new Lancelot.
• Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, Valentine's amputee henchwoman with bladed prosthetic legs.
• Samantha Womack as Michelle Unwin, Eggsy's mother.
• Geoff Bell as Dean, Eggsy's stepfather and Michelle's abusive second husband.
• Edward Holcroft as Charlie Hesketh, Arthur's Kingsman candidate and Eggsy's primary rival during the training program.
• Mark Hamill as James Arnold, an academic professor from Imperial College London and an expert in climate change.
• Jack Davenport as Lancelot, a Kingsman agent who obtained his title in the mission that took the life of Eggsy's father.
• Jack Cutmore-Scott as Rufus Saville, a Kingsman candidate.
• Lily Travers as Lady Sophie
• Richard Brake as The Interrogator, a man working for Lady Sophie. He is impersonated by Galahad and Arthur, while interrogating Eggsy, Roxy and Charlie.
• Andrei Lenart as Arctic Guard

User Riview

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a gentlemen secret spy-society that saves the world from a villain with the help of new recruits ... Don't let this summary fool you, the movie fantastic! It got applause at the end of the preview; for me first time ever in a cinema.

Great lines, never laughed this much: Bond with a wink and fresh edge. Plus super shot "martial art" action that should make the Matrix jealous. The action has its true Shakespearian/GoTh moments and all supported by cool tech-stuff. Great aspect in this movie is the music, an extra comic dimension. When you see the movie you'll know what I mean. Next too all the clever fun and furious action, it touches on petty crime poverty and home violence. Matthew Vaugh captures the grimness yet doesn't loose it's lightness ... and I like the message: "a gentlemen is not born, a gentle(wo)men is someone who chooses to be one."

The young gang, like Sophie Cookson, held up well and Taron Egerton established his position in the gang of giants. Colin Firth's aloofness was crowned with a kick-ass bite, Samuel Jackson brings his role back to old fashion comedy, strongly supported by Mark Strong and Michael Caine.