What if 007 is a former
juvie? That’s the intriguing question
‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ attempts to answer. Loosely derived from the obscure comic book
series ‘The Secret Service’ by industry veterans Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, ‘Kingsman’
may be the most entertaining take-no-prisoners R-rated big screen adaptation of
an independent comic book series (that is, non-Marvel or DC) since ‘Kick-Ass,’
though such examples are admittedly few.
Well steeped in the James Bond
tradition, ‘Kingsman’ is decidedly British in its “Gentleman Spy”
sensibilities. With one major exception,
that is. You see, the Secret Service’s
newest recruit is young Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (no kidding, that’s the poor bloke’s
nickname), a most un-Bondlike candidate.
Sporting a baseball cap, fleece letterman jacket and bling, Eggsy
resembles in dress and bearing much less a spy than one of those wannabe white rappers (uh, hip-hop artists) like "Marky Mark" Wahlberg or Vanilla Ice back in the day. This culture clash, however, provides much of
the movie’s charm and humor, as Agent Galahad (Colin Firth) does his best to
transform him from a young troublemaker into a tux-wearing, martini-swirling Gentleman
Spy.
Other than the obvious nod to the
007 franchise, there are parts of the movie that can cite ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Kill
Bill’ Volumes 1 and 2 as its many
influences. And like the early Bond
films (before they got darker), what made ‘Kingsman’ so enjoyable are the
megalomaniacal villains, in this case Samuel L. Jackson (think ‘Snoop Dogg’ if
he were a Bond villain), a violence-averse tech billionaire who wants to reboot
the human race, and his beautiful yet lethal ‘blade runner’ henchwoman Gazelle (Sofia
Boutella) who, like Oscar Pistorius also revels in killing (ooh, so sue me). Filled with wit, humor and a healthy dose of
stylish ultra-violence, ‘Kingsman’ offers a fresh and welcome twist to the
British superspy genre.
Geek Trivia: Mark Hamill made a
cameo in the movie as Professor James Arnold.
Millar and Gibbons actually named the character Mark Hamill in their
comic series, being the Star Wars fanboys they are.
Grade: A
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