DVD Review: Kingsman – The Secret Service – Read, Watch & Drink Coffee

From Kick-Ass‘ director Matthew Vaughn and based on the comic book The Secret Service, created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar, Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization, headed by Arthur (Michael Caine) and fronted by Galahad (Colin Firth) and Merlin (Mark Strong). When a global threat emerges from twisted tech genius Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), the organisation recruit an unrefined but promising street kid, Eggsy (Taron Egerton), into their ultra-competitive training program.

Rating:

With films including Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and Layer Cake under his directorial belt, Matthew Vaughn knows how to make a good action film. And with the final film in his filmography, Stardust, also being a surprising hit, Vaughn also knows how to balance comedy. He’s one of my favourite directors because of this: he knows how to handle his genres.

All of his films have been hugely successful, and Kingsman is no different. Combining comedy and action with a very modernised story, Vaughn handles every second of this film perfectly. It’s stylish, fun, filled with great action sequences, and its characters are incredibly likeable – even the villains.

We know how spy movies work, we even know how spy movies with unlikely heroes work, but Kingsman is likely to be one of the most surprising successes of 2015. The modern plot is exciting, the action is some of the best of recent years, and the cast and their performances are phenomenal.

Taron Egerton is a face you will remember; not only because of how handsome he is, but because of his tremendous effort in his first feature-length performance here. And alongside the ever-excellent Colin Firth, who has never been so good, an hilarious performance from Samuel L. Jackson, and the always welcome Michael Caine, the casting for this film is spot on.

Aside from a sour end note, Kingsman is likely to remain at the top of my favourite films of this year.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is set to be released on DVD on 8th June.