Kingsman: The Secret Service

This review may contain spoilers!

The action comedy epic that has easily laid claim to one of the best films of 2015. I would give Kingsman: The Secret Service an 8.5/10.

Kingsman has one of the best scripts I've seen this year, even surpassing many of the so called Academy Award worthy scripts. The intriguing new spy story comes fully loaded with comedy, megalomania and an incredibly masterful degree of self awareness. The pacing of the film moves perfectly, in fact the story is crafted so well that every moment hits the mark. The cinematography moves quickly, keeping this fast action film intense at all times. That's not to mention the incredible fight choreography that makes the film so memorable, just watch the brilliant church scene and you'll see what I'm saying. The special effects were quite fun, and while a little artificial they certainly added to the film's comic element. Which is what the music of the film aimed to achieve as well; enhancing each scene with a piece of music that parodied classic spy films.

Colin Firth, who played Harry Hart/Galahad, was incredibly powerful in his role as a mentor but also stood out as one of the biggest action heroes of the film. Mark Strong, who played Merlin, was quite a bit of fun as a tech savvy instructor; his subtle humour really made the film. Jack Davenport, who played Lancelot, had a fantastic cameo; he really set the tone of the film from the get go. Taron Egerton, who played Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, was a brilliant lead and has immediately set himself up for an incredible future career. Geoff Bell, who played Dean, gave a great domestic antagonist; his performance was very intense and menacing. Bjorn Floberg, who played the Scandinavian Prime Minister, was one of the most entertaining performances of the film; his remarks about politicians were hysterical.

Yet it was the stand out villain duo of Sofia Boutella and Samuel L. Jackson, who played Gazelle and Valentine respectively, that made this film. Jackson's squeamish megalomaniac with a lisp was a huge hit, he had immediate chemistry with anyone he was with onscreen not least of which was Boutella. Boutell on the other hand made leaps and bounds as being the most graceful and intimidating character of the film. She also has a huge stake as being an incredibly cool amputee character.

There probably should have been some more effort to make it feel like the main character of Eggsy was in danger as you never really felt like he was threatened throughout the film.

Samantha Womack, who played Michelle Unwin, gave a very stereotypical and melodramatic performance. Mark Hamill, who played Professor Arnold, gave a very underwhelming cameo as a leading scientific mind; his stilted moments of fear could have been a lot better. Michael Caine, who played Arthur, had very little screen presence; in fact as far as antagonists go he was quite disappointing. Edward Holcroft, who played Charlie, gave a very monotone performance and quite like Caine was a very unimpressive antagonist. Sophie Cookson, who played Roxy, was quite an underused character and had very little screen presence. Hanna Alstrom, who played Princess Tilde, was reduced to a cheap joke; her character felt different every time we saw her in a scene.