Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Cineworld Bolton: 31st January 2015

Any film that starts with things blowing up to Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" is on to a winner for me.

Clare and I had seen the trailers for this a couple of months ago, and I really thought this was not something Clare would fancy.  Not a fan of the Bond genre or anything too violent, I thought this would be a Pondo only experience,. how wrong I was.  

On the way to the cinema, Clare was telling me how the young actor in this film had not really done much before and was commended on his acting skills and also his personality by other cast and crew, how Colin Firth did his own stunts and how much she was looking forward to the film.

Set in a Bond Style Universe with meta references throughout, Kingsman:TSS has a very similar feel to the original 60s/70s era.  The Kingsman are a secret organisation of high class gentlemen with a certain set of skills and qualities.  When one of their knights, Lancelot, is killed in action (it happens at the very start of the film so it is not a spoiler!), each Kingsman has to present a "potential" for replacement.  Colin Firth's Galahad, yes they are all named after the Knights of the Round Table, chooses the son a previous Lancelot who has been brought up on the wrong side of the tracks since his fathers death.

How Kingsman: TSS got the 15 certificate is beyond me.  The profanities are vulgar and the violence is bloody and graphic, I think the BBFC actually saw a different cut of this film before offering the certification.  In one scene in a church, Colin Firth goes a little off the rails, due to a plot point that I am not giving away, and the violence that ensues for a good five minutes is just brutal.  Knives in heads, priest impalement, beheading and more of the likes, thankfully it is all played out to the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird which puts it alongside the "Shaun of the Dead - Don't Stop me Now" brilliance

Samual L Jackson plays a brilliant villain, Mark Strong as Merlin is just superb, Michael Caine is Micheal Caine and it took me a few seconds to spot that Mr Luke Skywalker himself was the good Doctor.

Matthew Vaughn has directed a winner here for me, fun story, great action and a call to the Bond franchise of old.  Damn good fun!

I was thinking though, how awesome would it have been with Sean Connery as Arthur, Roger Moore as Lancelot, Brosnan as Galahad, Dalton, Lazenby and Craig all in the mix and then Desmond Llewelyn as Merlin, but that is just me geeking out!