I love the superspy genre. The exotic locations, the fast cars, the beautiful women, and the diabolical masterminds make this genre the king of all blockbuster genres. The best era for superspies was the 1960s. Not only was Sean Connery playing Bond on the big screen, but spies were also on television in such imaginative shows as the Avengers (not the Marvel characters) and the Man From U.N.C.L.E. These shows were great because of their ability to take a familiar world, our own, and turn it into something exciting where danger and mystery lurked around every corner and Dom Perignon champagne flowed like water. There was a sense of escapism and comfort yes, but more importantly there was a playful imagination at work here that really hasn't been seen so much since. Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kingsman, must also feel the same way because this film is a love letter to superspies. a vulgar, blood-drenched, love-letter, but a love-letter nonetheless.
The film tells the story of a young man named Eggsy who finds himself in all sorts of nefarious activities. He had potential once, but due to the death of his father he, his mother, and his baby brother are struggling. Into all of this comes Harry, a superspy played by Colin Firth, who gets Eggsy involved in the super secret organization of the title. The rest you'll have to find out for yourself, but I will say that there is a supervillain played by Samuel L. Jackson and a henchwoman to rival any of the more recent Bond ones. this film is one of those examples where you know everyone making it must have been having fun doing so. Firth seems perfect for the role and he channels John Steed from the Avengers in every twist of his umbrella. Samuel L. Jackson also looks like he's having the time of his life playing his villain. The action, for the most part, is well executed in the most modern sense and the film has pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.
Unfortunately, sometimes you can get carried away when you're having so much fun. this film has so many different tones that sometimes the script doesn't balance them properly. The film also seems to overstay its welcome just a little bit. This is also not a movie for the family. The violence is extreme and the language is reminiscent of a Tarantino film. In fact this film feels like the Kill Bill of spy movies. Some people may find the violence upsetting and will not like the film for that reason and they may not be wrong. I, myself, felt that it went a little far sometimes.
That being said, one of the exciting things about this movie is its R rating. This allows it to tap into some uncharted territory when it comes to superspy movies and when it does this, it is at its best. Another great thing about this film is the actors which were enlisted to bring these characters to life. These respected actors give this film both a legitimacy and a sense of fun that is hard to deny.
My favorite parts of Kingsman were the subtle references to spy lore which were made throughout the film. These jokes and subversions are handled far more adeptly here than in almost any other superspy pastiche I've seen. because of this, Kingsman is not just another in a long line of superspy parodies but rather its own new product. a product that is not perfect and that will revolt some, but that will thrill many. 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment