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One complaint that has always dogged the James Bond franchise over the years is the inescapable fact that while the films seem to be loaded with gratuitous sex and violence in theory, they never quite manage to show them in any great detail. Obviously, the decision to imply more than display has served the producers for more than a half-century, but can you imagine what it would be like if a Bond film were to include all the seamier elements that they have only hinted at in the past? The early word on the over-the-top action-comedy "Kingsman: The Secret Service" seemed to suggest that it would pay homage to the Bond films of old—the ones made before the series took its turn towards the comparatively serious with the arrival of Daniel Craig —while including all the Good Parts that had been largely absent in the past. Alas, it seems to have taken its inspiration from one of the lesser Roger Moore efforts than the classic Connerys and the result is a fitfully amusing but increasing tedious and occasionally appalling mess that plays like "The Man with the Golden Gun" with ridiculous amounts of gore and severed limbs on display, though the nipples this time around are not so much superfluous as they are distressingly nonexistent.

Based on the comic book from Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons , "Kingsman" posits a top secret British espionage group that is inspired by King Arthur and his knights (whose names the members appropriate for their code names), based in a seemingly ordinary Savile Row tailor shop and regularly saves the world without getting into all the political mumbo-jumbo that has affected the efforts of governmental spy organizations. Having lost their Lancelot after a one-man effort to rescue a kidnapped scientist ( Mark Hamill ), the group begins the process of recruiting a replacement and for his nominee, agent Harry "Galahad" Hart ( Colin Firth ) puts up Gary "Eggsy" Unwin ( Taron Egerton ), a seemingly ordinary young punk who lives with his mother and her abusive boyfriend and spends his days getting into dumb trouble. However, Eggsy is also the son of a former Kingsman who gave his life to save Harry and others when he was just a child.

Not surprisingly, Eggsy seems out of place among the far more sophisticated other candidates—only Roxy ( Sophie Cookson ) shows him any kindness or respect—and Kingsman leader Arthur ( Michael Caine ) expects him to wash out quickly. Also not surprisingly, Eggsy manages to last throughout the extended testing process designed to winnow the group down to one under the eye of Merlin ( Mark Strong ). This turns out to be slightly more intense than, say, the executive training program at Harrods—their barracks are quickly flooded while they sleep one night, there is a group skydive where they are informed that one of them is not packing a chute only after they make the jump and they are each given a puppy to raise and train. (Eggsy names his pug "JB" and in one of the films funnier jokes, we realize just how many fictional super-spies have shared those initials over the years.)

While all of this is going on, there is, of course, a diabolical plan with global implications being hatched by a megalomaniacal madman. Our super-villain is Valentine ( Samuel L. Jackson ), an astoundingly wealthy technological pioneer whose frustration at his inability to save the planet through the usual channels has led him to a more sinister approach that involves zapping the minds of the world's population via their cell phones and driving them to kill each other off. Not everyone is to be killed of course and he has also been recruiting or kidnapping celebrities and other dignitaries so that they can help to forge a better world once the riffraff is gone. If you need any further proof that Valentine is mad, consider that he snatches Iggy Azalea but evidently does nothing for Charli XCX even though it was her awesome chorus on "Fancy" that made that song the hit that it was.

It sounds fun in theory, I guess, and there are some entertaining moments of rude irreverence here and there but the giddiness gets a bit tedious after a while. The screenplay by director Matthew Vaughn and longtime collaborator Jane Goldman is kind of like the espionage equivalent of " Scream "—all the characters have seen all the James Bond movies and make frequent reference to their clichés. However, since the Bond movies were never famous for taking themselves seriously, what we have in "Kingsman" is a film making cartoonish jokes about films that were often cartoonish jokes.

Another thing that I found off-putting about "Kingsman," oddly enough, is that it is really, really violent. This may sound like a contradiction of my previously stated desire for a more overtly violent Bond film but Vaughn—whose previous credits include " Kick-Ass ," another savagely brutal adaptation of a Mark Millar comic book—floods the screen with flying limbs and spurting blood throughout, and, while it is all done in a deliberately cartoonish and nihilistic manner, it is still way too much of a not-that-great thing.

On the other hand, the scene in which Valentine tests his weapon on a church congregation styled after those Westboro Baptist creeps is really grotesque—the idea of hateful monsters literally destroying each other, to the soundtrack strains of "Free Bird," no less, sounds funny but it goes on for so long and is so brutal (including spearings, shootings and an ax to the throat) that the joke is lost. Meanwhile, the sex is oddly non-existent other than a not-particularly-amusing bit involving a kidnapped Swedish princess offering particular sexual favors to Eggsy in exchange for saving the world and then—Spoiler Alert—making good on her promise.

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" is not without its compensations. While Egerton is fairly anonymous as the callow would-be Kingsman, Firth, Caine and Strong are clearly having fun with their parts and it is amusing to see Firth dressed to look like Harry Palmer, the rival Sixties-era British spy once played by Caine. (Jackson, on the other hand, is not quite as successful as the wildly lisping villain—since the character does not make very much sense, he never quite manages to get a fix on him.) As he has demonstrated in superior efforts such as " Layer Cake ," "Stardust" and " X-Men: First Class ", Vaughn is an undeniably stylish filmmaker and while this may not be a good movie, it is certainly a good-looking one. Also, the concept is promising, and, who knows, maybe when they get around to the next installment of the franchise they are clearly setting up, they will finally figure out the right tone and make a better movie as a result. Of course, I said the same thing after coming out of "Kick-Ass" and we all know how that turned out.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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Kingsman: The Secret Service movie poster

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language and some sexual content

129 minutes

Colin Firth as Harry Hart

Mark Strong as Merlin

Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine

Michael Caine as Arthur

Jack Davenport as Lancelot

Taron Egerton as Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin

Matthew Vaughn
Jane Goldman

Cinematography

George Richmond

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Kingsman: The Secret Service Reviews

Although there's nothing much to take away from the film, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a highly entertaining film with fascinating characters and non-stop action from beginning to end.

Full Review | Jul 20, 2023

Vaughn has proven himself an expert at adapting stories of such ilk, and here's another one—a film that seems to belong on the comic's page, but Vaughn brings it to the screen with a hilariously depraved edginess.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 21, 2022

I liked Kingsman: The Secret Service because the film refuses to take itself too seriously. There's cool worldbuilding, and I want to see more of it.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.5/10 | Dec 8, 2021

If you always wanted to see Firth take Bond's cool demeanor, toss in Jason Bourne's fighting style, and 'Running Man's body count, then 'Kingsman' is the movie for you.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 13, 2021

Vaughn's best movie to date.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Aug 29, 2021

A witty, entertaining spy romp that also manages to sneak in a serious message.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 27, 2021

It is difficult to see how much more he can push the envelope before even the not-easily-shocked Galahad might think it was too farfetched.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 2, 2021

A stylish new take on the spy thriller genre features a staunch Colin Firth and a cheeky Taron Egerton.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 16, 2020

Everything from the visuals to the violence denotes a jumble of clashing ideas and styles.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Dec 4, 2020

Why not rediscover your mojo with a film that really does what it promises?

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 13, 2020

[Kingsman] has a sophomoric character and leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Full Review | Aug 11, 2020

Kingsman is a frenetic, witty blast, and just the kind of fresh take an increasingly overly serious, borderline stale genre needs.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 6, 2020

Kingsman is the halfway point between a James Bond movie and Kick-Ass.

Full Review | Jul 3, 2020

[E]xplosive, high-octane, kick-ass entertainment from start to finish!

Full Review | Dec 8, 2019

Kingsman is a fun, but inconsequential, night at the movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.2/5 | Nov 27, 2019

Kingsman: The Secret Service treads a very thin line between a self-aware, satirical film and a serious one where you care about the characters and events. Somehow, it commits to both in a tremendously fun manner.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.9/10 | Nov 12, 2019

Kingsman deserves audiences as enthusiastic as those involved in making the film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 2, 2019

A brisk origin story that benefits from its globe-threatening, cartoonish villain, Kingsman is an absolute blast right up to the (moment when the Swedish princess offers up her) end.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 30, 2019

Its inescapable layers of self-awareness, paired with its tendency to embrace the spectacle of extreme violence for endless pleasurable consumption tends to stifle the film's possibilities.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 19, 2019

Bold, brash and bonkers: Vaughn's best work yet grabs you by the lapels and never lets up.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2019

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‘kingsman: the secret service’: film review.

Old-school spycraft meets cartoonish high jinks in a comic book adaptation starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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Playing a world-saving and somewhat world-weary superagent, Colin Firth is the epitome of suave, as lethal as he is elegant, in the spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service . His sad-eyed heroics ground the comic book adaptation, while Samuel L. Jackson brings the goofball villainy, big-time, as a mad genius who concocts a ticking time bomb of a scheme.

As he did in X-Men: First Class , director Matthew Vaughn strikes an energetic balance between cartoonish action and character-driven drama, though the tinge here is darker, with a story that hinges on matters of climate change, the insidiousness of technology and the class divide. The mix grows less seamless and the story loses oomph as it barrels toward its doomsday countdown, but the cast’s dash and humor never flag. And if the movie sometimes panders shamelessly to fanboys, that could serve it well upon its February release, when it goes head-to-head against a fantasy of another persuasion: Fifty Shades of Grey .

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Film Review: ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’

Another young star is born as 'Kick-Ass' director Matthew Vaughn playfully delivers his latest genre update, this time refreshing the posh British spy formula.

By Peter Debruge

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'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Review: Matthew Vaughn Spies Latest Star

For those who think James Bond has gotten a little too serious in his old age, “ Kingsman: The Secret Service ” brings the irreverence back to the British spy genre, offering a younger, streetwise variation on the 007 formula while gleefully pushing audiences’ favorite elements — sartorial taste, killer toys and cracked-out supervillains — to hyperbolic extremes. Based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ 2012 comicbook series and directed by Matthew Vaughn in much the same pop, over-the-top style as his earlier “Kick-Ass,” Fox’s franchise-ready one-off at first poses as a more teen-friendly option, before taking a hard turn into decidedly R-rated territory.

For nearly three-quarters of its running time, “Kingsman” could pass as a flip PG-13 alternative to the increasingly gritty turn the genre has taken in the wake of Jason Bourne — a fact it acknowledges outright when debonair operative Harry Hart ( Colin Firth ) and cuckoo billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) talk spy-movie aesthetics. “Give me a far-fetched diabolical plot,” Jackson’s wonderfully eccentric villain says with a lisp, “like the old Bond movies.” But the film also reserves the right to go gonzo in its final stretch, and while there’s sure to be an outcry from some corners over the turning-point scene, no one can contest that the pic’s last couple of reels distinguish it from countless other spy-movie knockoffs. And let’s not forget that Vaughn effectively gave Daniel Craig a bespoke 007 audition with the slick 2004 crime caper “Layer Cake.”

Here, the helmer launches yet another British talent, Welsh actor Taron Egerton , a compact, bulldog-like actor with a square jaw and squinched-up features who goes from scallie tough to Savile Row neat over the course of the film — a “Pygmalion”-like transformation that is hardly lost on the character himself. Egerton plays Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, whose father dies in service of an organization so secret, his widow and son never realize the significance of his sacrifice, which serves as the first of several punchy setpieces in a pic that’s front-loaded with action scenes.

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Ignorant of his own potential, Eggsy grows up in a grim South London housing estate, falls in with a group of good-for-nothing thugs and risks spending his remaining years behind bars. At least, that’s the way things are headed until Harry springs him from prison and offers him an alternative: to replace recently fallen agent Lancelot (Jack Davenport), who died in a violent yet admirably bloodless attempt to free a kidnapped scientist (a heavily made-up Mark Hamill, the casting of whom plays as an inside joke for fans of the original comic, wherein it’s the missing “Star Wars” star who needs rescuing). The scientist is one of many prominent figures who’ve vanished as Valentine readies his far-fetched diabolical plot.

And so, two elaborate yet extremely well-oiled mechanisms are set in motion. In the first, we get young Eggsy thrust into a high-stakes boot camp to determine which of a group of new recruits (the rest of whom are all posh prep-school types) is worthy of becoming the next Kingsman. At the same time, Valentine moves forward with his plan to distribute free SIM cards programmed to trigger an aggressive killing frenzy worldwide, thereby solving the climate-change crisis by eradicating all but a hand-picked elite.

Class plays a key role in “Kingsman,” which hinges on the fantasy that a kid from the projects could assimilate into London’s most exclusive circles. Hidden behind a suit-shop storefront on Savile Row, Kingsman HQ are accessed through a series of “Get Smart”-style secret doors and tunnels, while the group itself is presided over by an old blue blood played by Michael Caine. But these elite types have a critical weakness: They believe their own superiority, which makes them no better than Valentine in the end. (In one throwaway gag, Jackson is seen pitching his plan at the White House to a man clearly intended to be President Obama.)

Together with longtime screenwriting partner Jane Goldman, Vaughn milks these class differences for maximum amusement throughout, embracing the notion that “Kingsman” is as much a comedy as it is an action movie — just not in the corny, quippy way that mid-career Bond used to be. It’s the sort of movie where the world’s most cultured men prefer to eat McDonald’s behind closed doors, while its streetwise protagonist boasts a far snobbier martini recipe than Bond ever did. Few of the year’s films have been so openly covetous of material possessions, which sits oddly with the movie’s open resentment of extreme wealth.

After all, Vaughn belongs to that school of directing whose glossy, hyper-polished pics look almost like feature-length commercials, where every outfit and prop is potentially for sale (the suits, designed by Arianne Phillips, will soon be made available for online purchase via Mr Porter). But he also kicked off his career producing for Guy Ritchie, whose dynamic, rough-and-tumble attitude has clearly been a key influence on his approach, most obvious in a virtuoso pub altercation where the camera varies speeds as it ducks and loops around the action.

It’s as if style is the only thing Vaughn holds sacred, while extreme convictions on religious or political grounds are something to be ridiculed and, in two jaw-droppingly irreverent sequences, wiped from the face of the earth. On the style front, Firth comes across as an extreme caricature of perceived elegance, ultra-cool within the normally priggish confines of custom-tailored London fashion. He’s an impeccably dressed action figure capable of dispatching a room full of goons without so much as wrinkling his suit.

Valentine’s no slouch, either, his DayGlo look adapted more to fit Jackson’s flamboyant persona than the character’s socially awkward idiosyncrasies (which include an amusingly paradoxical aversion to the sight of blood). And because a great villain is judged in part by the quality of his henchpersons, “Kingsman” introduces Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella (“StreetDance 2”) as Valentine’s lethal valet, Gazelle — a sultry improvement over “Goldfinger’s” Oddjob, with legs that have been replaced with razor-sharp powerbocks.

So, while seriousness has overtaken the Bond franchise in recent years (hardly a bad thing, mind you), “Kingsman” runs no such risk. Vaughn welcomes details that might seem silly in another director’s hands, such as a bulletproof umbrella or tiny microchips that can make one’s head explode, presenting everything playfully enough that plausibility isn’t a factor. It’s all a question of attitude, really, from the film’s funky score (which clearly owes a debt to John Barry) to cocky newcomer Egerton, who looks plenty tough speeding backward through oncoming traffic or skydiving without a chute, but softens up the instant he’s asked to train a Pug puppy. In another progressive touch, the film objectifies its shirtless star far more than it does a rival recruit played by Sophie Cookson, who can hold her own against him during training.

Whether it’s “Alex Rider,” “Agent Cody Banks” or “Spy Kids,” plenty have tried to adapt the 007 shtick to younger characters, with demonstrably dopey results. In the end, the reason it works for Vaughn is that he’s making the film for adults. (Spoiler alert.) The studio reportedly pushed back on several touchy scenes, including one that plays like a surreal dream sequence from another movie (like Kevin Smith’s “Red State,” perhaps), as hatemongering members of a Westboro-style congregation flip out and spontaneously start attacking one another, but Vaughn fought to maintain the film’s edge. Though “Kingsman: The Secret Service” doesn’t open for several more weeks, the ill-considered church massacre remained in the not-quite-finished version screened for review — precisely the sort of imagery Hollywood studios hastily pull the instant some real-world tragedy strikes, only to find themselves propagating anew once the dust settles.

Reviewed at 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles, Dec. 19, 2014. Running time: 129 MIN.

Production: (U.K.) A 20th Century Fox (in U.S./U.K.) release and presentation, in association with Marv of a Cloudy production, made in association with TSG Entertainment. Produced by Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling. Executive producers, Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons, Stephen Marks, Claudia Vaughn, Pierre Lagrange. Co-producer, Jane Goldman.
Crew: Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Screenplay, Jane Goldman, Vaughn, based on the comicbook “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons. Camera (color, widescreen), George Richmond; editors, Eddie Hamilton, Jon Harris; music, Henry Jackman, Matthew Margeson; production designer, Paul Kirby; supervising art director, Andy Thompson; set decorators, Jennifer Williams, David Morison; costume designer, Arianne Phillips; sound (Dolby Atmos), Simon Hayes; sound designers, Matthew Collinge, Danny Sheehan; sound supervisor, Collinge; re-recording mixers, Mike Prestwood Smith, Collinge; visual effects supervisor, Steve Begg; visual effects, Prime Focus World, Nvizible, Jellyfish Pictures, Panton Creative, Doc & A Soc, Peerless, BUF; special effects supervisor, Steve Warner; stunt coordinator/second unit director, Brad Allan; fight coordinator, Guillermo Grispo; second unit camera, Fraser Taggert; casting, Reg Poerscout-Edgerton.
With: Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Sophie Cookson, Jack Davenport, Mark Hamill, Sofia Boutella, Edward Holcroft, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Geoff Bell, Samantha Womack, Michael Caine. (English, Arabic, Swedish dialogue)

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Review: In ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service,’ Colin Firth Get His Suits Splattered

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Anatomy of a Scene | ‘Kingsman’

The director matthew vaughn narrates a sequence from “kingsman: the secret service.”.

By Manohla Dargis

Feb. 12, 2015

If you don’t mind the church full of parishioners who are slaughtered to the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “ Free Bird ” or the “Arab terrorists” who are blown to smithereens or the guns that are pointed at pet dogs or the human heads that explode like firebombed melons as “Pomp and Circumstance” plays, it may be possible to enjoy “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” That said, as this bludgeoning movie grinds to a halt, its gears clogged by viscera and narrative overkill, even those who enjoy go-go gore may end up yearning for the soft touch and subtleties of Guy Ritchie.

The British director Matthew Vaughn first came to attention as a producer on “ Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ,” Mr. Ritchie’s jokey, blunt-force gangster caper. Mr. Vaughn then went on to direct a Ritchie-esque gangster flick of his own, “ Layer Cake ,” now best remembered for Daniel Craig’s star-making turn. Since then, Mr. Vaughn has directed the ultraviolent “ Kick-Ass ” movies and a franchise reboot (“ X-Men: First Class ”), both of which have raked in enough cash to assure that he’ll be running amok for a while. He’s developed into an adequate if often generic manager of action and bodies, but his real talent is for delivering extreme violence with a shrug and a smile.

The problem is that Mr. Vaughn has no interest in, or perhaps understanding of, violence as a cinematic tool. He doesn’t use violence; he squanders it. Some directors overdo it with crane shots, close-ups and dissolves, but Mr. Vaughn gorges on splatter, splashing rooms with red until it’s the only color and emotional note left. His love for guns and guts at least made sense in the “Kick-Ass” movies, mondo fairy tales about a child killer who locks and loads on the run. But his lack of modulation ruins “Kingsman,” which is based on a comic book by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, and was written by Mr. Vaughn with his frequent collaborator Jane Goldman .

That’s too bad, because someone here has assembled a fine cast led by Colin Firth, who plays a spy in an agency hidden behind (and beneath) a Savile Row tailor shop where he swaps tradecraft secrets with Michael Caine, Mark Strong and the charming newcomer Taron Egerton. A lisping Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain, an American zillionaire with a henchwoman (Sofia Boutella) who, like Oscar Pistorius, uses leg prosthetics, though ones that are sharp enough to slice a man in half as cleanly as if he were an overcooked Easter ham. Nothing excites Mr. Vaughn as a director more than turning this chick loose, especially in slow motion with a gun in her pretty hand.

“Kingsman: The Secret Service” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Splat.

Kingsman The Secret Service Opens on Friday Directed by Matthew Vaughn; written by Mr. Vaughn and Jane Goldman, based on the comic book “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons; director of photography, George Richmond; edited by Eddie Hamilton; music by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson; production design by Paul Kirby; costumes by Arianne Phillips; produced by Mr. Vaughn, David Reid and Adam Bohling; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 2 hours 9 minutes. WITH: Colin Firth (Harry Hart), Samuel L. Jackson (Richard Valentine), Mark Strong (Merlin), Taron Egerton (Gary “Eggsy” Unwin), Michael Caine (Arthur), Sofia Boutella (Gazelle) and Sophie Cookson (Roxy).

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Kingsman: the secret service, common sense media reviewers.

Brash, witty spy film is packed with over-the-top violence.

Kingsman: The Secret Service Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

"Manners maketh man" is an enduring message. Also,

Eggsy is coarse and prone to fights, but he's also

An endless parade of so-over-the-top-that-it's-alm

A woman's naked backside is shown as part of a tas

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t,"

Mentions of luxury items/products, including a 196

Many scenes show people drinking beer and hard liq

Positive Messages

"Manners maketh man" is an enduring message. Also, class and money aren't what define you -- your character does. Loyalty and hard work are rewarded.

Positive Role Models

Eggsy is coarse and prone to fights, but he's also protective of his mother and sister, has a deep well of kindness and loyalty, and wants to do right by others. Harry is positioned as Eggsy's role model, but not all of his actions are worthy of emulation.

Violence & Scariness

An endless parade of so-over-the-top-that-it's-almost-cartoonish violence; it's stylized and clearly not realistic, but it's still shocking and brutal. Many gory injuries and deaths, especially during a scene of mass carnage inside a church. Scenes include hatchets to the head, a man sliced in half, gunshots at close range, crashes, stabbings, a man impaled on a pole, explosions, eye gougings, heads exploding, and much, much more. It's gruesome yet glamorized, and the sum total is unsettling.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

A woman's naked backside is shown as part of a tasteless, sexist, sexually provocative joke. Allusions to sexual acts (including anal sex), some kissing/flirting.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "damn," the "N" word, and a homophobic slur.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Mentions of luxury items/products, including a 1962 Dalmont and bespoke suits made on London's Savile Row. Also Adidas, Guinness, and a big, obvious plug for McDonald's.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Many scenes show people drinking beer and hard liquor at pubs and at home, sometimes leading to violence. Rohypnol is also mentioned.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Kingsman: The Secret Service is a bold, though at times indulgently violent, action thriller that turns the James Bond genre on its head. It's funny, cheeky, and stylish, but it's also extremely brutal, with exploding heads, gory stabbings, shootings, and utter murderous mayhem (a scene of mass carnage inside a church is especially wince-inducing/stomach-turning). While the violence is presented in a stylized, almost cartoonish way, the sum total of it is likely to disturb some viewers. There's also swearing (including "f--k," "s--t," and some racial/homophobic slurs), sexual innuendo, a gratuitously tasteless scene with a naked female bottom, and drinking. But there's also a smattering of advice about how to be an honorable person in a dishonorable time. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (81)
Kids say (149)

Based on 81 parent reviews

Pulp Fiction British Version

Sex reference at the end is totally inappropriate-, what's the story.

In KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, on London's Savile Row sits the Kingsman, a store not just for the fashion-forward but also for James Bonds-ian types seeking truth and justice in a seriously discreet, British way. A Kingsman, after all, is a spy of the highest order, part of a powerful organization unaffiliated with any government. Their representatives are named after King Arthur's knights, with Galahad, aka Harry Hart ( Colin Firth ), as their anchor. In 1997, a fellow Kingsman saved Galahad's life and died on the job. Forever indebted to his savior, Harry reaches out to the man's widow and offers a promise of help -- one that her son, Eggsy ( Taron Egerton ), collects on 17 years later. Galahad thinks Eggsy has the skills to be come a Kinsgman, but first the rough-around-the-edges youth must prove his mettle, as a megalomaniac millionaire ( Samuel L. Jackson ) puts into action his psychopathic plan to cull the planet of people to save it.

Is It Any Good?

It's been a long while since a movie of this genre satisfied so much with wit and joy. For those who love film and all that is cinematic, Kingsman: The Secret Service is delightful fun. Director Matthew Vaughn 's love for spy films and for this production is so unmistakable that you can't help but be swept up in it. Every character, every frame, and nearly every line of dialogue is delivered with glee. It's brash and bold and full of cheek.

And it's no copycat. Nearly every spy thriller cliche is turned on its head here and milked for maximum amusement. (A sequence unveiling all the secret weaponry is a pleasure.) The plot is somewhat original, or at least interesting, and the stars are great. That said, a few points off for saddling the villainous (and enjoyable) Jackson with a lisp -- it's a cheap shot -- and for the constant (albeit cartoonish) violence that enjoys itself a little too much. The mayhem is over the top, and Vaughn relies too much on the slo-mo. And there's a crass joke at a princess' expense that feels like nothing more than sexist junk. But look past these issues, and you'll have a grand old time at the movies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Kingsman: The Secret Service . Does its over-the-top nature lessen its impact? Or does the sheer volume make it impossible to ignore? How do the consequences compare to those in movies with more realistic violence?

How does the film refresh the spy movie genre? What does it have in common with other spy movie? How does it differ?

Talk about why Harry truly wants to mentor Eggsy. And why is Eggsy willing to be mentored?

Movie Details

In theaters : February 13, 2015
On DVD or streaming : June 9, 2015
Cast : Colin Firth , Samuel L. Jackson , Taron Egerton
Director : Matthew Vaughn
Inclusion Information : Black actors
Studio : Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Genre : Action/Adventure
Run time : 129 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : sequences of strong violence, language and some sexual content
Last updated : May 19, 2024

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Kingsman: The Secret Service

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

As sadistic toys go, I prefer the spy gadgets Harry Hart ( Colin Firth ) unleashes in Kingsman: The Secret Service to anything Christian Grey brings out of his room of pain in Fifty Shades of Grey . But, hey, that’s just me. Caught between straight-up James Bond and the Austin Powers parody version, Kingsman is a high-octane combo of action and comedy that breathes sweet and surreal new life into the big-screen spy game where Bond meets Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. Adapted from Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ 2012 comic book series and directed by Matthew Vaughn with the same anything-goes ingenuity he brought to Kick Ass , Kingsman is all over the place, sometimes to its detriment. But you won’t want to miss the surprises it delights in springing.

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In a role that fits him like a bespoke suit, Firth is everything you want in an international man of mystery. His suave British agent Harry Hart, code-named Galahad, plays by the rules of a company, headed by Arthur (a kingly Michael Caine), that names its agents after knights of the round table. Since Lancelot (Jack Davenport) died saving Galahad’s ass 17 years ago, Galahad resolves to return the favor by recruiting Lance’s now grown son, Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), into the secret service. The thing is Eggsy is a lout, a street kid who seems destined for prison instead of the elegant environs of Kingsman, a swank tailoring shop on Saville Row that fronts for the Secret Service.

Got that? Now add the posh young recruits that Eggsy must vie with to achieve a place at the table. My advice? Just jump into the action and go with it. That’s what Vaughn does. The opening scene, a flashback, introduces Richmond Valentine, a big-bucks super-villain played to the hilt and beyond by a lisping Samuel L. Jackson with a cruel streak Goldfinger would envy. Valentine has a gal Friday named Gazelle (Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella) whose prosthetic legs are tipped with blades Kleb would envy. Too much of an in-joke? The movie is loaded with them, including a cameo from an unrecognizable Mark Hamill and a dissertation on Bond villains from Firth and Jackson. Newbie Egerton holds his own with a cast of pros and I loved his twist on an 007 martini — “gin poured while glancing at an unopened bottle of vermouth.” I could go on. The movie sure as hell does, with Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman throwing grenades into the plot every chance they get. The big set piece, and it’s a wowzer, involves a church massacre provoked by lethal SIM cards that Valentine installs in cell phones. Even when it stops making sense, Kingsman is unstoppable fun.

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Kingsman: The Secret Service Is Crazy Violent, and Endlessly Entertaining

By Richard Lawson

This image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Taron Egerton Overcoat Coat and Suit

Forget Fifty Shades of Grey . The truly shocking movie opening this weekend is Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service , a hyper-violent live-action cartoon about a dapper British intelligence agency stopping Samuel L. Jackson from killing almost everyone on the planet. It’s a comedy, and it’s a funny one, but if you’re squeamish about senseless death and bright-hued gore, you might want to steer clear. Like Vaughn’s teeny-bop killfest Kick-Ass , Kingsman is a riot of crunching, gnarly violence that’s meant to shock the system into a kind of giddy hysteria.

And it works! Well, it worked on me, anyway. Kingsman has a spastic verve that turns what could otherwise be gratuitous and rude into an act of spunky bravado, like it’s making good on a dare. I’m surprised they got away with some of it. Which isn’t, I hope, to oversell what is in other ways a fairly straightforward action-comedy. While Kingsman has flair for days, it’s also a traditionally entertaining secret-agent caper, coupled with a training/academy narrative that’s vaguely reminiscent of Top Gun or G.I. Jane or any of the myriad other movies about tough folks getting even tougher.

The film stars newcomer Taron Egerton as a chav-y street kid named Eggsy, raised by a single mum and her string of lousy boyfriends, now messing around and doing petty crime in his scrubby corner of London. Eggsy is smart and physically capable—a former gymnast and Royal Marines drop-out—but he’s resigned to his lot in life as a parkouring ruffian, ears studded and polo buttoned all the way up. That is until he meets Harry Hart ( Colin Firth ), who tells Eggsy that his late father was one of the Kingsmen, a noble secret order of international spies devoted to protecting crown and country, and the rest of the world. Though the Kingsmen are usually of high birth, Harry, known as Galahad in this Arthurian-themed murderers club, wants to give Eggsy a shot. Attracted to the snappy suits and exploding gadgets, Eggsy says f--k yeah.

Meanwhile, an evil scheme is being enacted by Jackson’s villain, Valentine, a tech zillionaire who dresses like Spike Lee (or is it Russell Simmons?) but talks like the worst Silicon Valley libertarian imaginable. While Eggsy trains, Valentine goes about his wicked business, it only being a matter of time before they have their big showdown. Before the movie gets to that madcap climax, it takes us on a rollicking tour of Vaughn’s wacky, warped mind, eye-popping action mixing with bent humor. Firth upends our notions of his Firthiness by kicking a lot of ass, while Egerton swaggers around with an abundance of charm. Those of you who harbor a dark affection for that particular kind of British swagger, all Cockney and track-jacketed, will find much to enjoy in the dangerously cute Egerton.

And then there’s all that violence, which Vaughn stages with wicked humor; it’s the kind of stuff that elicits a half-guffaw, half-gasp of surprise. There are bloodier, more violent movies out there, for sure, but not so many that marry that carnage with Kingsman ’s sprightly tone and bright color palette. One grand, murderous melee in particular skirts the edge of indecency, and maybe tips over the line depending on your taste, but riding that edge is what makes the film so much fizzy fun. When there’s a beautiful henchwoman who uses her metal prosthetic legs like swords flipping around and chopping people up, how can you not enjoy it?

That character, the assassin with a gimmick, is one of the film’s many nods to the James Bond movies, more a winking doff of the cap than outright satire. This movie, some marketing execs are likely arguing, is a new kind of Bond tale, one for the Twitter generation, fast and referential and busy, busy, busy. I don’t know if Kingsman , which is based on a comic book series, has quite the same iconic appeal, but it is a cheeky and wholly entertaining tweak on the genre. Really, it’s a bloody delight.

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Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

29 Jan 2015

NaN minutes

Kingsman: The Secret Service

It’s hard to argue with a billion bucks at the box office, of course, but at the same time it’s hard not to feel that the Bournification of the James Bond franchise may have robbed 007 of his sense of fun. These days, the upper lip is so stiff that it’s impossible for the old man to raise his eyebrow.

Which is where Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service comes in. It’s got ingenious gadgets, suave heroes with the ability to identify a rare brand of Scotch from smell alone, megalomaniacal villains and deadly henchwomen with blades where their legs used to be. It’s filthy, funny and very violent - and frankly it’s the most fun 007 has been in years.

But of course, it’s not Bond at all. It’s Vaughn’s tribute to spy movies, in much the same impish way that his Kick-Ass was a rocket-fuelled, foul-mouthed tip of the hat to superhero flick. As such it wears its influences on its immaculately tailored sleeve. So Colin Firth’s super-spy Harry Hart wears Harry Palmer specs, brandishes a John Steed umbrella, and has more than a touch of Solo (Napoleon, not Han) about him. But it’s Bond’s shadow that looms largest over the movie, with Ian Fleming’s creation regularly name-checked in an oh-so-post-modern way.

“Vaughn, though, is something of a cultural magpie, and the film doffs its trilby to other inspirations, from Trading Places and My Fair Lady to Men In Black, as Harry takes Eggsy under his wing and teaches him to become a gentleman and a killer. Full Metal Smoking Jacket, if you will.

When the mentor/mentee duo are together, in slyly-written takes on Bond staples like the Q scene, their chemistry fairly crackles. Firth, in particular, is clearly having the time of his life with the deadpan-but-warm Harry, while newcomer Taron Egerton, bringing charm to Eggsy’s rough edges, is clearly the latest off the Vaughn conveyor belt of new talent that has disgorged the likes of Chloe Grace Moretz and Sienna Miller.

However, the film strains to keep them apart - Harry during his investigation of Samuel L. Jackson’s lisping villain, and Eggsy in a fairly rote training section. In fact, apart from a few F-bombs and an early scene where Harry teaches a pub full of hooligans some manners, the first hour is all a little conventional, even a little tame. Where, you might ask, is the Vaughn who unleashed Hit-Girl upon an unsuspecting public?

And then he shows up, firstly with a sustained, supercharged melee - scored, memorably, to the wailing guitar solo of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird - in which Firth shoots, stabs, impales, strangles, explodes and immolates a whole bunch of people in a way that would make Bridget Jones soil her massive pants. Exhilarating, morally dubious and exhausting, it pitches the film headfirst into its utterly demented third act. Here, the 007 is cranked all the way up to 0011, including an outrageous and, potentially for some, offensive riff on the coy double entendres of that series’ codas (“he’s attempting re-entry, sir”). It all culminates in an audacious and gloriously OTT visual conceit that you simply won’t have seen before in a mainstream movie. And how often can you say that? Talk about keeping the British end up.

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DVD & Streaming

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Action/Adventure , Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

February 13, 2015
Taron Egerton as Eggsy; Colin Firth as Galahad; Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine; Mark Strong as Merlin; Sophie Cookson as Roxy; Sofia Boutella as Gazelle; Jack Davenport as Lancelot; Michael Caine as Arthur; Mark Hamill as Prof. James Arnold; Geoff Bell as Dean

Home Release Date

June 9, 2015
Matthew Vaughn

Distributor

20th Century Fox

Movie Review

Not every tailor risks life and various limbs every time he hoists a thimble. But, then again, not every tailor works for a nifty little shop in London branded Kingsman.

Kingsman, is not, actually, much of a clothier at all—though its storefront certainly looks like one. Rather, its namesake, the Kingsmen, is super-secret spy agency, wherein “dressed to kill” takes on a whole new meaning.

The suits? Bullet proof, of course. The shoes? They hide a hidden blade coated with a deadly neurotoxin. The umbrella? A shield and a shotgun. The accessorized cigarette lighter? A hand grenade. Sure, that sort of attire would scare the living daylights out of many a man. But for years, Harry Hart—code name Galahad��has worn his Kingsman cloth with unflappable aplomb, spoiling nefarious plots, saving world leaders and essentially making the world a safer, better-groomed place.

But, alas, the secret agency lost one of its members recently—sad proof that secret agents don’t actually live twice—and Harry is on the lookout for a new recruit. He thinks he’s found one in Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, but there’s worry that Eggsy isn’t Kingsmen material. He’s not cut from the same cloth as an Oxford or Cambridge man, you see. Most of his education was more vocational—learning how to survive London’s meanest streets. His home life’s a mess, stocked with a loving-but-rudderless mother and her openly abusive boyfriend, Dean (along with whichever hooligans Dean’s drinking with these days). Oh, and Eggsy’s in jail, too, for stealing a car and purposely crashing into a police cruiser. Yes, perhaps not the ideal person to carry around an explosive lighter.

But Harry knew Eggsy’s father—a former Kingsman who saved Harry’s life. So Harry gets Eggsy out of prison and shows him just what being a Kingsman is all about.

Not that the Kingsmen will just hand the guy a bulletproof suit and welcome him in. No, Eggsy will have to survive what’s described as the world’s most dangerous job interview to earn the spot over a slew of wealthy, crisp-talking, golden-eyed silver spooners. And that won’t be eggsactly easy.

Positive Elements

When Harry and Eggsy first meet, the younger man gets no slack from the established agent. “I think your father would be bitterly disappointed in the choices you made,” Harry tells the aimless man-boy. But Harry believes the Kingsmen can turn Eggsy’s life around and fill it with purpose. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man,” Harry says, quoting Ernest Hemingway. “True nobility is being superior to your former self.”

Eggsy already has many good qualities, it turns out. He loves his mother dearly, and he’s given up many opportunities to improve his own life so he can stick close to her and protect her. He’s deeply loyal, too—a trait that may be misguided when he refuses to snitch on his bad-egg friends, but a perfect match for an agency where secrecy is paramount.

And as his training goes on, more of his honorable qualities come to light. When the recruits’ dorm room fills with water, and everyone else scramble to save just themselves, Eggsy’s the only one who figures out how to save them all. When he and six recruits jump out of a plane—and are then told that between them they have only five parachutes—Eggsy formulates a plan wherein everyone survives, and he nearly dies himself to ensure his fellows’ safety. Indeed, the guy shows a willingness to sacrifice almost everything for the greater good the Kingsmen serve.

Everything except his dog, I should say. [ Spoiler Warning ] Eggsy is ordered to shoot the pooch as proof he’ll follow even the hardest of orders. He refuses. But I should note that it’s later revealed that the bullets were blanks. The parachute thing? A ruse, too. The Kingsmen, we’re finally informed, never risk or sacrifice a life needlessly—only to save another. The Kingsmen are patterned after the knights of old, they say, and a certain code of chivalry and behavior is part of the gig. So is discretion. For all the many times the Kingsmen have saved the world, never have they gotten a word of credit for it—which is as they say it should be.

Spiritual Elements

Valentine, the movie’s prime villain, decides to test his (what else?) doomsday device on a bigot-filled church (modeled, presumably, on the late Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church). We hear the pastor unleash a hate-filled sermon directed at gays, Jews, blacks, Catholics and others. (The pastor also decries divorce and abortion.) When a spying Harry tries to leave the service, someone tries to stop him. He tweaks the congregants by saying he’s a “Catholic whore” who needs to visit his “black, Jewish boyfriend.”

Valentine, when his destructive plan is about to come to fruition, tries to win people over to his side, reminding them that in Genesis, Noah and God are both heroes even though most of the world gets destroyed.

Sexual Content

Eggsy asks an imprisoned woman for a kiss. She counters by saying that if he saves the world, she’ll let him have (anal) sex with her. When he later returns to collect payment, she smiles and turns over so he (and we) can see her bare backside. (Then the door closes.)

Dean kisses and cuddles with Eggsy’s mother, then insinuates that he and a friend are going to have a threesome with her. References are made to homosexuality, and Eggsy makes a pair of obscene gestures suggesting masturbation. Recruits—both men and women—are asked to seduce a young heiress. (None are, by design, successful.) Women wear bikinis.

Violent Content

Life in Kingsman is sometimes disturbingly disposable, while death is played for laughs.

The most horrific scene takes place in a church: Congregants are artificially forced into a state wherein their aggressive receptors are amped way up and any inhibitors are turned off, leading to a bloodbath with a hundred or more fatalities. People are shot (sometimes point-blank in the head), stabbed (in the arms, legs, chest, head and eyes), skewered and crushed. Blood flies. Mangled bodies smash into walls. And the aftermath is just as disturbing.

Valentine later triggers the same actions on a global scale. People beat and strangle one another in cities around the world. In London, we see a double-decker bus (from some distance away) skid into teeming masses of people.

Valentine has planted a device in his supporters’ heads that, if triggered, will cause their noggins to explode in a puff of fire, ash and colorful goo. When one man’s implant is triggered, the blast coats his assailant with ash. When hundreds are triggered—including one in the head of President Obama—the result is intended to look, to moviegoers, like choreographed fireworks (complete with musical accompaniment). We then see the headless corpses.

Kingsmen get into several fights with various henchmen, leading to death or injury in a long litany of ways. Beer glasses smash against heads. Bodies are stabbed and sliced. Someone is skewered straight through the chest. One man has his kneecaps shot. Another is cut clean in two—vertically. (And we later see a postmortem photo of his body stitched back together, his halved face frozen in an expression of surprise.) A recruit is seen lifeless on a soggy floor. Someone falls on an explosive device, sacrificing himself for others. Folks die from poison. A mother tries to cut her way through a door to kill her child.

Crude or Profane Language

More than 100 f-words and 30 s-words. A wide variety of crudities dodge in and out of that volley, including “a–,” “b–ch,” “h—,” “pr–k,” “b-llocks,” “ballsy” “bloody.” God’s name is misused a handful of times, twice with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is abused once. The n-word is spit out once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Kingsmen are whiskey snobs. Whenever a Kingsman dies, survivors gather to raise a toast of the expensive spirit in his honor. And when a Kingsman battles a legion of thugs, he takes care not to spill the vintage whiskey they’ve trotted out for a hostage. (It’s later sipped by someone else.) People also drink wine, beer, champagne and mixed drinks, and Eggsy references James Bond’s affection for martinis when he orders one. Recruits are served drugged champagne. Ancillary characters smoke cigarettes.

Other Negative Elements

Valentine can’t stomach up-close gore—confessing that if he sees any blood, he’ll projectile vomit. We later see that he’s telling the truth. Recruits mock Eggsy because of his underprivileged background.

“Manners maketh man.”

So Harry tells Eggsy right before whupping a pub-load of hooligans while barely mussing his hair. It’s this line—the idea that manners matter, even in this crazy violent world, that what we say and do counts—that coaxes me toward the core ethos of Kingsman: The Secret Service . There is a certain chivalric undercurrent to this film that resonates, one that embraces the ludicrous idea of a “gentleman spy” and makes it as attractive and cool as when Sean Connery was twirling his Walther PPK.

Moreover, strip away all the f-words and flying blades and exploding heads, and you have a story of self-improvement and redemption—how one man took another under his wing and showed him that he could make a difference for the better.

But, of course, you cannot simply ignore those exploding heads. Which means this 21st-century homage to 20th-century 007 is actually an incredibly, abysmally unmannerly movie.

If what we say and do matters—and it does—what are we to make of the more than 100 f-words spoken here? If the Kingsmen exalt human life as they say, would they attempt to justify a movie that treats its loss like a slick, slippery joke? Even Valentine has enough humanity about him to turn away in revulsion at the death he causes. But the movie asks us to watch and enjoy.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Subversive blockbuster bliss.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

A couple of years ago we all celebrated James Bond’s 75th anniversary with Skyfall , a delightful romp through the iconic superspy’s long history with one foot in winking homage to the past and one foot in the gritty post-Nolan blockbuster future. It was a great Bond flick and an even better moment in the nerdy realms of Bond history. And yet, on a certain level, Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service is an even more satisfying forward-thinking homage to everyone’s favorite MI6 misogynist. For one thing, all of that dour Jason Bourne-ification of the Bond mythology is gone. The name and the martini might not make an appearance, but this love letter embraces all of the goofiest aspects of the series while lovingly pissing all over it. As a work of naughty and knowing R-rated spy fun, this is about as good as glossy Hollywood entertainment gets.

The titular Kingsman are a super-secret organization of super-dapper British spies. You know the type: their suits are immaculate, their Oxford educated vocabulary exquisite, and their skills with dispatching a baddie or bedding a lady are unparalleled. Of course, such an organization would have no purpose without a supervillain and a dastardly plot to foil. So we get that too in a lisping Sam Jackson playing a dot com billionaire psycho with a bizarre world domination plot and a colorful henchwoman (sporting running blades that give new meaning to the term). Of course, the nature of that plot must be kept secret until the third act. So while the dependably dapper Colin Firth slowly works out the details for his superior Michael Caine (obviously, especially given Sean Connery’s retirement), we’re also introduced to a new recruit. With a Kingsman freshly killed in the early going, there’s an opening for a new agent and Firth picks up the lower class lad’s lad Eggy (newcomer Taron Egerton) to fill the role. Along with a handful of competitors, Eggy dives headfirst into death-defying training. Eventually all roads lead to a hidden evil layer with uniformed henchman, though thankfully director Matthew Vaughn ensures that audiences get exactly what they want through ways they wouldn’t necessarily expect.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) Review 6

Vaughn (along with writer partner Jane Goldman and comics guru Mark Millar ) have been down this sardonically sincere road before. It’s impossible not to think of their last three-headed collaboration Kick Ass as all the madness unfolds. That’s not to say that the gang are repeating themselves by any means, just that they’ve found a way to bring a striking aesthetic to a genre that needs a kick in the pants even more than superhero shenanigans. As sincere as Vaughn and co. are in their unapologetic love for secret agent globe-trotting and gallivanting, they are also acutely aware that it’s old timey entertainment in need of an upgrade. So they mock the well-worn conventions of the form while conforming to them and the sick comedy tone employed is perfect for it. In particular, Vaughn has a knack for crafting nasty cartoon action sequences that truly shines here. In one viciously thrilling scene, he has Firth brutally murder more people in a church than anyone would have assumed the Pride And Prejudice star would tally up over his entire career. Then in the climax, Vaughn turns the sight of exploding heads into a twistedly funny fireworks display. There’s an edge to the film’s approach to ticket-shilling action, walking a fine line between gentle subversion and goofy crowd-pleasing that’s not easy to achieve. For anyone with a sick sense of humor and a sweet tooth for mainstream entertainment, the magical mix of Kick Ass has been revived. It also doesn’t hurt that there’s one hell of a cast bringing it all to life from stalwarts like Caine and Jackson perverting their iconic images, Taron Egerton bursting onto center stage with style, Mark Strong doing his chameleon thing, Mark Hamill doing his in-joke cameo thing, and above all else Firth inverting his image in ways that just might expand his career if he feels so inclined. For genre nuts and graphic novel nerds (the film stays close to Millar’s original book while also redefining itself as something new), Kingsman is a dirty delight to cherish. However, it would be a lie to claim that everything plays out perfectly. The hodgepodge of satire, parody, homage, light social commentary, and dense spy plotting leads to lumpy structure as often as an unpredictably wild ride. The filth-friendly humor quite often dips too far into bad taste. And all of the nerdy winking keeps audience investment too distanced for much genuine emotion or empathy. Ultimately, it’s all one big party trick at James Bond’s expense made by a filmmaker indulging in the fact that he strung together enough hints to get Hollywood to finance his wildest flights of fancy with little concern for conventional entertainment. However, if that sounds like an in-crowd party that you want to join, I can’t recommend seeking out this sardonic spy silliness enough. It’s easy to complain about the over saturation of brainless, boring, blockbuster fluff, but every so often a big middle finger to tasteful entertainment like Kingsman sneaks through the cracks to remind us all why that industry is worth keeping around.

Final Thoughts

Phil Brown is a film critic, comedy writer, and filmmaker who can be found haunting theaters and video stores throughout Toronto.

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Kingsman: The Secret Service review

Colin firth kicks ass in <em>kingsman: the secret service</em>.

“If you’re prepared to learn and advance, you can transform.”

The gallant secret agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) offers this advice early on in Kingsman: The Secret Service , during a conversation with Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), a London street-tough in desperate need of some new circumstances. Eggsy comes from a household with an abusive step-father, an unlucky mother, and an even less fortunate infant sister. He’s the de facto man of the house, even if he spends his time causing problems in bars, stealing cars, and spending nights in the slammer.

But now, Eggsy has an opportunity. For the first time in his entire life, someone has taken a true, invested interest in him. What Eggsy doesn’t realize, at least not at first, is the vast scope of the world he’s being invited to participate in: an underground network of spies and secret agents known as the Kingsmen. The top-secret organization consists of a murderer’s row of James Bond analogues, each of them named after a knight of Arthurian legend. Eggsy’s been selected as possible candidate to replace Lancelot, recently killed in action. But volunteering to become a Kingsman is one thing; actually being a Kingsman is another.

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Directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, and based on a comic book written by Mark Millar , Kingsman is a Kick-Ass reunion, lending a distinctly vulgar vibe to a film that otherwise presents itself as a spy genre classic. Its cast consists of Oscar winners like Firth and Michael Caine, an aesthetic and tone that all but screams 007, and a convoluted villain plot that would make Doctor Evil blush.

Don’t be fooled, however: Kingsman looks like a James Bond movie, but “this ain’t that kind of movie,” as noted several times throughout the two-hour run-time. You wouldn’t see Daniel Craig murdering an entire church filled with racist hillbillies in a Bond movie, for one thing, or breaking bread with the bad guy over a simple meal of Big Macs and fries. But that’s Kingsman . It’s a classic spy movie when it wants to be, and when it doesn’t, it’s got an energy that’s uniquely Vaughn-Goldman-Millar; a proven triumvirate of frenetic fun.

Just as Kick-Ass kicked things up a notch by bringing Nicolas Cage in as a Batman type, Kingsman achieves a casting coup of its own with The King’s Speech Oscar winner Firth as Harry, the Galahad of the Kingsmen. He’s the perfect British gentleman, complete with keen fashion sense and an appreciation of the finer things in life, like a good pint of Guinness. But Firth breaks far away from anything he’s ever done here, participating in some of the most creatively staged and imagined action sequences this side of Big Daddy’s warehouse raid, spouting out vulgarities when the occasion calls for it. It’s an unexpected and awesome new side of the 54-year-old actor, who finally gets to embrace his inner-Bond.

If Firth’s Harry is the Big Daddy of Kingsman, then relative newcomer Egerton is the Hit-Girl. No, he’s not a girl, and he’s not wearing a purple wig, but he’s a closer cousin to Mindy Macready than Dave Lizewski every day of the week. He comes from out of nowhere and excels under the tutelage of someone much wiser and more experienced in the art of killing-all-the-bad-guys-with-umbrella-guns. It’s a great breakout performance for Egerton, who more than holds his own in scenes opposite Firth. Their father-son dynamic is at the heart of the film, as Eggsy seeks to fill the void left by his long-dead father, and Harry tries to atone for his part in Eggsy’s father’s death.

Kingsman kicks ass, and a whole lot of it.

No true Bond film is complete without a great villain, and Samuel L. Jackson fills out that role for Kingsman . He plays Richmond Valentine, a technological innovator and Hollywood media mogul by day, and an evil environmentalist by night. Think Steve Jobs meets Spike Lee meets Ernest Blofeld, with an added lisp as a twist. He’s got big plans for how to stop the world’s global warming and population problems, and it’s at the expense of… well, the population. Jackson’s having a blast with the character, and there’s a lot to play with, what with his extreme aversion to violence (“Blood makes me puke,” he tells one would-be victim), and that ridiculous lisp, which turns all of the booming bravado you expect from Jackson a whole lot sillier.

The supporting cast is killer, too, with Mark Strong breaking away from his typical bad-guy mold as the Merlin of the Kingsmen — more or less 007’s Q. Michael Caine is perfectly Michael Caine as Arthur, the M of the agency. On the villain side of the aisle, Sofia Boutella plays Gazelle, Valentine’s henchwoman who cuts down everyone in her path with the aid of two very lethal artificial limbs.

With a strong cast in place and a tried-and-true threesome of creatives behind the camera, Kingsman kicks ass, and a whole lot of it; nothing more, nothing less. Mr. Bond might take issue with some details, but then again, this ain’t that kind of movie.

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Without an agreed-upon version of what happened on the night Kathleen either tragically died or was brutally killed, The Staircase attempts to tell the twisty true story of the criminal investigation that her death inspired. The show, which is based on Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s 2004 documentary series of the same name, meticulously dramatizes the scandalous trial that played out after Kathleen’s death, as well as the ways in which it fractured the relationships between her loved ones.

If there's one thing Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore makes abundantly clear, it's this: The Wizarding World is a confusing place.

We've now had eight films of adventures with Harry Potter and his pals, two films in the Fantastic Beasts prequel series, and now a third, director David Yates's Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. That's a lot of mythology and world-building covered, but even after the 11th installment of the franchise, creator J.K. Rowling's universe can be as perplexing for outsiders within that world as it is for the audience.

The HBO Max series Tokyo Vice is a project that has been in the works for nearly a decade, initially announced as a film featuring Harry Potter franchise star Daniel Radcliffe, then later repositioned as a television series with Heat director Michael Mann attached and Baby Driver actor Ansel Elgort in the lead role. It finally arrives on April 7 after several years of on-and-off production due to the pandemic and the complicated logistics of international filming.

While such long development and production periods can often be a sign of trouble, anyone who's been looking forward to the series can rest easy: The first five episodes suggest that the extra time involved in bringing it to the screen was well spent.

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Movie Review – Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

January 23, 2015 by Luke Owen

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Directed by Matthew Vaughn Starring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson, Michael Caine, Mark Hamill, Tom Prior and Jack Davenport

SYNOPSIS: A veteran secret agent takes a young upstart under his wing.

Marking the second time Matthew Vaughn has directed a comic book created by Mark Millar, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a ridiculously fun movie with a wonderful sense of comic violence and a sweet heart. It’s a film that never takes itself too seriously, but treats its subject matter with respect to ensure the best cinematic experience. It may have some flaws, but there is so much to love about Kingsman: The Secret Service that they can be overlooked. Or shot at.

Matthew Vaughn left X-Men: Days of Future Past to direct Kingsman: The Secret Service based on a script he wrote with writing partner Jane Goldman for fear that the “fun spy movie” genre could take off. And he was right to do so. We’ve just had the trailer drop for the Melissa McCarthy comedy Spy and there is a revival of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on the way, so Vaughn certainly made this movie at the right time (even if it has been delayed by a year). Leaving X-Men: Days of Future Past could not have been easy for Vaughn, given the ground work he’d created with X-Men: First Class , but he clearly has a love for this project – and that is evident from the moment the movie starts. No one else could have made this movie. Even if someone had taken the framework of Vaughn’s Kick-Ass and tried to emulate his style, it never would have been this good.

The film will struggle however, in the UK at least, with overcoming the “chav” lead character. Similar to Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block , there is such a vehement hatred of “chav culture” in this country that some audience members will struggle to get behind Eggsy as a hero. Frustratingly, this one of the movie’s main themes: the old-timer English gentleman of decades past making way for a new generation of that may not necessarily agree with their “toff” principles. It’s a well-timed theme given Britain’s current state where those who feel under-appreciated in society are rebelling against those with money and power (and therefore stature), because those ideals are now played out.

And, as with Attack the Block , it’s a real shame that many won’t give the character a second glance. Because Vaughn and Goldman’s script (as well as Millar’s original work) creates a really likeable ‘James Bond for a new era’ in Eggsy as he goes from this tear-away ruffian to sharp dressed super spy with an incredibly charismatic charm. And in an age where James Bond has fallen victim to the “gritty and grounded” mentality of filmmaking, Kingsman: The Secret Service feels like a breath of fresh air. Assassins with swords for prosthetic blades, villains who operate out of hollowed-out mountains, secret spy organisations that are hidden in the back walls of a tailor’s shop – Kingsman: The Secret Service is Roger Moore Bond at its finest, and it revels in the mad and insane world it has created.

Not only that, but the film also boasts an incredible cast. Big names like Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine and Mark Hamill join newcomers in Taron Egerton, Sophie Cookson and Sofia Boutella, which really hammers home the “old giving way to the new” mentality of the movie. There isn’t much to say about Caine and Hamill sadly, who are in the movie for a cup of coffee (although Hamill is enjoyably campy) and there is a strong case to be made that Jackson’s hammy villain is a little over-played, but this is easily one of the best turns by Colin Firth in quite some time. As an actor, Firth had pigeon-holed himself as a go-to talent for the gentle British dramatic performance, so it’s exciting to see him in a role that demands some more comedic edges, as well as kick-arse action. Mark Strong is equally as brilliant, as are Cookson and Boutella (the latter of which performs some of the best action in the movie) but Kingsman: The Secret Service is stolen by Taron Egerton. For such a young and fresh actor, he shines beautifully. Whether he’s on screen against Firth, Caine, Jackson or Strong, he never looks out of place, he never looks uncomfortable and he certainly doesn’t look inexperienced. He looks like he belongs. If anything, it looks like he’s been doing this for decades and he never once gets overshadowed by the bigger stars on screen.

“Fun” is clearly the motif of this movie, which is shown in the brilliantly choreographed action scenes and comedic violence. Imagine Hit Girl’s rampage in Kick Ass , but stretched out longer with triple the amount of people and you start to get an idea of what to expect. Vaughn hasn’t missed a beat from his time on Kick Ass and the movie has seemingly taken some inspiration from Edgar Wright’s The World’s End with its style – constant camera movement, but never losing track of the action like you would in a typical Michael Bay outing. Couple that with a Guardians of the Galaxy -esque soundtrack and you have the recipe for action sequences that will have you beaming with smiles from ear to ear long after the credits have finished rolling.

Kingsman: The Secret Service isn’t without its flaws however, most notably in its pacing. The film doesn’t exactly drag its feet, but it’s not as quick-footed in the middle act as it should be. Because of this, the final third swings around rather quickly and Eggsy goes from training, to highly-skilled super spy in the blink of an eye. It’s not enough to ruin what is undoubtedly one of the most-fun and entertaining final acts seen in some time, but the issue is still there. The film, sadly, also features a rather poor showing for its female characters, particularly Roxy who gets shafted from all the fun of the action to play a supportive voice on the other end of a phone. Granted this is again a theme set up by the movie, but it would have been nice to see her side-by-side with Eggsy rather than a hundred miles away surrounded by safety. As mentioned, Boutella is a fierce female villain and is wickedly awesome, but there could have been more.

With that said, there is no denying that Kingsman: The Secret Service isn’t a brilliant movie. Insanely fun from the word “go”, Kingsman: The Secret Service may very well end up as one of the best action and comic book movies of the year and could easily run with the big dogs over at Marvel and DC. If you prefer your Bond to be more Roger than Daniel, you’ll have an absolute blast with Kingsman: The Secret Service . There aren’t enough films like it, but at least we have this one.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.

Check out our interviews with director Matthew Vaughn and comic book writer Mark Millar below:

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Kingsman: The Secret Service – Movie Review

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a comedy-thriller spy movie released in 2015. It was directed by Matthew Vaughn, and stars Colin Firth as Harry Hart and Taron Egerton as Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin.

Kingsman: Title

The title uses a classic title archetype, the Goal. Eggsy’s goal being to become a Kingsman.

(For more on titles, see How to Choose a Title For Your Novel )

Kingsman: Logline

When a billionaire businessman plots to ‘cull’ humanity, a trainee in a secretive, independent intelligence agency has a chance to prove himself a better agent than the more privileged candidates.

(For more on loglines, see The Killogator Logline Formula )

Kingsman: Plot Summary

Warning: My reviews include spoilers. Major spoilers are blacked out like this [blackout]secret[/blackout]. To view them, just select/highlight them.

It’s 1997. A British agent, Harry Hart, takes part in an assault on a terrorist base. The leader of the terrorists commits suicide with a grenade, killing a trainee agent, to Hart’s dismay. Returning to London, he leaves a medal with the dead man’s wife and young son, telling them to call the number on the medal if they are ever in trouble.

Now it’s 2014. In London, the dead trainee agent’s son is now twenty and known by the nickname Eggsy. He’s in trouble with the police for joyriding, calls the number on the back of the medal. Hart releases him from the police and introduces himself. T

They go for a drink at a local pub, where Hart tells Eggsy about the group his father was training for, the ‘Kingsmen’, an independent intelligence agency dedicated to preserving peace in the world. Hart does not impress Eggsy until he fights a group of local thugs and easily beats them. Later, the leader of the thugs threatens Eggsy and Hart intervenes again, telling Eggsy to go to a tailor’s shop on Saville Row. At the shop Hart tells Eggsy that the Kingsmen have a vacancy and he is putting him forward for selection.

At the Kingsmen’s country estate, Eggsy meets a group of candidates, who are all seemingly upper class and hostile. Only a young woman named Roxy is at all supportive. On the first night, the dormitory fills with water and one candidate drowns.

Meanwhile, someone has kidnapped a climate scientist and another British agent attempts to rescue him, only to be killed by Gazelle, an assassin with lethally sharp prosthetic blades. The billionaire businessman behind his kidnapping, Richmond Valentine then gives the scientist a proposition.

Hart goes to talk to the climate scientist, but a chip implanted in the scientist’s head explodes, killing him and injuring Hart.

Eggsy and Roxy go through Kingsman training. Candidates fail one by one until they are the only two left. Eventually they select Roxy as the new agent and Eggsy leaves in a rage.

Valentine announces a worldwide offer of free phone calls and internet access. Hart poses as a billionaire with money to invest in Valentine’s plans and goes for dinner at his mansion. While there, Hart spots the name of a Kentucky church. Valentine suspects Hart and reveals little else.

Hart goes to the Kentucky church. There, Valentine sends a signal to the mobile phones that drives all the worshipers into a killing frenzy…

Saving the World

Hart [blackout]emerges having killed the entire congregation. Valentine then shoots Hart.[/blackout]

Valentine’s next step [blackout]is to broadcast the rage inducing signal via satellite to mobile phones across the globe, causing the virtual extinction of humanity. Only the world’s elite, who are in on the plan, will survive, as Valentine has implanted them with a chip that blocks the signal.[/blackout]

Eggsy goes to [blackout]the Kingsman shop. There, he realises that even Arthur, the head of the Kingsman organisation, has the chip. Arthur tries to kill Eggsy with poisoned brandy, but Eggsy switches the glasses.[/blackout]

With [blackout]the Kingsman organisation compromised, only Eggsy and Roxy remain trustworthy. Merlin, the head of the training division, takes Eggsy to Valentine’s arctic base, while Roxy flies in a high-altitude balloon and fires a missile at one of Valentine’s satellites, delaying the broadcast.[/blackout]

Eggsy [blackout]attacks Valentine’s base, but ends up trapped. Merlin detonates the implanted chips, killing everyone except Valentine and Gazelle. Eggsy fights Gazelle, eventually stabbing her with a poisoned blade in his shoe. He then kills Valentine, stopping the signal for good.[/blackout]

In a coda, [blackout]Eggsy, now transformed into a fully fledged Kingsman, returns to London and rescues his mother from her thug boyfriend.[/blackout]

(For more on summarising stories, see How to Write a Novel Synopsis )

Kingsman: Analysis

Kingsman has a ‘mission’ plot (see Spy Novel Plots ). In fact, it has two mission plots, one for Hart and one for Eggsy, that come together at the end.

The ‘Mission’ Plot The Protagonist: Is given a mission to carry out by their Mentor. Will be opposed by the Antagonist as they try to complete the mission. Makes a plan to complete the mission. Trains and gathers resources for the Mission. Involves one or more Allies in their Mission (Optionally, there is a romance subplot with one of the Allies). Attempts to carry out the Mission, dealing with further Allies and Enemies as they encounter them. Is betrayed by an Ally or the Mentor (optionally). Narrowly avoids capture by the Antagonist (or is captured and escapes) Has a final confrontation with the Antagonist and completes (or fails to complete) the Mission.

To me Kingsman is a ‘Young Adult’ movie. It’s not Spy Kids – it’s too violent (though the violence is almost all comic book style) and expletive-filled (over a hundred uses of the F-word) for children.

But, with a very young-looking lead (Taron Egerton is apparently twenty-six, but he looks about eighteen), a not-to-be-taken-too-seriously plot by the bad guys, many scenes played entirely for puerile laughs, and several breaks of the fourth wall and winks to the audience, to me Kingsman did not seem aimed at adults.

Kingsman is very, very similar to the CHERUB series of children’s novels. In fact, the plot is basically an amped-up version of CHERUB: The Recruit . However, it’s actually based on a comic called The Secret Service by Marc Millar, who presumably was heavily influenced by Robert Muchamore’s stories.

The villain, his henchwoman, their world-ending plot and the set design of the enemy lair in the finale are all very ’70s Bond movie’. The Hart character though, played by Colin Firth, is reminiscent of Steed in The Avengers TV series, more than James Bond.

There are lots of impressive scenes in Kingsman . The opening, for example, is gripping. The first fight scene between Hart and the local thugs, effective. The set-piece underwater, parachute training, and interrogation scenes tense. The confrontation over dinner between Hart and Valentine could have been electric, but the crass product placement for MacDonalds fatally undermined it.

Overall, the movie seems unsure about what it wants to be – is it a gritty thriller as in the scenes with Eggsy’s domestic-abuse-victim mother, and the training sequences, or is it an Austin Powers type spoof, which is what the ending turns into?

To me the lurches into camp and comedy undercut the action and often just spoil it. For example, the scene near the end [blackout]where the bad guys’ heads blow up like fireworks to the sound of Land of Hope and Glory [/blackout] was just ridiculous.

And please, what was with the Swedish princess?

Kingsman: My Verdict

Self-referential comedy-thrillers aren’t really my style, but it’s an enjoyable watch.

Want to watch it?

Here’s the trailer:

The DVD is available on Amazon UK here .

The Sequel: Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Kingsman: The Golden Circle, released in September 2017, is the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service.

After the Kingsman organisation is all but destroyed by the notorious Golden Circle, the survivors contact their American counterparts, Statesman, for help. The Kingsmen must learn to work with the brash operatives of Statesman to have any chance of breaking the Golden Circle.

See Kingsman: The Golden Circle Movie Review for full plot synopsis and analysis.

Agree? Disagree?

If you’d like to discuss anything in my Kingsman review, please email me. Otherwise, please feel free to share it using the buttons below.

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Kingsman: The Secret Service review – boisterous sub-Bond fare

H aving done such sterling work on their jaw-dropping screen adaptation of Mark Millar ’s Kick-Ass comic strip, director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman enjoy more Millar-time with this typically boisterous hoodie-Bond fantasia. With nods to John Steed (the umbrella) and Harry Palmer (the glasses), this finds Taron Egerton’s “Eggsy” recruited by an elite super-spy unit of gentlemanly spooks who attempt to transform him from effing estate kid to Old Etonian killer in My Fair Lady fashion. Meanwhile, Samuel L Jackson’s lisping Dr Evil prepares for global domination via the distribution of mobile phones through which he intends to zombify an all-too-eager population.

Independently funded, like Kick-Ass , and thus sidestepping studio squeamishness, Kingsman boasts an already infamous church-house meltdown in which Colin Firth goes mano a mano with an entire congregation. Elsewhere, comically bisected bodies and ruthless shoot-the-dog displays are the order of the day, as Egerton transforms from layabout to slayabout. For the most part it’s brash, boisterous fare, cocking unsubtle snooks at its generic predecessors, not least in a poster image that subverts the leggy chauvinism of For Your Eyes Only with a killer close-up of razor-sharp running blades. A shame, then, that the film should succumb to leering laddish humour, closing on an unforgivable bum note.

Kingsman: The Secret Service
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Here’s How ‘Argylle’ Connects to the Kingsman Series

'Argylle’s post-credit scene hints at the possibility of a crossover with the Kingsman franchise.

The Big Picture

Matthew Vaughn's latest film, Argylle , includes a post-credit scene hinting at a crossover with the Kingsman franchise.
Vaughn is preparing to shoot a third Kingsman sequel, potentially containing connections to Argylle .
Despite box office disappointment, Vaughn's shared spy universe plans may require him to refocus on smaller-scale projects.

While he was once a protégé of Guy Ritchie , Matthew Vaughn has become a highly successful Hollywood filmmaker whose ambitions seem to grow with each successive project. After his breakthrough feature Layer Cake introduced film fans to his unique sensibilities, Vaughn was able to bring iconic comic book characters to life with his work on X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass . Both films were successful, which led to Vaughn building his own cinematic universe set within the world of espionage. After Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar ’s controversial comic book series Kingsman: The Secret Service became a surprise hit in early 2015, the film was followed by the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle and the prequel The King’s Man .

Although the franchise may have begun to lose what made it great in the first place , the Kingsman films were successful enough for Vaughn to develop a new spy project that was completely original. Vaughn’s latest film Argylle features a lot of the same cheeky humor and stylized action that the Kingsman films did, but manages to slip in some subtle satire aimed at the world of literary fiction. It may not have earned as positive of a response as its predecessors, but Argylle ’s post-credit scene hints at the possibility of a crossover with the Kingsman franchise.

An introverted spy novelist is drawn into the activities of a sinister underground syndicate.

The ‘Argylle’ Post-Credit Scene Hints at a ‘Kingsman’ Crossover

Vaughn’s films are certainly not lacking in their mythology, as Argylle ’s marketing campaign hyped up the twists and turns that the story would take when revealing the identity of the titular secret agent. The film centers on the introverted novelist Elly Conway ( Bryce Dallas Howard ), who has gained international recognition thanks to her work creating the Argylle novel series. After she is saved by the secret agent Aidan Wilde ( Sam Rockwell ), Elly discovers that she was once a spy, and that the Argylle books are based on her experiences. Argylle suggests that works of literary fiction have a basis in real-world events .

Argylle ’s post-credit scene features an Easter egg to the Kingsman franchise. The sequence opens with a much younger version of Henry Cavill ’s Agent Argylle (played by Louis Partridge ) entering a bar called “The King’s Man,” which was prominently featured in the Kingsman films. The scene wraps with a teaser for Argylle: Book One - The Movie , an “in-universe” adaptation of Conway’s novels. Whether Vaughn intends to actually make an adaptation of Argylle: Book One is unclear, but the Easter egg does suggest that both franchises take place within Conway’s fictional continuity.

Vaughn owns the rights to both franchises and hinted that he could do whatever he wanted with the series “for good and bad.” Interestingly, he has indicated that there could be a third spy series in the works that is distinct from both Argylle and Kingman . Vaughn stated that “there's a space in the middle where I haven't played with yet,” and that developing sequels to both Argylle and Kingsman “could help me get into the middle ground.”

Do ‘Argylle’ and ‘Kingsman’ Exist in the Same Universe?

Although the post-credit scene hints at a shared “in-movie” continuity, another Easter egg in Argylle hints that the Kingsman films may be based in the same universe. During a sequence in which Aidan and Elly are trying to interpret her memories, a sticker with the “Statesman” logo can be seen in the background. Kingsman fans will recognize the name from Kingsman: The Golden Circle , which introduced the American “Statesman” agents Agent Whiskey ( Pedro Pascal ) , Ginger Ale ( Halle Berry ), Tequila ( Channing Tatum ), and Champ ( Jeff Bridges ). If the “Statesman” exist within the “reality” of Argylle , it's possible that the Kingsman do as well.

It’s possible that these questions could be answered soon, as Vaughn is preparing to start shooting a third Kingsman sequel soon. While details about the final entry in the trilogy are scarce, Vaughn has stated that it will focus on the relationship between Eggsy ( Taron Egerton ) and Harry ( Colin Firth ) as they face a new threat. It’s unclear if there will be any direct connections to Argylle , but given Vaughn’s track record, an Easter egg to his previous film seems like almost a certainty.

Watch Bryce Dallas Howard Crack Up in the 'Argylle' Blooper Reel [Exclusive]

What’s interesting about Argylle ’s post-credit scene is that it takes place many years before the events of the film, suggesting a closer connection with Vaughn’s prequel franchise. Despite disappointing box office returns, Vaughn is still moving forward with a sequel to The King’s Man that will focus on the rise of Adolf Hitler, which was teased in the first film’s post-credit scene. The timelines don’t line up so that a younger Argylle could be in the 1940s, but Vaughn may spend more time bridging the gap between his franchises with additional projects.

The Future of ‘Argylle’ Is Uncertain

As ambitious as Vaughn’s plans for a shared spy universe are, Argylle was a significant box office disappointment that failed to recoup its massive $200 million budget. Given that Apple distributed Argylle , there’s always the potential that more audiences will discover the film on streaming. However, studios may be more hesitant about greenlighting a sequel, as audiences' responses have not been particularly favorable either. The inclusion of Kingsman Easter eggs may have simply confused viewers who weren't caught up. While the Kingsman films are very violent and R-rated, Argylle is aimed at more general audiences with a PG-13 rating.

Since his work seems to have diminishing returns, Vaughn may be better suited returning to smaller-scale projects in the future. Argylle and the Kingsman sequels are so determined to bridge a connected mythology that the individual stories feel inconsequential; perhaps scaling back would allow Vaughn to focus on putting a self-contained narrative first and foremost.

Argylle is available on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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