By Owen Paiva – Staff Reporter

While many were too busy seeing “Fifty Shades of Grey” last January, some moviegoers saw a different trailer. “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was an action-packed spy adventure that many people wrote off as a cookie cutter spy movie. However, those who saw it were pleasantly surprised. What they got was a action-comedy that was up there with the great “Bonds” in hilarity. With Taron Egerton and Sophie Cookson in their first major roles, they did not fail to impress. Acting Legends Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson steal the show, and Jackson in particular is comedy gold as the maniacal villain Valentine with his plan to “save Earth.”

Taron Egerton plays “Eggsy,” a streetwise teen who excelled in school and Royal Marines training, but left it all because of his abusive step-dad. His dad’s necklace, which allows the person one favor from the Kingsman, gets him out of jail after a car theft. This introduces him to Colin Firth’s character Harry “Galahad” Hart. He picks Eggsy as his potential recruit for the open position of “Lancelot.” As Eggsy goes through his training, Hart uncovers Richmond Valentine, a programming mogul, has an evil plan, and disguises it to the normal masses. This comes after a string of prominent people disappear. After this training, a new Kingsman is picked, however they have little time to save the world after this.

This movie took inspiration from the older “Bond” movies, mainly the Roger Moore movie. That makes it an enjoyable treat, as it is not as serious as the more recent Bond movies, yet still has amazing action scenes. One scene in particular takes the action over the top into the best scene in the movie, all while accompanied by the song, Free Bird. The action is enjoyable, the comedy is executed well, and the plot may seem like just another Bond movie, but that is what makes it memorable.

The strongest part of this movie was the dialogue. Galahad and Valentine’s conversations were hysterical, yet still helped the plot. Eggsy and Galahad’s conversation were personal, very authentic, and the banter between the two helped provide humor to serious scenes.

The characters have great chemistry on screen especially Eggsy and Galahad. This is a very enjoyable master/student relationship, and Galahad is a father figure to Eggsy. The relationship felt so authentic. When compared to Obi-Wan and Anakin in the Star Wars prequels, which was a very forced chemistry, it shows how important on screen chemistry is for cinema. Also Valentine seems like he was ripped out of a Bond Movie. He is a tech mogul, who talks with a lisp and has a weak stomach to blood and violence. The setup alone makes you laugh every time the character is on screen.

The movie had a few weaknesses. They did not develop Eggsy and Roxy, a fellow recruit, too well personality wise. This is not too terrible as it is leaving this to the sequel, with it rumored to be based mainly on Eggsy. People also had negative opinions on the more adult themes, especially the last scene of the movie.

“Kingsman” was a thrilling adventure which the dials all turned up to 11 for the second half. It may have a 75% rating on IMDB or a 7.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is better than these ratings. It entertained throughout.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars