Kingsman: The Secret Service

Starring - Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth, Taron Egerton

Directed by- Matthew Vaughn

Rating -***1/2( 3.5 stars)

Kingsman: The Secret Service is that rare James Bond meets Kill Bill kind-of-a perfect movie. On one hand, Kingsman has the suaveness of a 007 and on the other it has the 'bloody' gore synonymous with Tarantino's cult film. Or to put it in Bollywood parlance, Kingsman is that perfect spy thriller Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and many other action stars have been miserably trying to make for over the years now. From amazing high tech never-before-seen killer weapons (including a umbrella stengun) to brilliantly choreographed hardcore violence (the spurting of blood from the dead resembles colourful Diwali fireworks at one instance), Kingsman gives you a guilt free pervasive pleasure not often associated with such violent movies. But what ultimately gives you the thrills, chills and shrills are the characters and their inherent quirkiness, most notably Samuel L Jackson (superlative) and Colin Firth (uber cool).

The story however is not much impressive to wax eloquent about. Kingsman is the name of a men's wear tailoring shop that moonlights as the headquarters of one of the world's most well dressed and lethally trained spy organisation, Kingsman: The Secret Service headed by old fox, Arthur (Michael Caine, brilliant).

His spies are heralded as modern day knights (taking off from the tale of the legendary King Arthur) and the best trained and bravest spy of the organisation named Lancelot (Sir Lancelot was the bravest Knight of King Arthur). Harry Hart (Colin Firth) code named Galahad is one of the knights whose life is saved by Lancelot (Jack Davenport) in the middle east while in the middle of apprehending a radical terrorist 17 years ago.

Lancelot ends up losing his life while an unharmed Harry lives with the massive guilt of being responsible for his friend's death. To seek redemption, he takes it upon himself to train and induct Lancelot's wayward son, Eggsy (Taron Egerton, very impressive) into Kingsman as a shining knight.

Far away, somewhere in an ice-caped mountain, a climate expert professor is kidnapped by unknown mercenaries. Enters one of Kingsman's knights and in true Bond style kills all and sundry to complete his daring mission of effecting the kidnapped professor's rescue. Unfortunately, before the brave knight could provide the finishing touch to his rescue mission, he get neatly slice from head to toe by the razor sharp prosthetic legs of double amputee, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). The dead bodies are masked right infront of the scared to death professor and on cue enters the psychopath billionaire tech genius tycoon who has devised a scheming albeit mental plan to save his chosen few humans from global warming. The mayhem begins from that point and a parallel track runs where Harry drafts Eggsy into his league of extraordinary gentleman who ultimately takes on the villain, Samuel L Jackson.

The movie scores high brownie points for its brilliant casting led by the redoubtable Samuel L Jackson. His googy frog eyes, unmistakable lisp, tendency to puke at the sight of blood and unmistakable swagger puts you in awe of this anti-hero. You are repulsed yet not repulsed by his antics. Colin Firth is his usual self as the serious yet stylish ruthless spy. Taron Egerton impresses as the young hero who holds his own amidst a bevy of legendary actors. The scene where he refuses to shoot his dog dead is worth a watch for the gamut of emotions displayed.

What deserves a big pat on the back is the amazing VFX laced effects. Be it the anxiety inducing sky-diving act or the sophisticated high-tech gadgets designed to thrill kids and adults alike, director Matthew Vaughn has spared no efforts in making it look uber cool. The deftly choreographed stunts are another great add-on.

The tad disappointing element is the story which seems a bit too farfetched and dragging especially the part where Valentine looks to destroy the world by triggering off a radiation that induces a violent aggressive streak turning humans against each other.

Nevertheless, for all those looking for an edge of the seat fantasy spy thriller, Kingsman is worth a watch. And don't blink a second after the climax ends. Because if you do, you will end up missing seeing Eggsy popping his cherry with a Royal!