Though we had high hopes for the potential of The Kingsman: The Secret Service, we’re left with no option but to give it a slighy mixed review as it just falls short of the polish and impact that it could have had with a little more time and budget. That’s not to say that there weren’t positives, or that this isn’t a DVD with replay value. It’s just not quite the future classic it could have been, despite the best efforts of director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class) and the big name cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Firth and Michael Caine.
Having been released on the big screen in the UK back in January 2015, followed in North America in February, it was a big hit at the box office, despite a combination of positive and mixed reviews from the press and media. It was subsequently released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on the 8th June 2015 in the UK (Blu-ray and digital download only in North America on the 9th June 2015) and while it’s worth a watch, it doesn’t quite blow you away as much as it looked like it would from the strength of the trailer below.
The plot makes for a solid enough platform to build on, doing a streetwise take on a spy film spoof. Set within a super-agent vs. super-villain landscape it tracks a kid called Eggsy who grew up on the mean streets of London who gets selected as part of a training-based trial to become one of the most secretive operatives in global security, the Kingsman Secret Service. Eggsy’s dad had been killed by a bomb while undergoing his own probationary training for the Kingsman service, saving his mentor Harry Hart (Firth), AKA Galahad, in the process. When Eggsy is in his early adulthood, Hart takes him under his wing, putting him forward as a candidate Kingsman, which is in the process of facing a new and dangerous threat from billionaire mentalist, Richmond Valentine (Jackson).
The cast is a smart mix of household names and new faces, which makes The Kingsman: The Secret Service feel approachable on a number of levels. However, it isn’t easy to pick out any particularly sparkling performances, which makes the film much less memorable as a result. Colin Firth (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) is respectable as the Kingsman agent, Galahad, Jackson makes a passable maniacal megalomaniac and Mark Strong (The Imitation Game) is pretty solid as Kingsman tech guru agent, Merlin.
Michael Cane (Interstellar) doesn’t really give his all in his performance as head of the Kingsman service, Arthur, but there’s a lot of new hope in the film from a few of the younger, fresher faces. Taron Egerton (Eddie The Eagle film) plays the young would-be agent Eggsy with a lot of spirit, Sophie Cookson does an equally fine job as his fellow potential agent Roxie and the brilliant Sofia Boutella is ferociously good as Valentine’s assassin enforcer Gazelle.
Speaking of new hope, it was good to see Mark Hamil back in front of the camera as he warmed up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a small, but convincing role as climate change expert Professor James Arnold. Equally, Samantha Womack (née Janus) makes a welcome return to the big screen as Eggsy’s mum Michelle, so hopefully she will be ditching Eastenders for greener pastures in the not too distant future.
Apart from the mixed performances from the cast, the biggest complaint for us is around the quality of the finished work, which occasionally looks a bit too amateur to work well as an action spy caper. Special effects, fight scenes and set designs often look a bit on the fabricated side, which undermines the film a little. However, with it’s box office success, it had the chance to up its game with the sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which went on to get its own DVD release in January 2018. You can keep an eye out for the sequel to the sequel with the official Twitter account at twitter.com/kingsmanmovie.
While Matthew Vaughn has done a good enough job of making The Kingsman a fun and approachable spy spoof, it doesn’t quite shine as the rough diamond it had clearly set out to be. It came close though, which makes it worth a watch, if for nothing else than for some impressive moves from Sofia Boutella, a micro glimpse of the potential of Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens and some of the most over-the-top Mockney accents you’ll ever hear. As a result, the DVD has a decent amount of re-watch value, especially if you like civilized pub fisticuffs, royal liaisons and some seriously unconventional prosthetic martial arts.
The Kingsman: The Secret Service DVD review: 3/5
The Kingsman: The Secret Service trailer:
DVD special features
- Panels to screen: The Education of a 21st Century Super Spy
- 3 image galleries: Behind the scenes, sets and props
Kingsman: The Secret Service DVD age rating
Kingsman has been given an age rating of 15 by the British Board of Film Classification with strong bloody violence and strong language to consider.
