KINGSMAN

Somewhere close to the halfway point in the movie two characters in Kingsman have a conversation about spy movies. They have the same opinion; ‘they are far too serious these days’. The ‘good old Bond movies’ with the megalomaniac villain, improbable stunts and cool gadgets is what both of them like. Kingsman is the answer to their prayers. Ever since Daniel Craig became Bond and Matt Damon became Bourne, we’ve not had real spy movies that have a ‘fun’ factor in them. Both Craig and Damon have done good things with their characters, but we always wanted to go back to the old days one more time. Kingsman is a tribute to the golden era of Bond, and contains a bit of many many movies we love, and some that we may not love as much. You can detect traces of Men in Black, tributes to Bond, references to Bourne and one might say a bit of Spy Kids too.

The premise is pretty much familiar. A young man gets the opportunity of his life when he is asked to

appear for the ‘most dangerous’ job interview on earth. That portion, which comes after a few escapades of the promising but wayward young man, is perhaps the most serious part of the movie. There are six young people who want to become ‘Lancelot’ and only one of them can be. The tests and the way the young people respond to them are interesting to watch. It shows that sometimes what matters more is not one’s intelligence but the willingness to stick with others through thick and thin. You’ll enjoy the skydive portion. One only wonders why the three men who were also in contention to be Lancelot had to be portrayed as such complete assholes. We hear something about ‘positive discrimination’, but it seems a bit unfounded.

In parallel, opens the ‘megalomaniac’ plot. Now, he has a plan that is one of the most devious and outrageous ones that we have seen in recent times. Something like the ‘end of the world’ schemes that we used to get in the old Superman movies. Does our young man get to be Lancelot, and how the plan of the megalomaniac is foiled is what Kingsman is all about.

The one weakness you can spot about Kingsman is that it seems sometimes to be stuck in tow minds. Does it want to be Bond or does it want to be MIB? You get mixed signals, not knowing when to take the movie seriously and when not to. You are caught by surprise when the first serious twist arrives because you aren’t expecting it. But, the script oscillates between being serious and being fun, which keeps you smiling, but can be an irritant for some very serious audiences.

The good thing however is that Kingsman never slows down. The script is always moving ahead fast. You really do not get time to think, even though there are many convenient liberties taken through the course of the film and gadgets for all purposes seem to pop out from nowhere like an ‘amnesia-inducing’ injection from a watch (maybe a nod to the ‘flashy thing’ from MIB), bulletproof umbrellas and transmitter fitted top hats (that the megalomaniac wears when he is sitting inside a private jet!). These gadgets, however far fetched they may seem, are fun to watch and take us back to the old Bond times.

There are a couple of fights that take violence to a whole new level of gore. The mood of the movie

never really sets us up for this which is the reason you will be surprised when it actually happens. But the movie keeps injecting wit here and there to keep you in a pleasant mood rather than a tense one. There is one notable deviation from the old Bond films however. As a conversation goes, ‘this is the point where I tell you my big convoluted plan, and then you find an equally convoluted way to escape, just like in the old movies’. But no, ‘this is not that kind of movie bruv’! You’ll love that twist.

Kingsman is fun because of what the senior Lancelot said so rightly; ‘I felt the old Bond movies were only as good as their villain’. Samuel Jackson plays a quirky self-righteous environmentalist who thinks he is Noah, trying to save the world, only he’s got it all wrong. Without him, Kingsman would have ended up as the senior version of Spy Kids. Colin Firth is his classy self, and its nice to see him in some frenetic action. Michael Caine effortlessly stamps class with just a few dialogues and Mark Strong delivers a quite understated performance that has some witty lines. Taron Egert is a promising young talent.

Kingsman makes you feel you’ve had a good time. Yes, it never stops once it gets into top gear. It’s fun, has an outlandish plot, some no holds barred action, a spectacle of blown up heads, a femme ‘blade runner’ fatale, a climax that might remind you of Mr. India and then a finish on a funny/sensuous note that is a tribute to Bond. Go for Kingsman; it may not all make sense, but it surely is a whole lot of fun. This one deserves a sequel!

Verdict: A thorough joyride!

Stars: 3/5