Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a 2014 spy action comedy film directed by Matthew Vaughn.[2][7] It is the first instalment in the Kingsman film series and is also based on the comic book series of the same name, written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, published by Millarworld and based on concept by Millar and Vaughn.[1]
"The Secret Service (film)" redirects here. For other uses, see Secret Service.Kingsman: The Secret Service
- Jane Goldman
- Matthew Vaughn
- Matthew Vaughn
- David Reid
- Adam Bohling
- Marv Films
- Cloudy Productions
- TSG Entertainment
- 13 December 2014 (Butt-Numb-A-Thon)
- 29 January 2015 (United Kingdom)
- 13 February 2015 (United States)
129 minutes[2]
- United Kingdom
- United States[3]
English
$414.4 million[4]
The film follows Gary "Eggsy" Unwin's (Taron Egerton) recruitment by Harry Hart (Colin Firth) into Kingsman, a secret spy organisation. Eggsy joins a mission, in brutal and comedic fashion, to tackle a global threat from Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), a wealthy megalomaniac and eco-terrorist wanting to deal with climate change by wiping out most of humanity. Mark Strong and Michael Caine play supporting roles.
Kingsman: The Secret Service premiered at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon festival on 13 December 2014, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2015 and United States on 13 February 2015, by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for its stylised action sequences, direction, acting, antagonist, visual style, musical score and dark humour, although some scenes were criticised for being over-the-top.[8] The film grossed over $414 million worldwide, becoming Vaughn's most commercially successful film to date.[9] In 2015, the film won the Empire Award for Best British Film.
A sequel titled Kingsman: The Golden Circle was released in September 2017, while a prequel titled The King's Man was theatrically released on 22 December 2021.[10][11]
Plot[edit]
In 1997, Lee Unwin, a probationary secret agent, sacrifices himself in the Middle East to save his superior Harry Hart. Blaming himself for Lee's death, Harry returns to London and gives Lee's son Gary a medal engraved with an emergency assistance number.
Seventeen years later, Gary, nicknamed "Eggsy", is a rebellious chav, having dropped out of training for the Royal Marines despite his cunning and athletic talent.[12][13] Arrested for stealing a car, Eggsy calls the emergency number, leading Harry to arrange his release and subdue Eggsy's abusive stepfather's gang. Harry explains that he is a member of Kingsman, a private intelligence service founded by the British elite, who lost their heirs in the First World War and put their money toward protecting the world; the organisation is named for the tailor shop in Savile Row used as a front for their operations.
Harry, codename "Galahad", nominates Eggsy to replace agent "Lancelot", who was killed by the assassin Gazelle while trying to rescue radical climate change scientist Prof. James Arnold from kidnappers. Kingsman's technical support operative "Merlin" discovers Arnold working as though nothing has happened. Hart attempts to interrogate Arnold at Imperial College London, but a microchip in Arnold's neck explodes, killing him and putting Harry in a coma. The detonation signal is traced to Gazelle's employer Richmond Valentine, a billionaire philanthropist who has offered everyone in the world SIM cards with free cellular and Internet access. Hart, after recovering from his coma, poses as another philanthropist to meet Valentine.
Eggsy befriends fellow Kingsman trainee Roxy and he endures Merlin's tests until they are the only candidates left. However, Eggsy refuses his final test—seemingly shooting a puppy he was given to raise—and Roxy is named the new "Lancelot". Harry learns of Valentine's connection to a religious hate group and travels to their church in Kentucky, wearing glasses containing a video transceiver. As Eggsy watches Harry's footage, Valentine triggers the SIM cards inside the church with a signal that causes the parishioners and Harry to become murderously violent. Harry is the only survivor thanks to his fighting abilities, but is shot in the face by Valentine, apparently killing him.
Eggsy returns to Kingsman headquarters and notices Chester King, codename "Arthur" and Kingsman's leader, has the same implantation scar on his neck as Arnold. King reveals Valentine's plan to transmit his violence-inducing signal worldwide, "culling" most of humanity to avert its extinction from global warming. Valentine has recruited various world leaders and wealthy elite to his cause, implanted with chips to protect them from the signal; those who refuse are held captive at his bunker, including Crown Princess Tilde of Sweden. King poisons Eggsy's drink, but Eggsy switches glasses while distracting him, letting King poison himself instead and extracts the chip from King's neck.
Eggsy, Merlin and Roxy locate Valentine's bunker, where many of his conspirators are gathered. Roxy pilots high-altitude balloons to break up Valentine's satellite network, but he secures a replacement. Merlin flies to the bunker, where Eggsy masquerades as King, but is discovered by failed Kingsman recruit Charlie Hesketh. Cornered by Valentine's men, Merlin activates the implanted chips' failsafe, killing the guards and conspirators as heads explode around the world. Valentine activates the signal, triggering worldwide pandemonium. Eggsy kills Gazelle and impales Valentine with one of Gazelle's sharpened prosthetic blades, stopping the signal. Eggsy, now the new "Galahad", offers his mother and baby half-sister a new home and prepares to take on his stepfather and gang, just as Harry once did.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The project originated when Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn were at a bar discussing spy movies,[1] lamenting that the genre had become too serious over the years and deciding to do "a fun one."[15] To have the time to make the film, Vaughn had to opt out of directing X-Men: Days of Future Past, which he called "a really tough decision".[15] He reasoned that if he did not do it, "somebody else ... [would] wake up and do a fun spy movie. Then I would have written a bloody screenplay that no one would want to make."[15]
Casting[edit]
Colin Firth joined the cast to lead the film on 29 April 2013.[16] It was initially reported in 2013 that Leonardo DiCaprio was in talks to play a villain,[17] although Vaughn himself later denied that he was ever considered, stating that he came as close to playing the role "as I am to becoming the Pope."[18] Instead the role of the villain went to Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson took the role in part because of a career-long dream to be in a James Bond movie. As he felt that this was unlikely to come true, he took on the role, stating "I felt like this was an opportunity to play a really great Bond villain."[19] Jackson's character has a notable lisp, which was partially inspired by the stutter he had during his childhood.[19] In September 2013, Vaughn cast Sophie Cookson for the female lead, preferring a newcomer over more obvious candidates like Emma Watson and Bella Heathcote.[20] Mark Hamill was cast as Professor James Arnold, a reference to his character in the source comic book being named Mark Hamill.[21]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began 6 October 2013 in Deepcut, Surrey,[22][23] on a budget reported to be one-third of the $200 million budget of Skyfall.[24] The Alexandra Road Estate in Camden[25] was used for Eggsy's home area, and some scenes were filmed at Imperial College London. The Black Prince Pub in Kennington, South London, was used for various fight scenes and the car chase. Savile Row in Mayfair was also employed as a location and the exterior of tailors Huntsman at No. 11, which provided the clothes, and James Lock & Co. in St James's, which provided the hats.[26]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Kingsman: The Secret Service grossed $414.4 million worldwide; $24.2 million of the takings were generated from the UK market and $128.3 million from North America.[4]
Kingsman opened on 30 January 2015 in the UK, Sweden, Ireland and Malta. In the UK the film opened with $6.5 million and debuted at second place (behind Big Hero 6).[48] The following weekend it opened in two additional countries: Australia and New Zealand. It debuted atop the box office in both countries and had a successful opening in Australia with $3.6 million.[49] In its third weekend, it earned $23 million from 4,844 screens in 39 countries. It topped the box office in three countries: Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, the rest of which were dominated by Fifty Shades of Grey.[50] In its fourth weekend, it expanded to a total of 54 countries and grossed $33.4 million from 5,940 screens.[51] Its biggest opener outside of North America was in China, where it earned $27.9 million.[52] Other high openings occurred in South Korea ($5.3 million)[50] Russia and the CIS ($3.6 million),[50] Taiwan ($3.4 million),[51] and France ($3.3 million).[51]
In the United States and Canada, the film opened on 13 February and was predicted to debut to around $28 million.[53] The film opened in 3,204 cinemas and grossed $10.4 million on its first day, $15.4 million on its second day and $10.4 million on its third day,[54] for a weekend gross of $36.2 million (an $11,300-per-cinema average), finishing second at the box office behind Fifty Shades of Grey.[55] During the four-day Presidents Day weekend it grossed $41.8 million.[56][57]
Critical response[edit]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes sampled 264 critics and judged 75% of the reviews positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10, calling the film "Stylish, subversive, and above all fun".[58] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[59] The Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE) rates the film at 63 out of 100, based on 108 film critic reviews.[60] Audiences polled by CinemaScore, gave the film a grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[61]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said of the film, "This slam-bang action movie about British secret agents is deliriously shaken, not stirred ... Even when it stops making sense, Kingsman is unstoppable fun".[62] Jordan Hoffman, writing for The Guardian, said of the film, "The spirit of 007 is all over this movie, but Vaughn's script ... has a licence to poke fun. ... no one involved in the production can believe they're getting away with making such a batshit Bond." Comparing the film to those of Christopher Nolan, Hoffman said, "Despite the presence of grandfatherly Michael Caine, Kingsman's tone is about as far from the Christopher Nolan-style superhero film as you can get. Verisimilitude is frequently traded in for a rich laugh".[63] Peter Bradshaw, writing for The Guardian, called the film "a smirking spy spoof, weirdly charmless and dated in unintentional ways", commenting that "it is a film forever demanding to be congratulated on how 'stylish' it is."[64]
Some reviewers were critical of the film's depiction of violence, which was considered to be too graphic for a comedy. Anthony Lane of The New Yorker stated, "Few recent movies have fetched quite as far as Kingsman, and countless viewers will relish the brazen zest of its invention." However, Lane was critical of the film's use of stereotypes.[65] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times enjoyed the film, but criticised Vaughn's use of violence as a cinematic tool, calling it "narrative overkill".[66] Jason Ward of The Guardian wrote that "[e]verything about Kingsman exists to disguise the fact that it is solidly conservative". His examples include "[t]he depiction of Valentine's plan as a throwback to a less serious era of spy movies [which] is revealed as a feint, with the ulterior motive of undermining environmentalists".[67] Likewise, The A.V. Club's Ignatiy Vishnevetsky commented that, "Far from being a Team America-style send-up of gentleman spy movies, Kingsman is actually even more reactionary than the movies it's referencing; it traffics in the kind of Tory values Bond flicks merely suggest ... the thing is, the movie is fun, at least from a visual design standpoint, even though it's hard to separate its bespoke fashions, future-vintage gadgets, and aristocratic décor from its fusty worldview".[68] Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com, who gave the film two out of four stars, likened Vaughn's script to the spy film equivalent of Scream and also criticised the overuse of graphic violence, despite its cartoonish rendering.[69]