If you've been following my movie posts of the past year (I request the highest of fives to the two people who do), you'll know that I'm a big fan of Matthew Vaughn's directional work. From the magical fantasy Stardust to the franchise saving X-Men: First Class (with a Kick-Ass wedged in between), he has shown plenty of pedigree as a director, as these movies have since been pretty well received and are choked full of entertainment value. His latest offering, Kingsman: The Secret Service (based on the comic co-created by Mark Millar, who also did Kick-Ass) looks to pay homage to the spy movies of the yesteryear like Bond and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., while attempting to make a R-rated parody in the process.

The film kicks off with Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), a lad with youthful potential but soon fell by the wayside due to an abusive stepfather and a life petty crimes. After getting arrested for counts of theft, he is bailed out by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a Kingsman and a former colleague of Eggsy's deceased father. Seeking a new member for the Kingsman secret service, Harry enlists Eggsy to join him in a world of espionage at the highest level of discretion, all while dressing gentlemanly and watching your manners. Meanwhile, an American billionaire (Samuel L. Jackson) plans to eradicate the human race, and it's up to the independently-funded British secret service to take him down.

Kingsman pays respect to the movies in its genre while also not taking itself too seriously,  with obvious references such as the enthusiastic villain, classy gadgets, Moonraker-like missions, and a Scandinavian damsel in distress. Written by Jane Goldman as well as Vaughn himself, Kingman's story may be straightforward, but everything is done the grandest scale, with epic fight choreography and amazing set pieces along its two hour runtime. Kingsman also differentiates itself from the classic yet corny Bond flicks by ramping up the violence akin to those seen in Kick-Ass, with digital blood and limbs accompanying very graphic slice-and-dice action. If the gore in Kick-Ass weren't your cup of tea, you better be off watching something else (if it is, read on!). Though some special effects needed further touching-up (the reason why it was delayed from its November 2014 release), everything shifts to quickly (no thanks to fast camera works) that you'll barely notice the rather tacky editing.

Of the main cast, Colin Firth (an Oscar winner for The King's Speech) excels as Eggsy's mentor Harry Hart , who oozes class in whatever scene he's in (Manners, Maketh, Man), and shows his action side in two of the biggest fight scenes in the film (hint: it's the pub and again, the church parts). It's refreshing to see Firth in a role pretty much foreign to him, as he's been in mostly rom-coms for the past decade or so, hence seeing himself barely breaking a sweat against a gang of punks and an entire church (with only four lengthy takes in total) is a genuine surprise. Opposite Firth is newcomer Taron Egerton as Eggsy, with his crude mannerism (the V sign with the palms inward is regarded as an insult in the UK) and his local punk accent (how long does this fockin' thing go?) acting as the perfect foil to Hart's classy demeanour. Seeing as this is his film debut, greats things are to be expected of Egerton in show business, as he's been mooted as a potential Young Cyclops and Han Solo in recent weeks.

Samuel L. Jackson looks to be having the time of his life portraying the evil billionaire Richmond Valentine, in an obvious reference to the colourful Bond villains in the Connery and Moore eras, complete with huge evil lairs, a plot to destroy the world, and a formidable henchman. Speaking of henchman, as Valentine is sickened by the sight of blood, most of the dirty deeds are performed by Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, an acrobatic killer with swords for legs. Still, Boutella holds her own against a megastar like Jackson in all the scenes featuring the duo, and the fight scenes with her are as fast-paced as they are bloody. 

Rounding out the stellar cast is the evergreen Michael Caine as Arthur, a role he could probably act out in his sleep, and Mark Strong, a long-time collaborator with Vaughn (having appeared in Stardust and Kick-Ass) as the Scottish-accented Merlin. While both actors hold smaller roles compared to the likes of Firth and Jackson, both English actors are great additions, giving strong performances nonetheless (especially Mark Strong, who has greater relevance at the tail end of the story). Oh, and the legendary Mark Hamill (THE Luke Skywalker) makes an appearance as a kidnapped professor early on in the film! An early look at him for the next Star Wars perhaps?