Kingsman: The Secret Service

Going in, I had already read the comic by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) and loved it so much I made a friend read it. It was filled with impeccable style, humor, blood, and thrills with a raggedy hero you could root for. The movie adaptation delivers on all counts and actually significantly improves on the source material.

It follows the Cinderella story of Eggsy Unwin (the dreamy Taron Egerton), a chav with a heart of gold, as he is recruited by Harry Hart (Colin Firth) to compete against fellow recruits and join the ranks of the Kingsmen, an elite group of classic Bond-esque spies. Eggsy manages to defy prejudices against his lower-class background and when he finally earns his bespoke suit and glasses (pictured), it's quite the magical moment. Meanwhile, a crazy evil plot to decimate the Earth's population cooked up by Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) and his right hand lady Gazelle threatens to tear the Kingsmen apart.

The movie adaptation manages to flesh out the short 6-issue comic in all the right places by adding more heart, character, and action. For instance, in the comic, Gazelle is a male US army veteran who just happens to have no legs. The movie takes Gazelle to a whole other level by making her a strong non-objectified female character who uses her prosthetic legs to slice through flesh and bone with glee. Every single one of her acrobatic fight scenes is a joy to watch and wholly original and her partnership with SLJ's villain rings true.

On the subject of action, Eggsy has his fair share of cool car chases, underwater levels, skydiving, pug training, and Gazelle fighting, but nothing topped Colin Firth's jaw-dropping church scene. In what may very well be this movie's version of "Let it Go", Firth fights his way through a mesmerizing and beautifully-choreographed ballet of ultraviolence all set to "Free Bird". If you are going to see only a single scene, make it this one. Humor-wise, Kingsman stays witty and British throughout (bolstered by excellent chemistry and comedic timing among the cast) up until a controversial Cards Against Humanity-level joke involving butts and princesses which capped off the ending (I found it somewhat endearing).

In all, Kingsman the movie was really the best way to let a good comic come to life and become much more endearing, lively,and visceral with a more captivating plot, particularly with regards to Eggsy's training and character development. The movie spends a lot of time paying homage to old spy movies which keeps it just short of being genius, but it is incredibly entertaining and definitely a must-see if you like action, blood, and dry humor as much as I do.

Bonus! There is no romantic subplot (even with the presence of Eggsy's pretty and competent fellow Kingsman Roxy with whom he has a great platonic relationship with)