Matthew Vaughn has been behind a whole host of terrific films with the likes of Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class under his belt. The start of 2015 saw him return to the director's chair with the fantastic Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman: The Secret Service is based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons and saw Vaughn reunite with Jane Goldman to pen the screenplay.
Kingsman: The Secret Service is the movie that really sent the star of Taron Egerton rocketing as he took on the lead role of Eggsy alongside Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, and Samuel L. Jackson. This movie has really launched Egerton's career and he is set to have a very successful 2016.
This is a movie that I had been looking forward to since I saw the first trailer - I have been a fan of Vaughn for many years and he is yet to make a bad film - but this is one of the films that well and truly did not disappoint. It has been one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year and has made it in at number seven on our Best Movies of 2015 countdown.
What I love about Kingsman: The Secret Service the most, is that it is a fun film. While there is a great plot and some terrific character development, this is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously and sends up the spy genre beautifully.
Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
Kingsman: The Secret Service may send up the spy genre, but it is a movie that also pays tribute to it - there are plenty of fantastic James Bon references in there to watch out for. Of course, the plot is a little over the top and far-fetched just like you tend to find this with this genre... but that is part of this film's charm.
From start to finish, Kingsman: The Secret Service is an action packed ride and you can see the cast having a great time as they thrown themselves into their roles. The action genre is not where we usually find Colin Firth, but he is just fantastic as Harry Hart and the scene where he beats everyone in the pub up is one of the best fight moments in the film. I don't know about you, but I would like to see Firth take on more of these kinds of roles as he balances the action and the humour perfectly.
Egerton is also terrific as Eggsy - you would not know that this was his first time on a film set as he leads the film with a confidence and an assurance that is way beyond his experience. Eggsy is a character that you root for from the very beginning; he may not be the usual type of recruit for the Kingsman, but he is a character with real heart that you cannot help but like.
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a fast-paced, witty, and slick script that delivers on action, laughs, and is brought to life by a terrific cast.
The movie went on to be both a critical and commercial success and there is already a sequel in the pipeline, which will see Egerton return to the role of Eggsy.
Take a look at our Best Movies of 2015 countdown so far:
Tagged in Colin Firth Matthew Vaughn Taron Egerton