Member review

2015 could be the year of the spy. Later this year, we have Mission Impossible 5, The Man from U.N.C.L.E as well as the return of Bond in SPECTRE. First to the gates however is Matthew Vaughn's loving homage to Mr Bond, Kingsman: The Secret Service. The rest of the films this year have a lot to live up to, because this was amazing. Kingsman is the most fun I've had in the cinema for a long time. This film is just a plethora of positives, the acting was brilliant, the action insane and the soundtrack amazing. Colin Firth plays Harry Hart, an agent for the top-secret private intelligence agency Kingsman. If there's a stereotype of Colin Firth roles in your head, get rid of them immediately, as this is unlike anything I've ever seen him do before. At times, it would've been nice to see a bit of humour coming from him, but I didn't really mind it. Apparently, Firth did 80% of his stunts himself. The action in general in this film is the best I've seen for a long time. Extremely well choreographed and filmed fluidly, it's hard not to be impressed. I've heard many people criticising the violence of this film, but I didn't see the problem. It was highly stylised, not highly graphic. Taron Egerton plays Eggsy, Hart's apprentice to be the next Kingsman agent. Egerton is the real star of the film. He had the right amount of wit, acting chops and ability for action to be perfect for the role. Samuel L Jackson plays the villain of the piece, Richmond Valentine, an internet billionaire who has seedy intentions. Jackson was brilliant, but I thought they could've done a bit more to make him seem more menacing. The supporting cast are all excellent, especially Mark Strong.

Like the classic Bond films Kingsman is inspired by, each scene is over the top and, quite frankly, brilliant. The plot twists and turns with abundant pace, the characters face off with amazingly witty dialogue and the action explodes onto the screen, Kingsman has set the bar high for the rest of the year.