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        It seems like it’s not very often these days that movies surprise me, (and when they do it seems to be for the worse more often than not). Based on the trailers I saw for Kingsman, my hopes weren’t very high. This was another of those few movies that my husband wanted to see that I really wanted no part of, but told him we’d see it when it was released on video. Then, in February, when we went to the theater to see Inherent Vice (a movie I won’t bother to review on its own because it was so bad) we got 2 free tickets for being members of their rewards program. The only catch was that the tickets expired within a month and a week. Usually this isn’t a problem because there are numerous things I want to see. Right now though, as far as my own interests anyways, the pickings are slim and don’t look like they’ll be any better any time soon. So armed with our two free and soon-to-expire tickets we headed to the theater to see Kingsman: The Secret Service.
 
        The Kingsman (for short) are an ultra-secret service agency based in London, but performing operations world- wide. When one of their own meets an untimely death Harry Hart, codename Galahad, recruits young street kid Eggsy to take his place. Unbeknownst to them, a bigger threat than the world has ever seen is ready to make his move, but the question is, is Eggsy ready?
 
         As I mentioned before, this movie surprised me…not because it was bad, but because it was so good! I was entirely expecting (yet another) teen action-drama set in a dystopian scene of some sort and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Kingsman is more mashup of James Bond, Kick Ass and Crank.  The results of this mashup are wonderful on so many levels. There’s The Kingsman themselves, who are a throwback to older spy movies, including all of the aristocratic arrogance and political incorrectness. There’s a lot of violence, but it’s done in such a way that you’ll be laughing by the end (without spoiling it I’ll just call it the Grand Finale). There’s tons of secret spy gear that anyone would love to really get their hands on. There’s also Samuel L. Jackson, and if he doesn’t entice you enough on his own, what if I were to tell you that he’s the bad guy and he speaks with a thick lisp throughout?
 
        Granted, this movie isn’t all smiles and thrill rides. The implications raised in Valentine’s (Jackson’s) plot to take over the world are both real and massive and they definitely require some deeper thought. The key is to keep these thoughts in the back of your mind until the ride Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman have created is over. That way you can fully enjoy the movie and deal with the more serious stuff afterwards.

               Kingsman: The  Secret Service is rated R, was written by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, was directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Hamill (oddly enough! Good luck figuring out who he plays, because I didn’t realize until I wrote this!). It’s in theaters now and is due to be released on Blu Ray, DVD and digital download in June, 2015.