Kingsman is kick ass!

Manners maketh man, and so a gentleman spy must exhibit the politest of dispositions.

What’s true for a gentleman spy is even more so for a gentleman secret superspy. Unless, of course, you’re Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a young British bloke with poor life prospects that arose courtesy of circumstance and choice. Through a series of unfortunate events, he ends up in the unlikely but rather fortunate position of being selected to train to become a Kingsman, one of an elite team of secret superspies who work to maintain propriety, decorum and protocol in a world where danger lurks around every corner. Think of them as bobbies but with more than just nightsticks at their disposal.

Leading Eggsy through his initiation is Harry Hart (Colin Firth), who is also known by his Arthurian codename, Galahad. There’s also Merlin (Mark Strong) and Lancelot (Jack Davenport) and Arthur himself (Michael Caine).

Despite its obvious comic book underpinnings, Kingsman is a gallant and pure paean to many British gentleman spy movies, the least of which are the James Bond tales. There’s also The Avengers, In Like Flint, and The Ipcress File, which also starred Caine. When we watch our man Eggsy get fitted for his suit and toured through the tailor’s room of advanced weaponry and gadgets, we don’t think of Men in Black. We think of gents with stiff upper lips and correct posture who can dispatch the bad guys while parrying his cane right before he goes back to his 4 p.m. tea, which he drinks with his pinky aloft.

And what a cabinet of tricks it is, too. Weapons disguised as rings, watches and pens, glasses that put Google Glasses to virtual shame, and umbrellas that do more than just keep out the rain. Everybody loves spy gadgets and this movie does not disappoint.

But, of course, there’s more to these things than toys. There must also be a colourful megalomaniac in the part of a supervillian. Here, that role is played perfectly by Samuel L. Jackson. Richmond Valentine is a brilliant telecommunications billionaire with a lisp and a diabolical plan, and an equally ridiculous henchman named Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). A gentleman must avoid his enemies when he can, but the Kingsmen have no choice but to confront this new nemesis before his scheme of world domination takes effect.

Director Matthew Vaughn (along with co-screenwriter Jane Goldman) really knows how to subvert his genres, having already done a fine job with Kick-Ass and Stardust. If characters in a spy movie start talking about their favourite spy movies and what is supposed to happen to them next within the conceit of the reality that they are living in, cinephiles will take this kind of cheeky repartee as a nod to the fact that we’re all in on the joke. Except then Vaughn deliberately effectively dashes that conceit to remind viewers that this ain’t that kind of spy movie.

I’m being a bit coy by not revealing too many plot details but the important things to remember are that the writing (based on the graphic novel The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons) is very strong, there is actually a lot of depth and nuance to the characters and the plot, and that all of this is smart and fun. It’s one of those rare films that make me want to watch it again immediately.