Action-comedy, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” came out in theaters Friday and although it proved to be both funny and exciting, the film presented unoriginal themes and a predictable plot line.
When the protagonist Eggsy is a toddler, a mysterious man dressed in a fitted black suit comes to his house and informs him and his mother that his father was killed on a secret mission. The last thing that this man tells Eggsy before he leaves is, “take care of your mother.”
About 17 years later, Eggsy is living in a rundown apartment with his mother, abusive stepfather and younger sister. At this time he crosses paths with the man in black again, only this time the man takes him to a men’s suit shop. After explaining who he is, he tells Eggsy that, “A suit is a modern gentleman’s armor and the Kingsman are the new knights.” Standing in front of a dressing room mirror looking back at himself, Eggsy decides to take the mysterious man up on his offer to purchase the suit.
“I’ve got nothing to lose,” he says.
In all honesty, the movie is somewhat of a cliché. Here you have a young 21-year-old kid who lost his father, is amazingly smart, and yet lives a rundown life.
Embarking on a mission to prove himself worthy of becoming a part of the Kingsman organization, he hopes to make something of himself in order to improve the life of his family. Throughout this process of trying to stop the enemy’s plot, the man in the suit becomes somewhat of a father figure to Eggsy.
Looking after him and giving lessons on how to become a gentleman, it is apparent that the man in black empathizes with the loss of Eggsy’s father.
During this transitional time, the leaders in the Kingman organization are working to identify and catch a man who killed one of their own agents. However, when they finally identify the killer they realize something more devastating than they could ever imagine.
“The film is filled with mildly unbelievable people, but no more so than other action movies. They are close to what you would imagine another human being would be, they are not a flat character,” said Keisha Lamarre, an 18-year-old freshman at University of Massachusetts Boston.
This kind of role — the unrelated father figure — has been more times and for more years than the audience can probably count. However, despite these cliché production choices, the movie deserves props for being able to portray this kind of overdone relationship as well as it did.
While this movie is not the most original production around, Lamarre said, “It wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be. The plot didn’t suffer from all of the action in the film. It kept up a reasonable place, the plot felt natural and nothing screamed nonsense.
“I would recommend this movie to a friend depending on their taste. If they are more into serious dramatic films, then I would not recommend it for that person. But, if they are into movies filled with nonsense and ludicrous characters then this movie is great for them,” she continued.
People laughed at the funny parts, were dead silent when things became tense, and applauded at the characters’ ability to overcome adversity. This movie may not go on to top the charts and is unlikely to take home an Oscar, if movie-goers are seeking a film full of spies, weapons, fist fights, lessons on how to be a proper gentlemen and cheekiness, then it is a movie worth seeing.
