History Awesome / KingsmanTheSecretService

!!Movie

!!Meta
* The fact that the film managed to take in $35 million at the US box office on its opening... which just so happened to be the same weekend that ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', a major film adaptation of a hugely popular novel, was released. Its projected box office was only in the 25-30 million box office range given the circumstances, and even though it lost first place to said movie, that is one insanely impressive debut for a smaller British film released on the same weekend as a major blockbuster.
** At the end of its theatrical run, it's made just shy of $415 million, more than five times its budget even before DVD, Blu-Ray and On-Demand sales are factored in.
* For fans of Creator/MarkHamill, seeing him return to the big screen--in his biggest non-AdamWesting live-action role since ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', no less--is awesome. Even if Professor Arnold is just a supporting character, and he gets killed off less than halfway through the movie, it's great to see him sharing the screen with the likes of Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/ColinFirth.
* Taron Egerton gets one for, while being pretty much a rookie like his character, managing to stand well on his own against established legendary actors such as Colin Firth, Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson. Of course, the writers don't make the film rely on those actors, but rather give Taron enough of his own screen time to carry the film and good enough character development too so that when the film no longer revolves around Galahad and Arthur, the audience doesn't even notice the transition.
* How the [[http://marrecarandgi.tumblr.com/post/111457571639/kingsman-and-strong-female-characters female characters,]] Gazelle and Roxy were written. No nude scenes, neither are sexually objectified, and prove to be badass. Even Princess Tilde gets a nod in the post:
** Roxy isn't made to be the typical LoveInterest for Eggsy and proves to be very skilled despite not getting a lot of screen time. She even earns the title of "Lancelot", when ''everyone'' in the audience likely considers it a ForegoneConclusion that it'll be Eggsy.
** Gazelle: ''"A woman of colour, who is not only mentoring the villain, but she turned her [[HandicappedBadass disability into deadly advantage]]."''
** Princess Tilde: ''"The princess proposed sex to him, not the other way around, and it was her idea to make it anal. She didn't passively fell into Eggsy's arms as a prize, she very actively wanted to have sex with the guy, who saved the world. I don’t know how owning her sexuality and enjoying sex lessens the fact that she was the only one who stood up to Valentine or that she didn't break after month of imprisonment."''

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* The dinner scene has both for Harry and Mr. Valentine. Harry keeps himself composed when the meal turns out to be UsefulNotes/McDonalds with expensive wine and maintains the facade of a wealthy philanthropist. Valentine asks him how he likes spy movies on hearing that the man knows of Professor Arnold, and reveals he slipped a tracker in Harry's drink.

-->'''Eggsy''': [Eggsy's mom] didn't want me being cannon fodder for snobs like you! Judging people like me from your ivory towers with no thought about why we do what we do. We ain't got much choice, you get me? And if we was born with the same silver spoon up our arses, we'd do just as well as you, if not better.

** Princess Tilde: ''"The princess proposed sex to him, not the other way around, and it was her idea to make it anal. She didn’t passively fell into Eggsy’s arms as a prize, she very actively wanted to have sex with the guy, who saved the world. I don’t know how owning her sexuality and enjoying sex lessens the fact that she was the only one who stood up to Valentine or that she didn’t break after month of imprisonment."''

** Even when critics bury the film they will point to this scene and point out that it is very much a TakeThat at the Westboro Baptist Church and say, "Okay, I have been complaining but give it up for this bit. This scene is awesome."

* Gazelle vs. Eggsy was another well choreographed fight that was simply a joy to watch. As was the fact Eggsy kills Gazelle with the toxic knife boot, the only scratch Gazelle had ever suffered in the course of the movie. Also, that was some fast toxin. Forget British spy movies; that ending was like something out of a Samurai film.
* Major world leaders [[KarmicDeath who were totally fine with their citizens dying en masse]] getting their heads blown up in a colorful explosion, in slow-mo, set to ''[[SoundtrackDissonance Pomp and Circumstance]]''.

** The implication that many, ''many'' other prominent people felt the same, including Iggy Azalea. How much better off might the world be now that Valentine has unintentionally murdered all the really corrupt politicians and world leaders?

** Her entrance is awesome. [[spoiler: Lancelot has just taken down some mooks and is about to free Professor Arnold when there is a flash of one of Gazelle's bladed legs and he is sliced in half from the head down]]

* A minor one for one of the princess's guards for trying to fight on against Gazelle [[spoiler: despite having his freaking ''arm'' taken off]].

** The church scene is a HUGE [=MoA=]. [[spoiler:Every single person in a packed church becomes hell-bent on murdering each other, and Harry just mows through ALL of them.]][[note]]By one count, Harry kills thirty eight of the congregation (and possibly three more offscreen), kills or severely injures twenty others and injures twenty more, though there is some overlap.[[/note]]

** At the end of it, Valentine [[DefiedTrope defying]] the BondVillainStupidity trope and [[spoiler: shooting Harry point-blank in the head]]. Bonus points for Harry, because according to [[Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle the sequel]], [[spoiler: he ''survived'' that]].

* Eggsy's story ''in general''. [[spoiler:Coming from a poor, working-class background, adapting brilliant LeParkour skills and entering a secret service his father was in, only to ''end up beating him'' in training. Even flunking the last test and not officially becoming a Kingsman agent doesn't stop him from showing the program what an ideal candidate he is.]]
* Eggsy [[spoiler:managing to outsmart Arthur by switching their brandies (so that Arthur gets the deadly glass) when Arthur got distracted by a painting]]. SimpleYetAwesome, indeed. [[spoiler:Bonus points for Eggsy giving no reaction when Arthur clicks the pen; he just sits there patiently waiting for the poison to take its effect on Arthur.]]

* Gazelle vs. Eggsy was another well choreographed fight that was simply a joy to watch. [[spoiler: As was the fact Eggsy kills Gazelle with the toxic knife boot, the only scratch Gazelle had ever suffered in the course of the movie. Also, that was some fast toxin.]] Forget British spy movies; that ending was like something out of a Samurai film.
* [[spoiler:Major world leaders [[KarmicDeath who were totally fine with their citizens dying en masse]] getting their heads blown up in a colorful explosion, in slow-mo, set to ''[[SoundtrackDissonance Pomp and Circumstance]]'']].

* [[spoiler:A ''Swedish princess'' rewarding Eggsy with sexytimes for saving the world.]]

* Roxy [[spoiler:(Lancelot) doesn't get to storm the base. What does she do instead? She has to fly up into the exosphere and use a shoulder-mounted missile to shoot down a satellite. Bonus points for doing it after one of the balloons exploded, so she's slowly falling and cannot get a firm lock on the target. Then she [=HALOs=] back to Earth and lands on the side of a mountain. Not bad for someone with a fear of heights]].

* Merlin's reveal that [[spoiler: Eggsy had a parachute the whole time.]]

* A lot of Kingsman candidates tests are Moments of Awesome for Eggsy in general. Not only did he keep up with the other elite candidates who received higher education than him, he managed to beat most of them, despite all those TrainingFromHell subjected to him by Merlin, and [[spoiler: managed to be one of the two last candidates left facing the final test along with Roxy.]] One of the most prominent moments being the semi-final test, where Eggsy [[spoiler: got tied up onto the train track and threatened by a man who wanted info on the Kingsman. A train is approaching at high speed, and the only way to escape is by using the knife the guy is holding which he will only give when Eggsy spills out every secret. Eggsy, demonstrating extreme loyalty, refused to rat out his associates, despite being ''scared out of his mind as he saw the train coming closer and closer''. He even showed his extreme loyalty when the guy asked him "Is Kingsman worth dying for?" How does Eggsy respond? "'''''FUCK YOU!'''''"]] This applied to Roxy, as well, offscreen, as both of them passed the test. DefiantToTheEnd moment at its finest, people.
* At the very end, when Eggsy, dressed very much like Harry, comes into the pub to confront Dean and take his mother and half sister to live with him. Dean tries to start a fight with him, only for [[spoiler: Eggsy to recite Harry's words about manners, and use his umbrella to fling a beer pint at Dean's head. The look on the faces of Dean's {{Mooks}}, make it clear that they know first that whatever is coming, [[ThisIsGoingToSuck is not going to be pleasant.]]]]

* For fans of Creator/MarkHamill, seeing him return to the big screen--in his biggest non-AdamWesting live-action role since ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', no less--is awesome. Even if Professor Arnold is just a supporting character, and [[spoiler: he gets killed off less than halfway through the movie]], it's great to see him sharing the screen with the likes of Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/ColinFirth.
* Taron Egerton gets one for, while being pretty much a rookie like his character, managing to stand well on his own against established legendary actors such as Colin Firth, Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson. Of course, the writers don't make the film rely on those actors, but rather give Taron enough of his own screen time to carry the film and good enough character development too so that when the film no longer revolves around [[spoiler: Galahad and Arthur]], the audience doesn't even notice the transition.

** Roxy isn't made to be the typical LoveInterest for Eggsy and proves to be very skilled despite not getting a lot of screen time. She even [[spoiler: earns the title of "Lancelot"]], when ''everyone'' in the audience likely considers it a ForegoneConclusion that [[spoiler: it'll be Eggsy]].

** Also the quote before the carnage said by Harry to one of the church members who's stopping him from leaving. "I'm a Catholic whore, currently enjoying congress out of wedlock with my Black Jewish boyfriend, who works in a military abortion clinic. So hail Satan, and have a lovely afternoon madam."

* The dinner scene has both for Harry and Mr. Valentine. Harry keeps himself composed when the meal turns out to be McDonald's with expensive wine and maintains the facade of a wealthy philanthropist. Valentine asks him how he likes spy movies on hearing that the man knows of Professor Arnold, and reveals he slipped a tracker in Harry's drink.

** There's also an extremely subtle moment of awesome in the message of the scene. The fact that everyone who watches the carnage in the church, ''including [[spoiler: Harry]]'', is horrified by the results is a clear way for the film's writers to declare that, despite writing the churchgoers as StrawmanPolitical [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the WBC, killing such people just for their rhetoric or beliefs, no matter how vile, is still morally wrong. It's a kind of subtle message that normally gets bypassed in action films, where ProtagonistCenteredMorality is in full swing.

* A minor one for one of the guards for trying to fight on against Gazelle [[spoiler: despite having his freaking ''arm'' taken off]].

** The implication that many, ''many'' other prominent people felt the same. How much better off might the world be now that Valentine has unintentionally murdered all the really corrupt politicians and world leaders?

* A lot of Kingsman candidates tests are Moments of Awesome for Eggsy in general. Not only did he keep up with the other elite candidates who received higher education than him, he managed to beat most of them, despite all those TrainingFromHell subjected to him by Merlin, and [[spoiler: managed to be one of the two last candidates left facing the final test along with Roxy.]] One of the most prominent moments being the semi-final test, where Eggsy [[spoiler: got tied up onto the train track and threatened by a man who wanted info on the Kingsman. A train is approaching at high speed, and the only way to escape is by using the knife the guy is holding which he will only give when Eggsy spills out every secret. Eggsy, demonstrating extreme loyalty, refused to rat out his associates, despite being ''scared out of his mind as he saw the train coming closer and closer''. He even showed his extreme loyalty when the guy asked him "Is Kingsman worth dying for?" How does Eggsy respond? "'''''FUCK, YEAH!'''''"]] This applied to Roxy, as well, offscreen, as both of them passed the test. DefiantToTheEnd moment at its finest, people.

* For fans of Creator/MarkHamill, seeing him return to the big screen--in his biggest live-action role since ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', no less--is awesome. Even if Professor Arnold is just a supporting character, and [[spoiler: he gets killed off less than halfway through the movie]], it's great to see him sharing the screen with the likes of Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/ColinFirth.

-->'''Eggsy:''' The problem with common-types is... is we're light-fingered. Kingsmen's taught me a lot, but ''sleight of hand''... I had that down already.

** Before that, her refusal to go along with Valentine's plans even though she was imprisoned for over a month. She may not be a Kingsmen agent, but she ''sticks'' to her morals.

* A lot of Kingsmen candidates tests are Moments of Awesome for Eggsy in general. Not only did he keep up with the other elite candidates who received higher education than him, he managed to beat most of them, despite all those TrainingFromHell subjected to him by Merlin, and [[spoiler: managed to be one of the two last candidates left facing the final test along with Roxy.]] One of the most prominent moments being the semi-final test, where Eggsy [[spoiler: got tied up onto the train track and threatened by a man who wanted info on the Kingsmen. A train is approaching at high speed, and the only way to escape is by using the knife the guy is holding which he will only give when Eggsy spills out every secret. Eggsy, demonstrating extreme loyalty, refused to rat out his associates, despite being ''scared out of his mind as he saw the train coming closer and closer''. He even showed his extreme loyalty when the guy asked him "Is Kingsmen worth dying for?" How does Eggsy respond? "'''''FUCK, YEAH!'''''"]] This applied to Roxy, as well, offscreen, as both of them passed the test. DefiantToTheEnd moment at its finest, people.

** And Eggsy doing the same at the end - while wearing a suit identical to Harry's.

** At the end of it, Valentine [[DefiedTrope defying]] the BondVillainStupidity trope and [[spoiler: shooting Harry point-blank in the head. Bonus points for Harry, because according to the sequel, he ''survived'' that.]]

* Gazelle vs Eggsy was another well choreographed fight that was simply a joy to watch. [[spoiler: As was the fact Eggsy kills Gazelle with the toxic knife boot, the only scratch Gazelle had ever suffered in the course of the movie. Also, that was some fast toxin.]] Forget British spy movies; that ending was like something out of a Samurai film.

* At the very end, when Egsy, dressed very much like Harry, comes into the pub to confront Dean and take his mother and half sister to live with him. Dean tries to start a fight with him, only for [[spoiler: Egsy to recite Harry's words about manners, and use his umbrella to fling a beer pint at Dean's head. The look on the faces of Dean's {{Mooks}}, make it clear that they know first that whatever is coming, [[ThisIsGoingToSuck is not going to be pleasant.]]]]

** There's also an extremely subtle moment of awesome in the message of the scene. The fact that [[spoiler: Harry]] is horrified by his actions makes it clear that the film's writers, despite writing the churchgoers as StrawmanPolitical [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the WBC, made sure to take a second to address that killing such people just for their rhetoric or beliefs, no matter how vile, is still morally wrong. It's a kind of subtle message that normally gets bypassed in action films, where ProtagonistCenteredMorality is in full swing.

* At the very end, when Egsy, dressed very much like Harry, comes into the pub to confront Dean and take his mother and half sister to live with him. Dean tries to start a fight with him, only for [[spoiler: Egsy to recite Harry's words about manners, and use his umbrella to fling a beer pint at Dean's head. Dean's {{Mooks}} know first that whatever is coming, [[ThisIsGoingToSuck is not going to be pleasant.]]]]

** At the end of it, Valentine defying the BondVillainStupidity trope and [[spoiler: shooting Harry point-blank in the head. Bonus points for Harry, because according to the sequel, he SURVIVED that.]]

* [[spoiler:Major world leaders [[KarmicDeath who were totally fine with their citizens dying en masse]] getting their heads blown up in a colorful explosion, in slow-mo, set to ''Pomp and Circumstance.'']]

* Roxy [[spoiler:(Lancelot) doesn't get to storm the base. What does she do instead? She has to fly up into the exosphere and use a shoulder-mounted missile to shoot down a satellite. Bonus points for doing it after one of the balloons exploded, so she's slowly falling and cannot get a firm lock on the target. Then she [=HALOs=] back to Earth and lands on the side of a mountain. Not bad for someone with a fear of heights.]]

-->'''Eggsy''': [Eggsy's mom] Didn't want me being cannon fodder for snobs like you! Judging people like me from your ivory towers with no thought about why we do what we do. We ain't got much choice, you get me? And if we was born with the same silver spoon up our arses, we'd do just as well as you, if not better.

** Gazelle: ''"A woman of colour, who is not only mentoring the villain, but she turned her disability into deadly advantage."''

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/LynyrdSkynyrd Won't you fly high,]] [[SoundtrackDissonance free bird, yeah?]]'']]