Having not (yet) read the comic book, this review is purely on the film as a film, and not as an adaptation. In a similar vein to Kick-Ass, it serves as somewhere in between a deconstruction, reconstruction, parody and loving homage... with lots of swearing and ultra-violence, in this instance of spy films not super heroes.
Colin Firth stars as Harry Hart, who faces a plot right out of Roger Moore-era Bond (almost exactly the same as Moonraker, in fact) and with Samuel L Jackson clearly having an absolute blast as the evil megalomaniac villain.
Of course, Bond never had an apprentice on the job with him - and certainly wouldn't have accepted a gobby little chav as a sidekick, as Hart does. Eggsy is just as important to the plot as Harry and played impressively by Taron Egerton, who manages to show the hero underneath the rough edges, of which there are many.
Initially, Eggsy's training is the B-plot and not particularly interesting. The training from hell, the jerkass classmates/rivals, token attractive female with requisite ship tease... but Egerton sells the journey well, and manages to genuinely portray more development than we ever see occurring.
Once he's out of school, things get interesting as the final confrontation looms - and Michael Vaughn tears up the rule book and goes absolutely nuts, giving us what is going to be THE fight scene of the year - what can only be described as an orgy of stylised, slow-motion violence, in a church. To the sound of Freebird. It's seriously daring and made me wonder what he could have done with the more mundane training aspects if he'd really wanted to.
Of course, the final confrontation takes the baton with style and if anything takes it up another level - exploding heads, a {{dragon]] with razor sharp prosthetic legs, and an interaction with one female hostage that no Bond film will EVER dare to attempt...
Now, as for the offensive, I am not kidding - there is a lot of swearing and LOTS of violence - 300 levels of violence, and the main female characters (all two of them) do get pretty short shrift compared to the men. That said, it is a Mark Millar adaptation, and crossing the line umpty-nine times and gleefully seeking refuge in audacity is pretty much his signature style.
In conclusion, this is going to be a film you love, or loathe. I am firmly in the former camp.
Audacious, offensive... and highly entertaining
Having not (yet) read the comic book, this review is purely on the film as a film, and not as an adaptation. In a similar vein to Kick-Ass, it serves as somewhere in between a deconstruction, reconstruction, parody and loving homage... with lots of swearing and ultra-violence, in this instance of spy films not super heroes.
Colin Firth stars as Harry Hart, who faces a plot right out of Roger Moore-era Bond (almost exactly the same as Moonraker, in fact) and with Samuel L Jackson clearly having an absolute blast as the evil megalomaniac villain.
Of course, Bond never had an apprentice on the job with him - and certainly wouldn't have accepted a gobby little chav as a sidekick, as Hart does. Eggsy is just as important to the plot as Harry and played impressively by Taron Egerton, who manages to show the hero underneath the rough edges, of which there are many.
Initially, Eggsy's training is the B-plot and not particularly interesting. The training from hell, the jerkass classmates/rivals, token attractive female with requisite ship tease... but Egerton sells the journey well, and manages to genuinely portray more development than we ever see occurring.
Once he's out of school, things get interesting as the final confrontation looms - and Michael Vaughn tears up the rule book and goes absolutely nuts, giving us what is going to be THE fight scene of the year - what can only be described as an orgy of stylised, slow-motion violence, in a church. To the sound of Freebird. It's seriously daring and made me wonder what he could have done with the more mundane training aspects if he'd really wanted to.
Of course, the final confrontation takes the baton with style and if anything takes it up another level - exploding heads, a {{dragon]] with razor sharp prosthetic legs, and an interaction with one female hostage that no Bond film will EVER dare to attempt...
Now, as for the offensive, I am not kidding - there is a lot of swearing and LOTS of violence - 300 levels of violence, and the main female characters (all two of them) do get pretty short shrift compared to the men. That said, it is a Mark Millar adaptation, and crossing the line umpty-nine times and gleefully seeking refuge in audacity is pretty much his signature style.
In conclusion, this is going to be a film you love, or loathe. I am firmly in the former camp.