What would happen if James Bond had a grandson who wanted to follow in his specially equipped shoes?
I think we find out with Kingsmen: The Secret Service.
And this action-adventure-comedy written by Jane Goldman and directed by Matthew Vaughan satisfyingly scratched my 007 itch by covering all three of those bases. The story, adapted from a 2012 comic book series by Mark Millar and Gibbons, is stocked with plenty of action, heaps of adventure and 25 shades of comedy.
At an early Friday matinee, I certainly was glad — as it appeared were the couple dozen other movie-goers of different generations, genders and races — that this secret agent flick offered a top-shelf alternative to that sex-and-society-pushing movie adapted from a novel that caught the fancy of women readers and has tied up media focus this opening weekend.
The plot: British operative Harry Hart, or Galahad if you prefer, promises a widow and her young son that he’s at their service because it was his error that caused the death of her husband and his father in the final stage of his training. Veteran Colin Forth, looking about the same age to me as he did in a fave romance comedy of mine, 2003’s Love Actually wonder of wonders, is cool as beans as the guy who can talk with aristocrats, scheme with geniuses and fight with martial arts masters.
Down the line, young adult Eggsy makes that call after falling into poor Brit unrest, trouble with his stepfather and his seedy friends and worse problems with the law because of his spirit and rebelliousness. Taron Egerton gives the right mix of cocky fight and intelligent light in his eyes as he and Galahad and the rest of the young trainees bond during their training experience, which also is a battle to become the one and only next agent to replace the fallen Lancelot.
