This article contains spoilers for Kingsman: The Secret Service.
If Layer Cake was Matthew Vaughn’s first foray into making a Bond-like movie (including starring future 007, Daniel Craig), then Kingsman: The Secret Service was pure classic Bond on acid; a magnificent, very British spy movie that shocked and delighted in equal measure. Needless to say, expectations are very high (perhaps too much so) for the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, hitting cinemas this week.
Set The Tape’s Baz Greenland thought it would be a good time to look back at the first film and pick its best moments, before we head into the sequel.
Exploding Heads
Let’s start with the ending. You thought the Church scene was over the top violence? Well there was nothing on the superbly ridiculous exploding head scene. As Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) attempt to stop Valentine from killing half the world’s population in a bloody massacre, they formulate the crazy plan to activate the chips in the heads of Valentine’s soldiers and all the people that have followed his evil scheme.
Accompanied by Elgar’s ‘Pomp & Circumstance’, what follows is a beautiful and barbaric choreographed sequence as heads explode in plumes of colourful explosion, swirling circles and firework explosions. There’s even the delightful moment that suggests the then-President Obama and his closest advisors are killed in their bunker. It’s so ludicrous you can’t quite believe what you are watching but it’s also a magnificent symphony of colour, music and that sums up the film so well.
Shoot The Dog
This is the scene that proves just how much integrity Eggsy has, proving his mettle as the film’s leading character, by standing up to Michael Caine’s Arthur and refusing to commit one final action even though it will admit him full entry as a Kingsman. When confronted with the order to shoot his pug dog, Eggsy refuses, giving up a life of glory and a return to his old life in a rough council estate in London.
Vaughn delivers a scene that is both tense and amusing, the wide eyes of Eggsy’s dog making even the hardest soul waver. The fact the gun was loaded with blanks is inconsequential; Eggsy didn’t have that knowledge and chose the life of a dog, even though that meant giving up everything he had fought for.
The Drink Switch
And of course, this is followed by the scene where a cunning Eggsy, still reeling over the death of Colin Firth’s Galahad, realises that the world is in great danger and rushes back to seek the counsel of Caine’s Arthur. The film delivers another bold twist as Eggsy notices the scar behind Arthur’s ear and realises that the big boss has been in league with Valentine all along.
We see just how ruthless Arthur is, revealing that he has poisoned Eggsy’s drink to silence him. Cue the drink switch, Taron Egerton playing a cool, suave agent in the making as he uses his street skills to reveal he swapped the drinks and played Arthur all along. “You dirty little fucking prick” Arthur snarls before dropping dead. It’s Eggsy’s best moment so far, but saving the world is still to come.
Manners Maketh Man
I almost considered adding the entrance of Sofia Boutella’s Gazelle and the death of Jack Davenport’s Lancelot at the ski lodge to this list; it’s a moment of pure classic-Bond ballsiness. But entertaining as it was, the film really didn’t kick into high gear until this magnificent scene, where Galahad’s attempts to recruit Eggsy are rudely interrupted by the street gang working for his mother’s abusive boyfriend. When they give lip to Galahad, he demonstrates to them – and the audience – what a Kingsman is really made of, and it’s bloody marvellous!
It is such a stunningly choreographed fight, from the moment Galahad smashes the pint glass into one of the faces of his abusers to his skill with his unfurled umbrella, beating each gang member to the ground without breaking a sweat. What’s even better is that this blast of violence is crossed with Colin Firth’s very ‘British’ aristocratic portrayal. It is so unexpected, particularly from the man probably best known as Mr Darcy or Bridget Jones’s love interest. In fact it was such a great scene, it replays at the very end of the film, this time with Egerton’s Eggsy in the role.
The Church Scene
The pub fight scene proved that Kingsman: The Secret Service could balance classic Bond pastiche with brutal violence, but nothing could have prepared us for the sheer, unadulterated bloodbath of the church scene. Galahad’s investigation into Valentine leads him to the baptist church in Kentucky (which admittedly looks like Milton Keynes), just as the Samuel L. Jackson’s villain activates the SIM guards and incites feral rage in the church goers.
The pub fight was childsplay compared to this, a stunning choreography of violence and bloodlust that leaves the audience’s mouths hanging open even on repeat viewing. An infected Galahad shoots, stabs and bludgeons his way through the mass even as they tear each other apart. The sequel – and indeed any film – will be hard pressed to beat this insane, beautiful, brutal cacophony of violence.
And then after everyone is dead, a victorious Galahad’s stumbles out of the church, is confronted by Valentine, and shot in the head. Talk about brutal…
Do you agree with the above choices? Are there other moments you would have added to the list? Just how many top moments does this film have? Let us know in comments below or via social media.