By Megan Ruge, Co-Editor in Chief
We all know the story of the knights of the round table: Arthur and his band of men who ruled Camelot through betrayal, heartbreak and inevitable death.
The story has been told and retold many times and given a new time period or point of view, but this action- comedy take on the story will have you wanting more.
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a spy film packed with action and humor. The film is rated R for some crude language and for immense gore.
In this James Bond meets Austin Powers spy flick, we meet Eggsy, a young boy whose father dies serving for the Kingsmen, a secret organization of spies whose loyalty belongs to no one but the good of mankind.
Eggsy grows up without his father, watches his mother get into trouble and worries constantly about his baby sister.
Everything in his life is a constant joyride until he lands himself in a jail for grand theft auto and realizes his only way out is to call the number on the back of his father’s medal of valor.
Eggsy is then introduced to the Kingsmen himself, who explain that they don’t consider themselves loyal to a government, they are an independent agency. They also don’t consider themselves spies, instead they are the new knights.
In the film, a millionaire environmentalist by the name of Valentine releases a new phone card that is meant to allow all users to connect to his network completely for free. People all around the world line up for their free phone cards that will allow them unlimited talk and data for no charge.
What these people don’t know is that Valentine sees the human race as a virus that is killing the earth and he plans to use the phone cards to do something about it. The Kingsmen must stop him, but will lose one of their own on the way.
This loss and their adventure to save the world from Valentine’s plan will start them on a path that will lead to the ultimate crowning of a new “King Arthur” for the Kingsmen.
This film was actually originally banned from many movie theaters due to the amount of graphic gore in the first massacre scene.
Filmmakers were warned about the graphic content in the film and were asked to “dial it back” by the rating board. Why? Because they massacre a church full of people.
At the end of the film, everyone’s heads blow up.
If you look closely, as heads begin to blow, you will see mushroom clouds of brilliant color alluding to the explosion. This was the only way to explode hundreds of heads without having the movie completely banned from theaters.
Overall, the film did really well. It created very little buzz in the beginning, but shortly had its own following. It hooked many viewers and made plenty of room for the sequel.
In the new film, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” the British Kingsmen will meet their American match.
When their headquarters is destroyed and the world being held captive by the newest of many rivals, the Kingsmen find themselves looking for allies.
During their search, they come across an organization of spies from the United States known as Statesman.
In a whirlwind adventure, strengths will be tested and the two elite secret agent groups will have to come together to defeat an all new enemy and inevitably save the day. Sounds quite familiar.
If you enjoyed the first film, the second should definitely be on your list.
The film received a $40 million opening weekend at the box office. This film is for any- one looking for a good laugh, a little bit of action and a hint of Channing Tatum.
