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Kingsman:

The Secret Service

(4 Popcorn Boxes)

  Well, milk my duds, I did not see this coming.  Kingsman: The Secret Service is an excellent action/adventure movie.

  Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is a member of the Kingsman Secret Service. At the death of a colleague he recruits Eggsy the young son (Taron Egerton) of another fallen friend. Eggsy? The British have odd nicknames.

  Firth may seem an obvious choice to portray the cultured British spy Galahad (his Kingsman code name), but early in we also meet the skilled fighter and deadly assassin. He totally convinced me he was a lethal spy.

  The training scenes with Eggsy and other recruits are exciting and funny. Mark Strong as Merlin and Michael Caine as Arthur give depth to the storyline without distracting from the heroes. The evil villain Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) cracked me up with his lisp and aversion to the sight of blood. Of course, that doesn't mean he won't kill you he just looks away as he pulls the trigger.

  Evil henchman Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) is probably the most unique since Jaws of James Bond fame. The CGI that gives her blades for legs is remarkable and creepy.

  Based on the Mark Millar comic and directed by Matthew Vaughn, Kingsman is a perfect blend of the polished 007 James Bond spy along with the dark humor and violence of Kick-Ass (also a comic written by Millar and movie directed by Vaughn). The blend of comedy, action and characters is perfectly timed by the director and the writers have given it plenty of Tarantino-style violence and gore to keep Kingsman from sliding into the Austin Powers comedy camp.

  Four out of five boxes for Kingsman: The Secret Service. A friend of mine recently told me he thought this movie looked silly, he was wrong, not silly at all. Just great action, excellent computer generated images, fireworks (that is funnier after you've seen the film) and interesting characters portrayed by good actors. That's all I ask. Kingsman is rated R for scenes of extreme violence, language and sexual situations.

  For a complete listing of shows and times, please call 1-888-319-FILM or visit the website at www.cinemahollywood.com.

 MOVIE TRIVIA

      Mark Strong is usually the bad guy but not in Kingsman. However, you may already know he was the villain in this 2010 superhero action film. (This is soooo easy.)

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