Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Kingsman: The Secret Service 2015 and the idea behind it

Kingsman: The Secret Service 2015 is a British spy action comedy directed by Matthew Vaughn, who wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. It adapts The Secret Service, a comic series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, and it is the opening film of what became the Kingsman franchise.

The premise is easy to state. Eggsy Unwin comes from a hard background and gets an unlikely chance when Harry Hart, an agent of the private intelligence organisation Kingsman, recruits him. The two then pursue Richmond Valentine, described as an eco-terrorist. The attraction is in the contrast between the tailored, gentlemanly spy world and the streetwise newcomer who has to fit into it.

We are keeping details of the plot's twists out of this preview. Whether the tonal mix of dry humour and heavy action works is something each viewer will judge for themselves; we have not watched the film.

The cast and the people who made it

Colin Firth plays Harry Hart, whose Kingsman code name is Galahad, and Taron Egerton plays Eggsy. Samuel L. Jackson is cast as Richmond Valentine, with Mark Strong as Merlin and Michael Caine as Arthur, the organisation's head. Sophie Cookson plays Roxy Morton, Mark Hamill appears as Professor James Arnold, and Sofia Boutella and Edward Holcroft are also listed.

Matthew Vaughn produced alongside David Reid and Adam Bohling, through Marv Films and Cloudy Productions, and 20th Century Fox distributed it. The score and soundtrack were composed by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, and Gary Barlow contributed original music. The listed running time is 129 minutes.

For readers in India, the casting is a draw in itself: a veteran British star playing a spy mentor beside a then fresh-faced lead is the film's main dynamic on paper.

Kingsman release date and where to watch

Dates differ by country. Wikipedia records a world premiere on 13 December 2014 at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon festival in Austin, Texas, a UK release on 29 January 2015 and a US release on 13 February 2015. Other databases give 30 January 2015 as the earliest European date. We could not confirm an Indian theatrical date, so we do not list one.

We also did not find a source naming a current streaming platform. Search the title and year on the OTT apps you use or on a listing site, and pick the 2015 original rather than the later sequels. The British Board of Film Classification rated it 15, which is a UK rating and not an Indian certificate.

Who it suits

Fans of stylish spy films with a comic streak will be the natural audience, particularly viewers who like the genre's gadgets and tailoring played with a wink. Given the age rating, it is not aimed at young children. This is a preview from published information, not a review.