Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - the cool version!
You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of Kingsman The Secret Service...
In June 2014, 20th Century Fox hired Mark Millar as a consultant to help them oversee
their Marvel properties - which also gave the one man comic book factory an “in”
at the Hollywood studio. While Millar’s Wanted was distributed by Universal and the
Kick Ass films by Lionsgate, his most recent comics - published under his Millarworld banner
- are all set-up at Fox - Nemesis, Superior, Starlight aaaaand The Secret Service. And
while Millar is known for partnering up with the best artists in the business, he managed
to land Watchmen’s Dave Gibbons for The Secret Service, who has a co-creator credit
on the comic. Can Millar evolve into a comic book brand name that makes the transition
to mainstream film, ala Frank Miller? Miller, a writer and an artist, is particularly well
known for his visual style, while Miller will have to craft his legacy based on his ideas
- which tend to take popular old-fashioned ideas, here the spy genre, and then put a
cynical modern day twist on them, plus a heavy dose of violence and swearing sprinkled with
pop culture references. Yet...Kingsman The Secret Service doesn’t seem so cynical.
In fact, it seems like a Valentine to not just the spy genre but the UK, a popular trend
as of late with Harry Potter, the new Bond, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and even Paddington!
Once again, Millar is putting his work in the hands of multi-hyphenate Matthew Vaughn
and writer Jane Goldman, and surely this team hopes to do even better than their first outing
- Kick Ass. Vaughn and Goldman did such a good job with Kick-Ass they landed X-Men First
Class, yet after that prequel Bryan Singer wanted his toys back. Speaking of toys, long-time
action figure Mark Hamill has a fun cameo here. Front and center is Oscar winner Colin
Firth in his first action movie - perhaps pulling a Liam Neeson? - while UK television
actor Taron Egerton makes his feature film debut. Michael Caine and Jack Davenport add
some more distinguished british flavor, while Samuel L Jackson brings both American appeal
and some diversity to the flick. The only potential red flag is that Kingsman The Secret
Service was supposed to open in October, but now this UK valentine will debut on...Valentine’s
Day. Will audiences fall
in love?