Combining spycraft staples from the era of poison-tipped brollies and dead-drops with raucous action beats of the modern actioner, Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service is Le Carré by way of London’s meaner streets. Tinker Tailor Soulja Spy, as it were. It has a brand new, made-to-measure trailer and a new poster, both of which we’re delighted to be able to debut here.
First impressions? It’s a heck of a sales pitch. The villain and his evil scheme come to the fore a little more here, as Samuel L. Jackson’s Valentine eyes a bunch of chemical weapons with which he can sprinkle liberal helpings of death and destruction on the innocent and just-in-the-way. There’s also more of Sofia Boutella’s Gazelle, the Rosa Klebb to Jackson’s Blofeld, and her amazingly sharp-looking legs. She’s an amputee whose injury has been put to bloody good use, thanks to the addition of two blades, as you can see from this new For Your Eyes Only**-homaging poster. Colin Firth plays the suave British secret agent who recognises the raw potential in ex-squaddie Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin (Taron Egerton). He plucks him from his council estate, pops him into Savile Row clobber, sending him out to help take down Jackson’s evil megalomaniac.
**Kingsman **was originally Vaughn’s idea, reteaming with Jane Goldman for a screenplay that will follow the basic structure of the comic book on which its based. Expect it to veer wildly off in different directions at key moments though.
With the likes of Michael Caine, Mark Hamill, Sophie Cookson and Vaughn stalwart Mark Strong in the cast, Kingsman: The Secret Service will hit UK cinemas on January 29 next year.