Kingsman: The Secret Service

The film is based on the comic book series of the same name, written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, published by Millarworld, and based on concept by Millar and Vaughn.

The film follows Gary “Eggsy” Unwin’s (Taron Egerton) recruitment by Harry Hart (Colin Firth) into Kingsman, a secret spy organisation. Eggsy joins a mission, in brutal and comedic fashion, to tackle a global threat from Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), a wealthy megalomaniac and eco-terrorist wanting to deal with climate change by wiping out most of humanity. Mark Strong and Michael Caine play supporting roles.

Kingsman: The Secret Service premiered at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon festival on 13 December 2014, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2015 and United States on 13 February 2015, by 20th Century Fox.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for its stylized action sequences, direction, acting, villain, visual style, musical score and dark humour, although some scenes were criticised for being over-the-top. The film grossed over $414 million worldwide, becoming Vaughn’s most commercially successful film to date. In 2015, the film won the Empire Award for Best British Film.

A sequel titled Kingsman: The Golden Circle was released in September 2017, while a prequel titled The King’s Man was theatrically released on 22 December 2021.[

Blaming himself for Lee’s death, Harry returns to London and gives Lee’s young son Gary “Eggsy” a medal engraved with an emergency assistance number.

Seventeen years later, Eggsy is a rebellious chav, having dropped out of training for the Royal Marines despite his cunning and athletic talent. Arrested for stealing a car, Eggsy calls the emergency number, leading Harry to arrange his release and subdue Eggsy’s abusive stepfather’s gang.

Harry explains that he is a member of Kingsman, a private intelligence service founded by the British elite who lost their heirs in the First World War and put their money toward protecting the world; the organisation is named for the tailor shop in Savile Row used as a front for their operations.

Harry, codename “Galahad”, nominates Eggsy to replace agent “Lancelot”, who was killed by the assassin Gazelle while trying to rescue radical climate change scientist Professor James Arnold from kidnappers. Kingsman’s technical support operative “Merlin” discovers Arnold working as though nothing has happened.

Hart attempts to interrogate the professor at Imperial College London, but a microchip in Arnold’s neck explodes, killing him and putting Harry in a coma. The detonation signal is traced to Gazelle’s employer Richmond Valentine, a billionaire philanthropist who has offered everyone in the world SIM cards with free cellular and Internet access. Hart, after recovering from his coma, poses as another philanthropist to meet Valentine.

Eggsy befriends fellow Kingsman trainee Roxy, and he endures Merlin’s tests until they are the only candidates left. However, Eggsy refuses his final test—seemingly shooting a puppy he was given to raise—and Roxy is named the new “Lancelot”. Harry learns of Valentine’s connection to a religious hate group and travels to their church in Kentucky, wearing glasses containing a video transceiver.

As Eggsy watches Harry’s footage, Valentine triggers the SIM cards inside the church with a signal that causes the parishioners and Harry to become murderously violent. Harry is the only survivor thanks to his fighting abilities, but is shot in the face by Valentine, apparently killing him.

Eggsy returns to Kingsman headquarters and notices Chester King, codename “Arthur” and Kingsman’s leader, has the same implantation scar on his neck as Professor Arnold. King reveals Valentine’s plan to transmit his violence-inducing signal worldwide, “culling” most of humanity to avert its extinction from global warming.

Valentine has recruited various world leaders and wealthy elite to his cause, implanted with chips to protect them from the signal; those who refuse are held captive at his bunker, including Crown Princess Tilde of Sweden. King poisons Eggsy’s drink, but Eggsy switches glasses while distracting him, letting King poison himself instead, and extracts the chip from King’s neck.

Eggsy, Merlin, and Roxy locate Valentine’s bunker, where many of his conspirators are gathered. Roxy pilots high-altitude balloons to break up Valentine’s satellite network, but he secures a replacement. Merlin flies to the bunker, where Eggsy masquerades as King but is discovered by failed Kingsman recruit Charlie Hesketh.

Cornered by Valentine’s men, Merlin activates the implanted chips’ failsafe, killing the guards and conspirators as heads explode around the world. Valentine activates the signal, triggering worldwide pandemonium. Eggsy kills Gazelle and impales Valentine with one of Gazelle’s sharpened prosthetic blades, stopping the signal. Eggsy, now the new “Galahad”, offers his mother and baby half-sister a new home and prepares to take on his stepfather and gang, just as Harry once did.