Despite the fairly experienced cast here, this rather enjoyable rip-off of all things "Bond" and "U.N.C.L.E" really belongs to the ballsy and engaging effort from Taron Egerton. He is the young "Eggsy" who lives with his mum (Samantha Womack) and her gangster boyfriend "Dean" (Geoff Bell). After a pretty daring altercation with his goons, the youngster ends up in a police station where he remembers a gift that was given to his mother when his father mysteriously died. He calls a number, is duly sprung and introduced to the dapper "Harry Hart" (Colin Firth) who quickly enrols him in a school that isn't for the faint hearted. Survival here is just the start of his adventures as he is quickly embroiled in a world-domination scheme being hatched by gazillionaire "Valentine" (Samuel L. Jackson) - aided by his lethal-limbed hench-woman "Gazelle" (Sofia Boutella). Luckily he has the sagely "Merlin" (Mark Strong) and the versatile "Roxy" (Sophie Cookson) to help him - but can he thwart the dastardly plan? Jeopardy isn't high on director Matthew Vaughn's priority lists here, but entertainment and plenty of fun action-escapades are, and they deliver well. Firth is on fine form as the deadly but debonaire mentor; Sir Michael Caine adds a soupçon of class to the proceedings and Jackson looks like he is having fun in his bright red Converse trainers. It does take just a shade too long to get going, but Egerton works really well as the cheeky chappy with a brain in his head and a solid sense of common decency - particularly useful when he is facing overwhelming odds and doom lies menacingly before him. It's a great looking film, the visual effects are used sparingly and all told this is a characterful, well-written, and good fun yarn that still tips it's hat to the espionage genre - but in a playful and slightly mischievous way. Good fun.
