Kingsman: The Secret Service 2014

Wesley Morris, Grantland: Any sense of triumph is purely at the level of stuntcraft. The rest feels less than the sum of the moving parts. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Borrows the tone, story, characters and humor of "Kick-Ass," only this time in a 007 world instead of Batman's. Nearly everything it does, it does poorly: This one is "Weak-Ass." Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Expensive, derivative and boring as mattress ticking masquerading as designer fabric ... Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: A cleverly constructed homage to the Bond pictures, particularly the early ones starring Sean Connery, before everything got so deadly serious in the Daniel Craig era. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Whether it's "Alex Rider," "Agent Cody Banks" or "Spy Kids," plenty have tried to adapt the 007 shtick to younger characters, with demonstrably dopey results. In the end, the reason it works for Vaughn is that he's making the film for adults. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Slick entertainment, provided the viewer turns off whatever part of their brain is responsible for recognizing and parsing subtext. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Things go from far-fetched to insane before it's over, and Vaughn wisely keeps the pace at a healthy clip. But never underestimate his power to floor you. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is a youth-quaking riff bursting with affection for vintage 007 action and urbanity, yet one that feels wholly organic in the way it goes about selling this appreciation to a younger crowd. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Vaughn packs the frames with eye-popping detail, and there's an infectious creative energy to his violent action sequences, but the film's hatefulness is hard to stomach. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I will say this: "Kingsman" has some nerve, however misguided. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Camping it up, Jackson is hilarious. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Good show, lads. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Ultimately, there's little to care about in Kingsman, a spy film that's all dressed up with no place to go. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: Pure fanboy ecstasy- a muscle-flexing spectacle of cartoon violence and cheeky attitude, which announces its cleverness at every turn. Read more

Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter: Firth enters new territory with style and grace, anchoring a smart, high-energy movie that eventually runs out of steam. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: If you can forgive the failings for at least some of the two-plus-hour running time, "Kingsman" serves up its share of entertaining froth. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: If you're not averse to ridiculous violence and un-PC irreverence, your money will be well spent. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: The less you try to make sense of "Kingsman: The Secret Service," the more you'll enjoy this freewheeling, preposterously violent action comedy from the creators of "Kick-Ass." Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Countless viewers will relish the brazen zest of its invention. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It relishes low-class ugliness. Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: Kingsman ... keeps finding new ways to surprise with well-trodden territory. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The violence flies repellently over the top, and the finale features an extended joke so insanely sexist it sends us out on a seriously sour note. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The problem is that Mr. Vaughn has no interest in, or perhaps understanding of, violence as a cinematic tool. He doesn't use violence; he squanders it. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: If ever there was a semi-entertaining movie that sabotages itself with tastelessness and misogyny, this is it. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: The film tries so hard to be a clever, deconstructive meta-tale, forever winking at the audience about its silly story, that it metas itself into insignificance. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Based on a comic book, Kingsman occasionally betrays its roots but Vaughn has adapted it to fit his unique approach. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: On Day One of filming, they must have thrown away the moral compass and taken a group vow to splatter our sensibilities with stylish, gratuitous violence and one "Wait, what?!" moment after another. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Caught between straight-up James Bond and the Austin Powers parody version, Kingsman is a high-octane combo of action and comedy that breathes surreal new life into the big-screen spy game where Bond meets Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The mix of comedy and corpses in "Kingsman" becomes callous and clueless - in addition to seeming about 50 years behind the times. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A stylized superspy caper stretching a selection of high-profile actors to roles satirically against type. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Kingsman" is like a high-speed collision between a Jaguar and a jaywalking soccer hooligan. It's ridiculously out of balance, and when you're stuck in the middle, it doesn't seem so funny. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Frequently reactionary, bordering on retrograde, bordering on reprobate. But it's also a tremendous amount of fun. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: Kingsman: The Secret Service is a lively, dashing and amusing motion picture that smartly spoofs and slyly celebrates the James Bond spy-film franchise. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: There's enough action, suspense and all-around fun to make Kingsman: The Secret Service an unexpectedly enjoyable ride. Read more

James Rocchi, TheWrap: A startlingly enjoyable and well-made action film leavened by humor and slicked along by style, made by, for, and about people who've seen far too many Bond films. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: 'Kingsman' is undoubtedly worth the ticket price. Just try not to think too much... Read more

Steve Tilley, Toronto Sun: It's not necessarily trying to reinvent Bond, so much as reminding us that there are other games in town. And they can be just as enjoyable to play. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Its blend of breathless action with Brit irreverence is like James Bond skipping the martinis and lacing a proper cup of tea with crack. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: Everything in Kingsman is familiar, cribbed from James Bond and a thousand other sources, yet every setup gets twisted twice, and then once more, just when you think you're ahead of it. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Kingsman is not a film for gentlemen. It's for us, the great unwashed, bloodthirsty audience. It's an immaculately engineered, laugh-out-loud appeal to our own depravity. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Like the rookie who knows that you have to make a few mistakes while following the master, the movie shrugs off its missteps with a wink and a smile that makes them easy to forgive. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: This absurdist mashup of spy-movie genres-especially those with gentleman spies-points up the frenzied pace of change with a frenzy of its own, then runs low on comic resources in the process. Read more