The latest smashing R-rated entry from director Matthew Vaughn, one stolen by homicidal gentleman Colin Firth doing his own fight sequences, is a knowing blend of schools both old and new. Getting by on suave looks and agile pacing, the movie veers off into looniness at times, but is never less than entertaining.

Akin to each of Vaughn's past action efforts, the stylistic hyper-violence of his other Mark Millar adaptation, Kick-Ass (2010), and the origin story world-building of reboot X-Men: First Class (2011), Kingsman also makes the most of its A-list stars as those films did. Samuel L. Jackson is part Bill Gates, part Russell Simmons and the rest DGAF, as he plans to unleash the ultimate Brown Noise - a sound that when emitted, makes people kill everyone around them.

This dastardly attempt at world peace via mass murder by proxy can only be foiled by new recruit Eggsy (Taron Egerton), as trained and licensed to kill by Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine, all code named after Knights of the Round Table. Equipped with bulletproof bespoke suits, lighter-housed hand grenades and an arsenal-packing umbrella that would make The Penguin envious, Eggsy and Firth's Harry Hart do their well-appointed damnedest to save the world.

Two key action sequences punch up the proceedings, the latter of which is Eggsy's odds-defying dash through his enemy's mountain compound, culminating in a showdown between the young agent and a prosthetic-blade-footed female henchman. The earlier and more impressive of these set pieces, though, features a rage-induced Firth taking on a church full of similarly possessed patrons, in a single tracking shot of glorious mayhem.

In a winter season devoid of well-conceived action offerings, Kingsman stands out as a winking adult crowd-pleaser, and a solid franchise starter to boot. Here's hoping Vaughn is given the reins for a sequel, free from the burden of backstory and primed for another rollicking mission.

Final Grade: B+ | 87/100 | ★★★