A violent spy spoof that's lacking a soul

It might be all the rage to make ironic homages to classic films. But try pulling off a satire of movies that already were spoofs.

As the violent action comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service shows, the result isn't always pretty. A subpar spoof on '60s spy films clothed in dazzling, if not migraine-inducing, visuals, Kingsman is a cross between a James Bond film and a Marvel superhero comic, with a nod to Dr. No, Our Man Flint, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Get Smart.

It features Colin Firth, Michael Caine, and Jack Davenport as a sartorially superior team of privately financed superspies sworn to defend Britain and her highest ideals. Its agents, named after the Knights of the Round Table (Firth is Galahad), barely break a sweat as they take down terrorists, killers, and sundry other evildoers.

Yet they come up against their match in a supervillain named Valentine, a nerd-chic environmentalist who plans to end global warming in a most bloody way. Samuel L. Jackson channels his inner geek as the bad guy, a lisping hematophobiac who dresses a bit like Urkel from Family Matters. Valentine's sexy sidekick is the stuff of nightmares, a double amputee ( Sofia Boutella ) who uses her artificial legs as swords.

To be sure, Kingsman has impressive action-movie credentials. Director Matthew Vaughn, who proved he has mad skills as a comic-book filmmaker with Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, has assembled a first-rate cast. He charges his pic with enthralling photography, expertly choreographed set pieces, editing as smooth as a Barry White song, and a narrative pace as explosive as a Sex Pistols freakout.

Let's not forget the orgy of suits, the nattiest this side of Saville Row. (Online fashion flogger Mr. Porter plans to sell a line of knockoffs.)

Kingsman even includes a coming-of-age story about a working-class kid (Taron Egerton) who fights against all odds to become an agent.

On many levels, Kingsman has the makings of a sure-fire hit. Yet, this is one spy story even the most dedicated addicts of the genre would do well to miss.

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.

The story is rubbish - as the film itself tells us - while its characters are little more than wind-up dolls set on a collision course with one another. Nor is the comedy all that funny.

It may elicit a few smiles, but Kingsman: The Secret Service has no soul.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn. With Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Jack Davenport, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson, Taron Egerton. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.

Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes.

Parent's guide: R (profanity, violence, some sexual content).

Playing at: area theaters.EndText