Skyfall, directed in 2012 by Sam Mendes, is one in many of the notorious James Bond franchise, a series of spy and action genre films based on the books by Ian Fleming. Kingsman: The Secret Service - which, throughout this essay, I will be referring to as Kingsman - is also a film that falls within the genre of comedy and spy and action, similarly to Skyfall, and was directed in 2014 by Matthew Vaughn.

Other than the similarity in the film's genres - and also the hybridity of the genres that they are categorised by - the representations detailed within the films are arguably also similar. Both films represent national identity - in particular, English national identity - with a number of conventions that adhere to a particular stereotype of English people: speaking the Queen's English, polite and well-mannered. For example, this is shown in the dialect of many of the characters within both films, including James Bond and M from Skyfall and Harry and Arthur from Kingsman.

M, from Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes

Although this representation is challenged as much as it is supported in Kingsman through the representation of regional identity and the dialect and behaviour of one region of England in opposition to another, which also shows a representation of class. For example, the representation of Eggsy and the characters that live local to him is portrayed in a very different way to that of Harry and Arthur with differences in clothing, dialect and behaviour. The audience is positioned throughout the film to understand the stereotypes of the two regions and classes and how the working-class is often negatively represented in comparison to the upper-class yet, taking from the plot of the film, the preferred reading is also that a person's class and social background is not a testament to their personality; where you come from does not define whether or not you are a good or bad person. This is shown through the fact that many of the upper-class characters were corrupt and had bad intentions and some of the characters from the working-class, such as Eggsy - the film's protagonist - were shown to have good morals.

Eggy, from Kingsman (2014) dir. Matthew Vaughn

As well as portraying a similar image of upper-class English people within both films, the films also portray similar representations of masculinity which throughout the films are assumed across a number of regional and national identities. For example, notions of violence are attributed to masculinity as well as the concept of wearing suits to connote power and authority; qualities also connected to masculinity within both films. These connotations of masculinity are strengthened throughout the film as Eggsy is seen to be validated by the other characters as being a "man" at the end of the film, when he is dressed similarly to the other spies, in suits, and is able to handle himself confidently in a fight.

Asides from the representations and the genre, other similarities between the two films include the production values. Both films use a cast of high profile actors, for example. In Skyfall, some of the well-known actors include Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond - the film's lead, and Dame Judi Dench. Within Kingsman, some of the actors include Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine and Colin Firth. Whilst Skyfall was made on a budget of between $150,000,000 and $200,000,000, both films had large budgets, falling within the millions of dollars, with Kingsman having an estimated budget of between $81,000,000 and $94,000,000.

It is likely that the production values of both films helped to guide the representations formed within the film as the films need to appeal to a mass audience to be able to make profit and so have formed representations based on commonly accepted stereotypes, as not to disturb the comfortable or cause controversial representations of groups of people that audiences may react adversely to. This is also likely to be the reason that both films share so many similarities in that regard.