With reporting by Josh Horowitz

In the time of torture and dark intrigue, it's rare to find a smile on the face of Britain's top spy. Is the super-spy world of James Bond just a little too grim for you? Well, then the theater has some good news for you this weekend.

"Kingsman: The Secret Service," starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Samuel L. Jackson, is a playful new take on the spy genre, Jackson told MTV News. Borrowing from other mainstays of the genre allowed filmmakers to liven up the movie.

Director Matthew Vaughn used "every kind of spy thing that he's watched since he was a kid," Jackson told MTV News. "We go through some 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' stuff and 'Avengers' kind of stuff and umbrellas and clothes. Bond's gotten a little serious over the years.

And it's fine, I like Bond and Bourne and all those things, Jack Bauer. We like all that! But it's missing some of the tongue in cheek stuff that used to be a part of it."

Find out which Bond movie is Jackson's favorite by watching the clip above.