Before I say anything else, I will admit that the Kingsman franchise has found a unique form of action that is fluid, fun, and cheesy. These are good qualities for the spy spoof, even if the second installment falls flat at times. After Kingsman: The Secret Service came out, I was fully onboard for a sequel. Taron Egerton (Eddie the Eagle) as Eggsy and Colin Firth (The King's Speech) as Harry Hart were fun to watch as spy protagonists going head-to-head with an oddly hilarious Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) villain. Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, The Imitation Game) was also the perfect sidekick to throw into the mix. Unfortunately, something went wrong in the second installment and the script was not as clever. Neither was the storyline.
In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Eggsy has matured a bit. He seems to know what is at stake with the new villain, and yet has a seemingly more immature sense of humor. A lot of the jokes are sexualized, causing viewers to question if the movie as a whole is more immature than it is clever. Some new characters pop up to join the mix ranging from Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) to Julianne Moore (The Big Lebowski, Children of Men). Moore's portrayal of Poppy is very enthusiastic, which came off as a bit too overblown for my taste. Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, True Grit, Iron Man, TRON: Legacy), Halle Berry (X-Men: The Last Stand, Cloud Atlas), and Pedro Pascal (The Great Wall) act as American counterparts to the Kingsman with a decent southern attitude. The Statesman are fun to watch, and we might see more of them if the franchise stays alive after this film.
As with the original, the technical aspects of the film are still fresh and near-perfect. Some audiences have complained about the use of CGI, but that was the fun part of the original. There are new weapons and action sequences that start from the very beginning of the film. The score is once again a mix of original and compilation soundtrack, creating a constantly moving blockbuster. While the action sequences are enjoyable, the film is about 20 or 30 minutes too long. If some of the scenes were cut shorter, the attention span wouldn't have dwindled towards the end. While this film was nowhere near as good as the original, I still hope for a third installment!
The Bottom Line: Don't go in expecting to see the same solid story and performances as the original film, but enjoy the style that the franchise has developed.
Score: 6.5/10
In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Eggsy has matured a bit. He seems to know what is at stake with the new villain, and yet has a seemingly more immature sense of humor. A lot of the jokes are sexualized, causing viewers to question if the movie as a whole is more immature than it is clever. Some new characters pop up to join the mix ranging from Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) to Julianne Moore (The Big Lebowski, Children of Men). Moore's portrayal of Poppy is very enthusiastic, which came off as a bit too overblown for my taste. Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, True Grit, Iron Man, TRON: Legacy), Halle Berry (X-Men: The Last Stand, Cloud Atlas), and Pedro Pascal (The Great Wall) act as American counterparts to the Kingsman with a decent southern attitude. The Statesman are fun to watch, and we might see more of them if the franchise stays alive after this film.
As with the original, the technical aspects of the film are still fresh and near-perfect. Some audiences have complained about the use of CGI, but that was the fun part of the original. There are new weapons and action sequences that start from the very beginning of the film. The score is once again a mix of original and compilation soundtrack, creating a constantly moving blockbuster. While the action sequences are enjoyable, the film is about 20 or 30 minutes too long. If some of the scenes were cut shorter, the attention span wouldn't have dwindled towards the end. While this film was nowhere near as good as the original, I still hope for a third installment!
The Bottom Line: Don't go in expecting to see the same solid story and performances as the original film, but enjoy the style that the franchise has developed.
Score: 6.5/10
Image credit: By Kubrick 574 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49224480
