Kingsman: The Golden Circle – Review – Not As Good As The First One

Kingsman: The Golden Circle Is Impressive At Times And Unimpressive At Other Times. Not As Good As The Previous Edition

Kingsman The Golden Circle (2017)
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With the instant success of the 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, we already expected a sequel in the works with more characters, more plot twists, more cussing, more violence and of course, more of that action from the church massacre. Kingsman: The Golden Circle doesn’t disappoint in that regard – it is filled with extravagant action sequences which are beautifully executed, more violence and gore (remember the rainbow fireworks display of heads exploding from the first movie?), more well-known actors playing interesting characters; with the director focusing more on form than substance.

The sequel picks up a year after the events of the original film. While Eggsy Unwin, played handsomely by Taron Egerton, is playing house with his girlfriend, Princess Tilde of Sweden, the entire Kingsman organisation is destroyed, and their agents are killed by an evil and mysterious drug king-pin.

Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong), the only survivors, head over to Kentucky where they discover a similar spy organisation known as Statesman. In an adventure that tests their strength and wits, the elite secret agents from both sides of the pond band together to battle a ruthless enemy and save the day.

Kingsman The Golden Circle – Nothing Too Big About It

The headquarters of Statesman is located in a whisky factory, and unsurprisingly, its agents have been named after various types of liquor. The head of Statesman, Champagne, is played by Jeff ‘the Dude’ Bridges who makes more of a cameo appearance; Pedro Pascal plays the lasso-wielding cowboy agent named Whiskey, Halle Barry portrays a neglected aide Ginger Ale while Channing Tatum makes a cameo appearance as Tequila.

But, the best addition is undoubtedly Julian Moore who plays the ruthless druglord Poppy Adams, a cheery, ‘50s TV mom styled antagonist who lives in Poppy Land, her headquarters way out in the jungles of Cambodia, which houses a makeover salon, burger grill and robotic guard dogs. The legendary Elton John also makes an extended cameo appearance as himself in a boisterous ‘70s outfit. But, the icing on the cake is Colin Firth’s Harry ‘Galahad’ Hart, Eggsy’s mentor, who returns from the dead and delivers a performance as expected of him.

Kingsman The Golden Circle – A Mix of British Gentlemanliness and American Badass

The movie is a fun-filled entertainer and has high-adrenaline action sequences peppered throughout the film. The director, Matthew Vaughan of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class fame, brilliantly executes the fight scenes with inventive and innovative combat sequences. Though there is less character development than the first movie, Vaughan still manages to keep the audience engaged.

The Britishness of the original has been mixed with a rowdy & rough take on America, the agents at Statesman draw inspiration from American Wild West, and this makes up for a lot of culture-clash gags. The movie is essentially a louder, longer and lewder version of its predecessor, lacking in some things while making up for others.

The problem with Kingsman 2 is that it has too much; too much of everything. More characters mean that there is little time dedicated to the development of each character. Most of the characters in the story are used as plot devices who serve little purpose, with Lancelot (Roxy from the first movie) being killed off within the first 20 minutes. This problem is seen throughout the movie.

Kingsman The Golden Circle – Suffering From Sequel Fever Syndrome?

With an ensemble cast consisting of major Hollywood A-listers, this edition of Kingsman fails to give each actor a deserved spot. Take Jeff Bridges, for instance. His role is barely a cameo of him parodying his earlier ‘cowboy’ roles. Halle Barry’s character of Ginger is also under-developed and comes off as a disappointment; her role is as thin as Roxy’s was in the first film.

If you thought the Westboro Church massacre or making Princess Tilde the literal butt of a crude joke in the first movie was extreme, wait for a scene in this movie where Eggsy has to plant a tiny tracking device inside the private part of a female character. His efforts are shown with a CGI-assisted camera shot that follows his hand down her body and then literally inside her.

Overall, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a fun ride with a few potholes. Munch on your popcorn, enjoy the movie and don’t take it too seriously; bear in mind that this film suffers from Sequel Fever Syndrome; it is a sequel like John Wick: Chapter 2, primarily a money-making venture.

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Verdict of The Idiot

Idiot-o-Meter: Take It Easy, Dude!
[yasr_overall_rating]

The Idiot’s Rating System:

4.0 – 5.0: The Dude Abides!
3.0 – 4.0: Far Out, Man!
2.0 – 3.0: Take It Easy, Dude!
1.0 – 2.0: You’re Out Of Your Element!
0.0 – 1.0: The Goddamn Plane Has Crashed Into The Mountain!