Matthew Vaughn has a real knack for bringing fun into each film he makes. Even before Kingsman: The Secret Service, he had created an epic fantasy in Stardust and in Kick Ass he managed to make superheroes fun again before Marvel Studios had the genre on strings. Yet Kingsman was something else. He managed to make the current run of James Bond movies, which were universally praised, look boring in comparison to his clever twist on the spy concept. It was ridiculous, hilarious and hugely over the top - but it absolutely worked and succeeded in its task to bring the irreverence back to the British Spy films that had been missing since the Moore era of Bond. I am pleased to report that the follow up Kingsman: The Golden Circle is much of the same. It's an action packed romp of a movie.
With their headquarters destroyed and the world held hostage by a psychotic Cartel leader, the Kingsman must seek the help of their American counterparts, Statesman in order to save the world again.
The returning members of cast all give great performances. It's very satisfying to see Taron Egerton's 'Eggsy' developed from a London youth without direction in life into the suave gentlemen spy we see in this movie. Whilst the return of Colin Firth does somewhat undermine Eggsy's character growth, he is a welcome inclusion and the two share some great on screen chemistry. Mark Strong's Merlin is also explored further in this film and its nice to see how he and Eggsy have changed and bonded even further in Harry's absence. Of the new cast members, I have some complaints. Of the big names that were added to the cast, many if not all of them are underused. Jeff Bridges and Halle Berry's roles are both fleeting and Channing Tatum is barely in the movie despite featuring heavily in the promotional material. Pedro Pascal has a decent go at Agent Whiskey, but some of the writing for his character is quite poor and he could easily be swapped out for another character. Julianne Moore's villainous Poppy is also considerably weaker than the first films big bad. Yet again the performance is fine, yet her character is a little underwhelming in comparison to Samuel L. Jackson's 'Valentine' and I didn't buy many of her motivations and character developments. There is also an Elton John cameo, which initially is very funny but is massively overused and steals screen time from some of the actual characters.
If you didn't like The Secret Service then this movie is not for you, as there are many returning elements that are undoubtably the strongest parts of this film. Fast paced, super violent yet stylised fight scenes, some gripping action set pieces and a whole host of new and exciting gadgets for the agents to employ. Unsurprisingly, the best elements of this movie are those that are taken from the first. Call backs to conversations, jokes and fight scenes are all present and offer rewarding chuckles to the audience. However, there are some bizarre creative choices in this film. The core concept and execution of many of the films themes and ideas is not as good. There's one particular moment that is intended to mock the incredibly sexist nature of Bond movies just as the outrageous anal joke did the first time round, but actually becomes very vulgar and uncomfortable to watch. I wonder if perhaps this is due to studio interference, who after seeing the success of the first movie were so eager for another that they didn't allow the necessary time for the writing and script to be as strong as they needed to be.
I had heard a lot of negative press about 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' before I saw it and I have to say that I feel its very unjustified. Is it as good as the first? No. Is it a perfect movie? Far from it. But its funny, action heavy and a well executed continuation of the story. There are some missed opportunities and elements that don't need to be included, but its still an enjoyable movie that I would recommend seeing, especially if you love the first.
3/5 Stars
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