Kingsman: The Golden Circle

This review may contain spoilers!

This film should have spent more time trying to recapture the wit and charm of the first Kingsman rather than just the spectacle. I would give Kingsman: The Golden Circle a 4.5/10.

This film has its points of rather entertaining comedy, there are definitely many well-timed gags throughout the feature that you can get a good bit of entertainment from. The cinematography throughout the film looks brilliant and has that fast-paced movement that really set the last film apart. everything appeared sleek and the film had a stunning visual appeal. The special effects within the film only add to this visual aesthetic; Poppy's mechanical dogs, Charlie's mechanical arm and a wide variety of gizmos and gadgets throughout the feature look great. The score for the film hits a high beat and gives the film a nice blockbuster tone; the soundtrack really is the film's winning feature with Elton John's 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)' and Mark Strong performing 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' resulting in some of the better scenes of the film. The fight choreography throughout the film has quite an over the top edge that ramps things up even more from the last film, this doesn't necessarily translate to better-looking fights but it's certainly more unique.

Taron Egerton, who played Eggsy, brings forth his delightfully whimsical protagonist back in this feature; Egerton does a great job of portraying a spy role who isn't entirely traditional and is definitely quite a comedic character. Mark Strong, who played Merlin, is a brilliantly calculating and by-the-books role; however Strong has some great scenes in which his character is drunk or serenades an oncoming group of enemy combatants. Julianne Moore, who played Poppy, is an excellent antagonist who fills the void left by Samuel L. Jackson rather well; Moore's bubbly and sweet role contrasts quite nicely with the intense and horrific actions she takes throughout the film. Pedro Pascal, who played Whiskey, is a rather cocky role who is the stand out performer amongst the Statesman; Pascal's flirtatious habits and nastier dark side make the transition to an antagonist role notably convincing.

However, the best performance came from Elton John, who played himself. Arguably an easier job, playing yourself, but admittedly a rather entertaining performance from John. I quite enjoyed the disgruntled prisoner/delighted captor relationship he had going with Moore for most the film. It was only built upon when we see John cowering and brought to heel within one key scene. In the final fight sequence, Elton John does a fantastic job, parodying his own music and getting into the thick of the brawl in an exceptionally comedic and Kingsman manner.

This film is burdened by its innate desire to prove that it's funnier than the first film; which makes for comedic scenes but also creates a tone that often feels over the top and forced. A lot of the first Kingsman's success stems from its subtle shift from a typical spy film; this time around we're given a very generic action romp that is trying to fit in as many punchlines within a scene as possible. The film feels laboriously slow and spends too long trying to justify the Statesmen's or Harry's presence. The film compromises a lot of the characters; Eggsy is pushed into an awkward romance after the last film which doesn't really feel justified, Roxy is killed off in a rather disappointing light, Ginger has a lot of story for very little screen time and Tequila and Champ barely have personality. Yet probably the most disappointing quality of the film is the manner in which Harry's character is reintroduced; it is quite a weak way of working around a gaping plot hole and really lowers the stakes for the whole film. In fact, for most the film it seems as if the narrative is hesitant to take the characters to Poppy's lair so that action can actually occur, resulting in a spy film that has completely lost the spark it once had.

Edward Holcroft, who played Charlie, wasn't very good in the first Kingsman and is probably worse this time around; Holcroft is pushed into action scenes as quite a generic henchman figure. Hanna Alstrom, who played Princess Tilde, was little more than a punchline in the first film and has been upgraded to main romantic interest for this film; it's a poor move and has serious negative consequences for the entire film. Calvin Demba, Thomas Turgoose and Tobi Bakare, who played Brandon, Liam and Jamal respectively, don't really connect with Egerton all that much and make it hard to ground the character of Eggsy in this film; these three are in the film to specifically fall into the background and do little else. Colin Firth, who played Harry Hart, doesn't really step up to the plate in equal fashion for the sequel; watching Firth play an amnesiac version of his role is a pathetic waste of Firth's talent and made this character a lot less interesting to watch. Michael Gambon, who played Arthur, isn't really in this film for any justifiable reason; Gambon is killed off before you've barely had the chance to acknowledge who he even is. Sophie Cookson, who played Roxy, is pushed far into the back of this film which I found to be a real shame; she has great chemistry with Egerton but is killed off before the film can even effectively use her character. Bjorn Granath and Lena Endre, who played The King Of Sweden and The Queen Of Sweden respectively, aren't extremely convincing as royal monarchs or even as parents for that matter; the chief gag dinner scene this pair are in isn't very unique and is quite played out before the scene even ends. Channing Tatum, who played Tequila, is quite the generic blockhead American action hero; Tatum spends so much of this film in a cryogenic coma that you start to wonder what the point of his role even is. Halle Berry, who played Ginger, is but one of the film's key characters for spurting out lengthy moments of exposition; Berry's role is very sloppily written and the outcome for her character is rather disappointing by the features end. Jeff Bridges, who played Champ, is one of the many other exposition-heavy roles; Bridges ultimately provides a performance that is filled with bravado but who comes across as extremely two-dimensional. Poppy Delevingne, who played Clara, is really only in the film to be an attractive figure who dangerously compromises the protagonist; Delevingne is quite a cold performance that makes her emotional commitments and free love character hard to buy. Bruce Greenwood, who played President Of The United States, is a thinly veiled jab at Trump and the poor politicking in the world at the moment; sadly Greenwood doesn't make much of an impact in his portrayal and the implied message isn't even subtle nor witty. Emily Watson, who played Chief Of Staff Fox, is solely in this film to provide an argument for those who do take drugs within their lives and she absolutely bombs it; Watson doesn't come across as convincing and her weak role doesn't seem accurate for the political role she portrays.