Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Hanna Alstrom, Julianne Moore, Michael Gambon, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Elton John, Pedro Pascal, Poppy Delevingne, Bruce Greenwood, Emily Watson
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After their headquarters is destroyed, the remaining Kingsman travel to the United States, where they meet their American counterparts, the Statesman.

Review:

Tim: While I might not have loved Kingsman: The Secret Service as much as some, I still had a lot of fun with Matthew Vaughn's crazy action spy movie. So, I was looking forward to Vaughn returning for the sequel. And, the good news is that Kingsman: The Golden Circle is every bit as good as the original. It's still not quite as amazing as I'd like it to be, but this is an equally fun, entertaining ride. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.

These movies really work because of the characters. Taron Egerton is quite good as Eggsy. He makes a worthwhile, likable hero and I had a good time watching him attempt to save the world once again. Mark Strong is terrific as Merlin and I loved the increased screen time he received. Truly, the interactions between Eggsy and Merlin were some of the most enjoyable of the entire film. I do have to mention one other thing about Strong- he gives a truly remarkable performance. He shined brightest in my favorite scene of the film, where he sings a version of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads". It's an unforgettable scene- the music, his singing, what it means in the context of the film. I absolutely loved it. Strong does something remarkable in this scene. I loved it and it made the entire film better.

A few other comments about the cast- it was so great seeing Colin Firth again, although it felt like a bit of a cheat since (SPOILER FOR THE FIRST FILM) his death was one of the most shocking moments of the original. It felt like the events here undermined the events of the first film some. That was unfortunate. On the plus side, though, I'll never not be excited to see Firth. He's very good here. Julianne Moore makes an interesting, quirky villain and I enjoyed her performance. It was unexpected but really good. It was great fun to see Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, and Halle Berry as Statesman. Unfortunately, it felt like all three of them were shortchanged. They just didn't have enough to do. Their presence was welcome and it certainly helped the movie, but I wish they had more screen time. It felt a bit too much like a gimmick and not enough a real part of the plot. There was a lot to juggle here, but I wish they had more time. Pedro Pascal added some nice supporting work. Really, the whole cast performed extremely well. It's the biggest attraction of this film.

Vaughn directs some really fun action sequences, too. They are completely ridiculous and a bit too choreographed, but man, are they fun to watch. It feels like we don't get enough of these kind of action scenes anymore- lots of hand-to-hand combat, fast moving, but visible enough so we can follow what's happening. The plot did feel a little weak, but it did enough to move our characters to the next cool action scene. Really, the action in this film was quite good.

Despite some obvious strengths, the film does have a somewhat odd and pedestrian story. It wasn't as memorable as it could have been. There's too many characters and our time is split into two many stories- we care most about Eggsy, Merlin, and Harry. But, there's the whole Statesman subplot, a bit of an unnecessary subplot with Bruce Greenwood and Emily Watson, Eggsy's girlfriend and her family, Moore as a villain and her henchmen (including Elton John, of all people), Pedro Pascal's subplot, etc. There was too much happening in the film. This pushed the run time up to 2 hours, 21 minutes (which is too long) and it still felt like there wasn't enough time for everything here.

So, while I liked Kingsman: The Golden Circle a lot, it was a bit too flawed to really elevate itself (exactly how I felt about the original). That being said, there's nothing wrong with solid action entertainment like these films provide. I enjoyed both films quite a bit and I'm excited about more movies to come.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kick-Ass