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| Courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
The movie still has some flaws that prevent it from achieving true greatness, but compared to most stuff that opens in the post-summer, pre-awards season wasteland it’s practically a masterpiece. Between this fun, unexpectedly topical adventure and the mind-boggling success of IT, early fall at the multiplex has been full of surprises.
The first installment, Kingsman: “The Secret Service, was a hilarious but action-packed satire of James Bond-style spy flicks that proved to be one of filmmaker Matthew Vaughn’s most creative and entertaining projects. It set up an imaginative society of sharply dressed, gallant secret agents that exists closer to the world of comic books than our own. It was also unapologetically R-rated – filled with graphic violence, f-bombs and shocking sexuality.
But perhaps the most memorable aspect of Kingsman was (spoiler alert) how it brazenly killed off the best character with 40 minutes left in the movie. It was a brilliant takedown of the “villain delivers a monologue explaining his master plan, which gives the hero time to escape” trope found in every 007 film, leaving most viewers stunned and unsure of how the third act would play out.
When that character is played by an Oscar-winning actor who proved surprisingly adept at action sequences, it’s only natural there would be a powerful desire to bring him back for the sequel. The problem is, it’s kind of tough to come up with a reason he would’ve miraculously survived getting shot in the face at point-blank range.
The good news is Vaughn (directing the first sequel of his career) and his co-writer Jane Goldman came up with an inventive way to make that happen in the story’s heightened reality. It’s ridiculous, of course. But it thankfully doesn’t involve a long-lost twin or (my blessedly incorrect theory) an Obi-Wan Kenobi style apparition/hallucination that only Eggsy (Taron Egerton), the main character, can see.
Besides, the filmmakers’ solution is no more outlandish than Julianne Moore playing a Martha Stewart-esque drug kingpin named Poppy who runs her operation out of a 1950s diner in the middle of a Cambodian jungle and shoves her enemies headfirst into an oversized meat grinder. If you read that sentence and didn’t throw the newspaper across the room in disgust, congratulations! You just might be the target demo for Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
The story kicks off roughly one year after the events of the first movie: Eggsy is assaulted by a former rival and the two square off in a wildly entertaining fight/car chase through the streets of London while Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” blares on the radio. The attack turns out to be part of a larger plot to infiltrate Kingsman headquarters, which is soon wiped out by a missile attack orchestrated by the aforementioned Poppy.
With nowhere else to turn, Eggsy and his partner Merlin (the absolutely phenomenal Mark Strong) seek out their American counterparts, the Statesman. As one might expect, rather than dapper Englishmen named after Knights of the Round Table, these folks (including Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Pedro Pascal) have alcohol-based code names and dress like cowboys.
In order to save the world, these two rival organizations must band together to defeat a shared enemy. Fortunately for the Kingsman, the Statesman have a familiar houseguest who might be able to help them out.
The Golden Circle probably shouldn’t be as good as it is, but the fantastic cast – who are clearly having a blast – and Vaughn’s instinct for simultaneously mocking and honoring genre tropes make this a fun viewing. I highly recommend seeing it in a packed theater rather than waiting for On Demand or Redbox.
Egerton continues to grow as a performer, adding depth to Eggsy that adds to the complex character he developed in the first movie. He demonstrates wonderful chemistry in his scenes with Strong, Hannah Alstrom (who plays his girlfriend) and the spoilery character I discussed earlier. He handles the action scenes with aplomb and has killer comedic timing.
The other performance worth mentioning is, ironically, someone I can’t really talk about. Even though the trailers spoil the character’s return, I’ll keep him nameless here just in case. But the actor’s appearance, unrealistic as it may be, restores the beating heart and emotional resonance to the Kingsman world that disappeared when he took a bullet to the eye in the first movie.
Tatum and Bridges are also fun, but they don’t get nearly the amount of screen time that the trailers and promotional materials suggest. However, the surprise MVP is Elton John, whose extended cameo is responsible for some of the movie’s biggest laughs.
Sadly, as was the case in the original, the women get shafted. Moore and Berry are clearly having fun, but the two Oscar winners don’t get nearly enough to do. Moore’s final scene is particularly anticlimactic. Alstrom and Sophie Cookson – reprising their roles from the first movie – fare even worse. The film’s other big weakness is the unnecessarily long running time. While it’s a fun flick, it definitely wears out its welcome at 141 minutes.
Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives in The Golden Circle. If you didn’t like the first installment, the sequel isn’t going to convert you. But those who enjoyed it will be happy to know the follow-up doesn’t suffer too much from the law of diminishing returns.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is rated R for sequences of strong violence, drug content, language throughout and some sexual material.
Grade: B
With nowhere else to turn, Eggsy and his partner Merlin (the absolutely phenomenal Mark Strong) seek out their American counterparts, the Statesman. As one might expect, rather than dapper Englishmen named after Knights of the Round Table, these folks (including Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Pedro Pascal) have alcohol-based code names and dress like cowboys.
In order to save the world, these two rival organizations must band together to defeat a shared enemy. Fortunately for the Kingsman, the Statesman have a familiar houseguest who might be able to help them out.
The Golden Circle probably shouldn’t be as good as it is, but the fantastic cast – who are clearly having a blast – and Vaughn’s instinct for simultaneously mocking and honoring genre tropes make this a fun viewing. I highly recommend seeing it in a packed theater rather than waiting for On Demand or Redbox.
Egerton continues to grow as a performer, adding depth to Eggsy that adds to the complex character he developed in the first movie. He demonstrates wonderful chemistry in his scenes with Strong, Hannah Alstrom (who plays his girlfriend) and the spoilery character I discussed earlier. He handles the action scenes with aplomb and has killer comedic timing.
The other performance worth mentioning is, ironically, someone I can’t really talk about. Even though the trailers spoil the character’s return, I’ll keep him nameless here just in case. But the actor’s appearance, unrealistic as it may be, restores the beating heart and emotional resonance to the Kingsman world that disappeared when he took a bullet to the eye in the first movie.
Tatum and Bridges are also fun, but they don’t get nearly the amount of screen time that the trailers and promotional materials suggest. However, the surprise MVP is Elton John, whose extended cameo is responsible for some of the movie’s biggest laughs.
Sadly, as was the case in the original, the women get shafted. Moore and Berry are clearly having fun, but the two Oscar winners don’t get nearly enough to do. Moore’s final scene is particularly anticlimactic. Alstrom and Sophie Cookson – reprising their roles from the first movie – fare even worse. The film’s other big weakness is the unnecessarily long running time. While it’s a fun flick, it definitely wears out its welcome at 141 minutes.
Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives in The Golden Circle. If you didn’t like the first installment, the sequel isn’t going to convert you. But those who enjoyed it will be happy to know the follow-up doesn’t suffer too much from the law of diminishing returns.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is rated R for sequences of strong violence, drug content, language throughout and some sexual material.
Grade: B
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