Review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) by Jo M — 20 Dec 2017

This year has seen a number of the more original genre films in recent memory receive the sequel treatment. Back in 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy was a breath of fresh air for the superhero film, John Wick showed us how action films should be and Kingsman: The Secret Service injected a much-needed sense of fun back into the spy movie.

Now, director Matthew Vaughn, along with an all-star cast return for The Golden Circle and waste absolutely no time in establishing that this is going to be 100% nuts.

Before the film even starts the disembodied voice of Mark Strong bellows out, in character as Merlin, reminding the audience to switch off their phones or he'll 'repeat the church scene on us'.

We're then treated to an insane opening car chase through London complete with android arms, mini-guns and a submarine, all set to Prince's Let's Go Crazy.

By jumping the shark in the first five minutes, Vaughn quickly dispels all sense of realism, to quote Eggsy 'This ain't that kind of movie bruv'.

As the plot about the sinister drug organisation of the title unfolds, things just get more and more ridiculous. There are robot dogs, there are laser lassos, there are even devices that can repair your brain following a head-shot.

That last one is indicative of the main problem with Kingsman 2. There are no stakes. The first film was insane, but it still felt like there were consequences, thanks in no small part to the sheer level of violence on display. Here the tone and the plot lead you to believe that at any point someone will turn up with a gadget that will solve all the problems, save the day and no one will get hurt.

The comedic tone has also become a bit of a problem. While the first film flirted with some fairly controversial punchlines, this time things go a step too far. Specifically, there is a sequence set at Glastonbury festival which is just gratuitous in every sense of the word. This scene, which has already started to grab headlines, is one of a couple of instances where the film slips into full Austin Powers territory.

Although it sometimes oversteps the mark, The Golden Circle is here to have fun and on that front, it delivers in spades. The cast, both old and new, are clearly having the time of their lives and it's hard for that not to translate off-screen. Julianne Moore is wonderfully nuts as the murderous Poppy in a sickly sweet performance that calls back a certain Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series (who is, in my opinion, one of the greatest screen villains in recent decades).

The Statesman also make a predictably ostentatious debut. The American version of the Kingmen are represented by Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal and Halle Berry, all on fine form. While the introduction of the Statesman provides a new dimension to the world, it's a shame that a lot of what people loved about the first film i.e. the sheer British-ness, has been lost in the confusion.

Sequelitis is on display in Kingsman 2 more so that any other follow-up this year. The filmmakers have fully embraced the 'bigger is better' approach and as a result, the film often feels bloated and overlong. There are at least two subplots that could have been cut out in their entirety, and the kinetic, frantic camerawork that made the 'church scene' from part one so memorable is definitely over-used this time around.

That's not to say the film doesn't deliver some great fight sequences towards the end, it's just that we've spent an extra hour getting there that we didn't need. Likewise, some of the best humor is saved for the final act, and surprisingly enough it's often delivered by the one member of the cast who is not necessarily known for being an 'actor'.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is definitely fun, and on that level, it's a success. Much like Guardians 2 and John Wick 2 though, it can't recapture the fresh, genre-shaking impact of the first movie. While embracing the sheer silliness of the world has allowed the filmmakers to fully unleash the craziness this time around, the series is dangerously close to reminding us why spy movies went so serious in the first place....does anyone remember Die Another Day?