Review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) by Jason R — 11 Dec 2017

Duplicating the success of a bizarre action comedy like the original Kingsman was always going to be hard. Raising the stakes on the evil plan was nearly impossible, and packing that same level of fun was never going to get there on the same level, as you risk duplicating jokes.

All that aside, it's a fun movie, though it suffers from its predecessor's downfall by being about twenty minutes longer than it needs to be. Trim a little bit and you come out with a more compact film that still gets the job done.

The plotline is reasonable, and Julianne Moore gives a performance that reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson in the first film, up to and including their love of burgers. Though the first scene in the diner is disturbingly funny, it seems to have minimal effect on the remainder of the plot.

This is the part where I have to discuss Elton John's role in the film, which is truly spectacular. He curses, he's funny, and he kicks ass. I don't know whose idea it was to bring him on board, but particularly for a non-actor, he steals his scenes every time.

The fight scenes are much like the first one; oddball music choices set to bullet-time heavy sequences. This time, the final fight doesn't feel like it drags on forever, but as aforementioned, the stakes are not there, so it almost works against itself.

Ultimately, though, the movie is fun, funny, disturbing, and worth taking a look at.

Pedro Pascal is now the owner of two of the most hilariously disgusting deaths in film/TV, so keep an eye out for that as well.