Review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) by Alex G — 07 Oct 2017

It can be easily said that Kingsman: The Secret Service was a movie that charmed us all. With a humorous and witty take on the usual serious spy genre, the original Kingsman became a welcomed novelty and a thrill to watch. However, the same cannot be said about its sequel.Kingsman: The Golden Circle contains a lazy story that tries quite hard to surpass its prequel, but gets lost in a midst of ridiculousness and over-the-top, almost cheap action.

The story picks up a year after its prequel with our protagonist Eggsy, who finds himself along with Merlin as the only two survivors after an attack on the Kingsman headquarters. They now need to get to the bottom of who was responsible for the attack, overcoming some small and big obstacles along the way.

The problem with this film does not lie within the cast, which in this case included everything from our veterans and Academy Award winners Colin Firth and Julianne Moore to the charming Hale Berry and Channing Tatum. The only exception was the appearance of Elton John, which to be honest, is the only one we could've easily done without. Elton John's appearance is wasted in lazy and stupid humor that makes no contribution to the film.

However, the main problem is the general take on the movie and the plot. With unnecessary gruesomeness throughout the film and an exaggerated amount of fake slow-motion action shots, it is understandable how Kingsman: The Golden Circle ended up this way.

Although this is, without doubt, an entertaining film with a cast that works well together and brings a chaotic plot to life, this is not enough to rescue a lazy plot that lacks the imagination and wit we saw previously in Kingsman: The Secret Service. It is inevitable to compare this film to its prequel, and it is inevitable to say that director Matthew Vaughn has failed once again, in surpassing its own predecessor.