Kingsman go Stateside- Kingsman: The Golden Circle (REVIEW)

Written By Jacob Chimilar

I love the first Kingsman film. I thought it was a fantastic take on the spy genre. So this sequel had a lot to live up to. By the looks of things it was going to expand the world and create a team up between the Kingsman and the US based Statesman. The result was something that just felt like a run of the mill film that was all very Hollywood. I am all for entertaining spectacles that are fun and fast but this film just dragged. The introduction of Harry back into the mix along with the introduction of the statesman did not provide for many extra laughs. There is a whole plot with them having to insert a tracker into a girl on a "mucus membrane", meaning he has to at least attempt to have sex with a girl to get the tracker in there, this leads to drama with his girlfriend that was a bit over the top. 

It little things like that that drag the film down. Lots of small plots that keep on going and not adding up to a whole lot. The performances were fine, with Jillianne Moore filling Samuel L Jackson's villain role, and she plays it in her own wonderful way. However there was a lack of immediate threat that was missing and her plot was similar to Jackson's, one that provided a moral dilemma that was welcome but to something that seemed counter intuitive to her business as pointed out in the film,  There is one guest star that was a fun gag that was slowly turned into something that was grating instead of a treat.

I think the problem with this film is it lacks the freshness of the original. There is an edge and surprise that just isn't there. The spirit of a ruffian learning to be a gentleman is lost in favor of a more straight forward spy romp. Also worth noting is the inclusion of "Take Me Home, West Virginia" by John Denver, a song I had an awareness of that was used predominately in this and Logan Lucky, and on top of that someone at my work has been singing it the past week or so. John Denver has invaded my life in ways I would not have guessed.   

The action sequences are super cool if a bit of a one trick pony in going for the one shot fight sequence that made the first one in the church so incredible. The opening scene was amazing but the style is revisited two other times and by then the fun ran out. That said, this is a nicely shot and well executed action spectacle with some pop hits thrown in to keep things lighter but it is bogged down by some dull spy stuff.

I'm not sure how this film could have been better really. Maybe if they paid more attention to having a good time and less attention to characters that never really got fleshed out but instead plodded along from place to place. There was almost 2 movies made out of this one film according to Fox seeing as there was 4 hours of movie after the first cut. That said what we got was too long and not entertaining or fresh enough to warrant it's run time. 

C

Too long and too silly for it's own good