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When the first Kingsman movie exploded onto our screens back in 2014, it delighted us all with it’s over the top styled action and dark sense of humor and homaging the James Bond films.
Golden Circle manages to give us an entertaining follow up even if it doesn’t manage to outdo its predecessor.
When the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed along with most of their active agents, Eggsy (Taron Egerton, Sing) and Merlin (Mark Strong, Miss Sloane) team up with their American allies ‘The Statesmen’ to take on their newest threat Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2), the head of a big drug ring whose newest drug will endanger the lives of millions around the world.
Golden Circle manages to retain the stylized yet fun action with a wildly creative story that made the first film so great. Whilst there are aspects of the plot from Secret Service that were rehashed for this film, it did manage to be an entertaining and serviceable sequel.
There are many fun references to the previous film, including the scene where Harry fought against some bullies in a pub whilst defending Eggsy, although this time around things go wrong as Harry’s co-ordination is a little off and doesn’t fight back as good as he used to, even with the help of his cool gadgets. This meant that Agent Whiskey has to step in and finish them off, with a little help of The Statesmens own cool gadgets.
The downside to the film was the inclusion of characters, director Matthew Vaughn must have really struggled to fit in returning favourites as well as introducing new characters, because it does feel rather overcrowded at times when you’re watching the screen.
Whilst some of the new characters are fun to watch such as Pedro Pascal as Agent Whiskey, who gets some pretty cool action scenes as well as an interesting backstory. They sadly underuse the talents of Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges, who are relegated to minor supporting roles despite initial promise for their characters.
Channing Tatum was set up to seem like he would be one of the main heroes alongside Eggsy, but his appearance seemed like nothing more than a cameo.
Julianne Moore is delightful as the main villain Poppy Adams, bringing the same eccentricity to her character as Samuel L. Jackson did as the villain in the first film. Her calm and sweet demeanour and the fact that her hideout replicates fun 1950’s culture, all perfectly offsets the fact that she plays a ruthless drug kingpin.
We are treated to an odd but hilarious appearance from Elton John, who plays an exaggerated version of himself as a foul mouthed captive of Poppy’s, who is forced to perform for her when she requests. He even gives his own hilarious rendition of Saturday Night’s Alright, during the climactic battle.
Whilst Kingsman: Golden Circle doesn’t quite live up to the standard of the first film, it is still a fun watch.
Purple Revolver Rating: 4/5- action-packed fun