Kingsman: The Golden Circle

I've been excited for this one for a good long while now...

After a sequel for Kingsman: The Secret Service was announced I was immediately amped to return to the continuation of my favorite film of 2015 (and honestly one of my favorites in the last several years).  

But then I had immediate flashbacks to the crushing disappointment that came with Kick-Ass 2 -- the last time that an utterly fantastic Matthew Vaughn "property" received a follow-up. Kick-Ass might as well be for the superhero scene what Kingsman is for the spy genre, and it's follow up was forgettable and even [shockingly] a tad boring. BUT it was not directed by Vaughn himself as the director has a rule about directing sequels...as in, he just doesn't do it. 

The phrase "So tonight, you're gonna break your one rule!" jumps to the front of my mind. 

Vaughn thankfully returns for this Kingsman sequel and it's clear that he's created an emotional attachment to this group of characters and this property in general. Say what you will about either this movie or the first one, but they wouldn't be half of what they are without Vaughn's signature touches. And that's exactly the reason that Kick-Ass 2 failed. 

Kingsman: The Golden Circle does not fail. It may have it's issues -- just as the first did -- but when it comes to looking at the film's goals of A) entertaining you B) making you laugh and C) making you care a little bit; it's just as successful and wild as the first. 

Golden Circle kicks things off with an action scene, and a pretty exciting one at that. Charlie, a rejected Kingsman applicant (you may remember him from the first film) seeks to take down Eggsy. A delightful and well choreographed fight/car chase begins and you're immediately reminded that you're back in Queen and Country with the Kingsman. The movie begins to unfold and tragedy hits the Kingsman, forcing them to call in some help from their American counterpart, the Statesman. Working together they must stop Poppy, an evil and trapped-in-the-50s drug kingpin who has an evil plan up her sleeve. On paper it seems pretty straight forward but, much like the first film, not everything is quite as it seems. One of the biggest faults of Kingsman actually lies in its marketing. From the get-go, they revealed Firth's character, Harry, had survived the first film and it's a secret that would have paid off in spades if they'd just kept their mouths, and posters, and trailers shut. The film focuses a lot on getting Harry back up to speed and it's touching in the moments where it allows Eggsy and Harry's relationship to show it's strength. It's a fine subplot but arguably one that would have been more effective it had been a total surprise. 

"I shall call it...the Fister!! Wait...no."

The rest of the story is one of those situations where a villain's motives (and a sub-villain's motives) are one of those I-know-I-shouldnt-but-I-also-kind-of-agree-with-them scenarios that I really enjoy in any story. It's definitely not to the degree of some brilliant villainous plans that I've seen elsewhere, but it's got enough logic to where you can see how they got from point A to B. Anyway, Julianne Moore fills in for Samuel L. Jackson here and does a decent enough job. I like her because her character and all of her insane, 50's nostalgia, is memorable and unique, but she certainly cant hold a candle to a blood-adverse, uber-rich Samuel L. Jackson with a lisp (but then again, who could?). Same story goes for her henchmen, Charlie, who's got a pretty sweet bionic arm, but again, how do you compete with Gazelle from the first film? I basically fell in love with her... It's weird that I'm actually even "complaining" about the villains because in any other realm I'd be going "Oh wow, what original and cool villains!" And they are, no doubt about it, but just goes to show how well Valentine and Gazelle crushed it in the last film. 

"To a suit worthy of a Denver Bronco."

Looking over at our heroes, we get some pretty sweet additions this time though. Egerton is still as charming and dashing as ever in Eggsy and he's quietly becoming one of my favorite stars. Strong does fantastic as Merlin too in a largely expanded role as Firth plays second-fiddle (to a degree) in a lessened but still important role. He doesn't really get another insane church-scene like the (in)famous one from the initial film, but hey, that's a tall order. Newcomers Tatum and Bridges are going to be fun additions for future iterations, but they're largely expanded cameos here, albeit very good ones. Pedro Pascal has the largest Statesman role as the lasso-twirlin' Agent Whiskey and he'll likely be a crowd favorite because he's just damn awesome. Halle Berry, the woman whom does not age, has a large role in this one and I'm eager to see where her character goes as her tech-persona in Golden Circle has hidden shades of Jinx throughout (maybe we will get that spinoff after all!). And lastly, in probably one of the most well orchestrated series of cameos I've ever seen, Sir Elton John basically steals the show. I don't want to give a whole lot away but damn was our audience hootin and hollerin almost anytime he was on screen. Tremendously funny. 

Seems Oberyn has traded in a spear for a lasso and pair of pistols...

Which segues into my next aspect nicely: Kingsman is still very R-rated in its humor and its violence. All for the better. The jokes are witty and well-timed, though I did notice the film made distinctly less fun of itself/the spy genre this time around. Probably for the better as that would have become repetitive, but just something to note. Again, Elton has probably the funniest bits of Golden Circle, but the classic Vaughn humor is still there. And boy oh boy is it followed up with some awesome action. Vaughn is one of today's better action directors and his touches are all over the film from seemingly "long" tracking shots through an action scene, to slight speed/slow time tweaks; he's got a repertoire of tricks of his sleeve and they come out in full force here leading to some of the year's best action. Mix those action scenes with some wildly inventive gadgets (an electric, retractable lasso anyone?) and you've got a lot of originality that I commend Vaughn for challenging himself to up the ante and bring us things we haven't seen before. Lastly, you pair all that with some fun music choices and you've hit the Rath Action trifecta with well-edited/choreographed, violent, musical action pieces. It's like music to my ears. 

Basically what it's like to drive in/around Denver anymore ^^

Me liking Kingsman at all should come as a surprise to no one. It's the spy genre + a lot of other stuff that I like all rolled into one, classy, entertaining, and highly re-watchable package. This sequel presents us more of that package and you'll get very minimal complaints from me, even if I do recognize that it has a handful of minor issues. I'm extremely happy that Vaughn came back too because after seeing Golden Circle it's insanely apparent that he is the life-blood and creative mind around this property now; it wouldn't have been the same movie without his touches. Given how much I adored the first film you may be wondering, "Will this be your #1 film for 2017?" to which I'd reply,

"Who knows? We'll see. Now bring on Kingsman 3!"

CONS

• A bit bloated
• Not quite as iconic of a villain/henchman duo as the original
• Doesn't give Bridges or Tatum's characters much to do...this time around
• Marketing that gave away what could have been a huge moment
• Rare, but some of the special effects are fake-looking

PROS

• Entertaining as hell
• Taron Egerton is a superb leading man. He owns this series and I'd be very excited to go on more adventures with Eggsy
• Strong and Firth give good returning performances too with the former getting a greatly expanded role
• John Denver songs are having a hell of year!
• Vaughn coming back for the sequel. It wouldn't have been worth it without him
• Julienne Moore, Pedro Pascal, and Halle Berry are fun additions and do well. I'm excited to see where Berry's character goes from here
• When they are on screen, Tatum and Bridges are a hoot
• Elton John cameos that are perfect. What a wonderful bundle of surprises
• High joke hit-rate and consistently funny
• Well-suited (pun intended) soundtrack
• Unexpected emotional heft. Vaughn does a great job at adding heart into his crazy movies and Golden Circle continues that trend
• Fantastically crafted action scenes with well-stitched editing, cool choreography, and crazy levels of violence
• Yep, I still love the Kingsman

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10