A Reel Review: KINGSMAN - THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

In 2014, Matthew Vaughn’s KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE was a welcome surprise for those of us looking for something new and original to arrive at the action-blockbuster genre. Highly stylized, it was one-part homage and one-part parody of the classic spy films of old, and its appreciation of vintage things spoke to older audiences while its cartoony action and vulgarity spoke to the younger. For its followup, subtitled THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, Vaughn delivers more of the same. And more. And more. And more…

Eggsy (Taron Egerton), and Merlin (Mark Strong), find themselves as the last of the super UK spy agency Kingsman, after the rest of the group is destroyed by super-drug cartel Poppy (Julianne Moore), who has poisoned all of her drug product in attempt to hold millions of people for ransom. Eggsy and Merlin are paired with their American counterparts, the Statesman, led by Champagne (Jeff Bridges), and are teamed up with Ginger (Halle Barry), and Tequila (Channing Tatum), and their resurrected colleague, Harry (Colin Firth).

Every sequel in cinema has had the challenge of striking the balance between topping what came before and diving deeper into their characters; making for an episode which explores new territory and expands the characters past their introductions. The early stages of THE GOLDEN CIRCLE set a nice stage, with Eggsy having personal stakes in saving the world, and finding his own balance between being a secret agent and holding down a relationship.

Director Matthew Vaughn, seemingly aware of what fans latched onto in the first film, decides to go all out and provide even more. Dizzying action sequences, juvenile humor, vulgar language…are all reprised here with zero discipline. Scenes come rocketing at us with little time to catch up, and any personal stories are quickly left behind. There’s a feeling of make-it-up-as-you-go in the storytelling, as one ridiculous thing leads to another, sometimes with no logic or setup, and the constant globetrotting from one continent to another is not only hard to keep track of, but acts against the films own logic (the agents go from continent to continent in a blink, while people only have hours to live). A few plot twists turn into plot holes, and Poppy’s grand villainous scheme makes no sense; she ransoms all the drug users in the world and demands that drugs be made legal, which would seem to work against a drug lord who got rich and powerful while they were illegal. Figure that one out.

There are still moments here and there to enjoy in THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. Some action sequences are fun while others are just nauseating, and the music selections inject a great sense of energy. The design of Poppy’s lair and the Statesman’s secret headquarters is brilliant and the film overall has a rich sense of color; there is certainly no drabness here. Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson provide a great-sounding score, but its main theme is overused in way too many places.

Acting is all over the place. Taron Egerton doesn’t have a lot of heavy lifting to do but is still fun to watch, and his chemistry with his bride-to-be (played by Hanna Alstrom), works very well. Oscar-winners Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, and Colin Firth are way overqualified for the ridiculous things they have to do, and Mark Strong can’t decide if his accent is Irish or British. Channing Tatum is hilarious in the whole five minutes he appears, and Elton John shows up in a bizarre extended cameo.

At a hefty 141 minutes, THE GOLDEN CIRCLE is a bit of a chore to sit through, and it probably could have benefitted from another pass or two in the editing room…because as is, it is overstuffed, over scored, and shows no maturity or screen discipline. Fans wanted more and they got it, but it shouldn’t be done to the point of being obnoxious. This one can circle the drain and stay there.

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it