*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
Back in 2014, Matthew Vaughn's spy-based comedy, Kingsman The Secret Service was a huge success, both at the box office and with critics and audiences alike. This lead to Vaughn directing his first sequel, The Golden Circle, however, is it just as fun and entertaining as its predecessor?
Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman - an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents' strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that's becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy (Taron Egerton).
This isn't the first time Vaughn has directed a comedy. Back in 2010, he released Kick-Ass, which was based on the superhero comic book of the same name. It proved to be highly successful. Despite this, Vaughn didn't return for the sequel which lead to Jeff Wadlow being hired to direct the follow up. Kick-Ass was a thoroughly entertaining and funny superhero film, unfortunately, the 2013 sequel was nothing more than a mess. Because of this, when a Kingsman sequel was announced, a lot of the fans were worried, however, they all breathed a sigh of relief when Vaughn confirmed that he would be directing it and I doubt they'll be disappointed with his end result. The tone of The Golden Circle is similar to that of its predecessor and those who loved the over-the-top violence will love this film.
The majority of The Secret Service was set in England, however, with the headquarters being destroyed in the first part of the film, both Eggsy and his trainer, Merlin (Mark Strong), travel to Kentucky in America to visit the Statesman, a secret American organisation. It's here they're introduced to the agents including Tequila (Channing Tatum), Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and Champagne "Champ" (Jeff Bridges). It is also here that they discover that Harry 'Galahad' Hart (Colin Firth) is actually alive despite being shot in the previous film. Unfortunately, he has amnesia and has no recollection of anything. Meanwhile, a notorious criminal mastermind, Poppy Adams has laced every drug with a toxin causing everyone who has taken drugs to fall ill before leading to a violent death. This leads to Eggsy, Merlin and the Statesman working to stop Poppy before millions of people across the world are killed.
The performances are just as solid as in the previous film. In The Secret Service, Eggsy was a troubled teenager, however, he is now a fully trained Kingsman agent. In some ways, he is now like a young James Bond as he spends the film fighting villains, flirting with women, drinking with alcohol and using new gadgets, such as a baseball hand grenade. Egerton gives one of his best performances yet since playing the titular character in the 2015 drama/comedy, Eddie The Eagle. Unfortunately, despite the impressive cast list, the majority of them are underused. Don't get excited about Michael Gambon, he's practically dead before the first half an hour. More could've been done with Tatum's Agent Tequila and Bridges' Champ, however, they're not in it that much but they still give a good performance and make the most of their limited scenes. Berry is great as Agent Ginger Ale, who is pretty much the female version of Merlin. The two work together to help Eggsy and Agent Whiskey find out more about Poppy in order to stop her. Pascal gives an impressive comedic performance as Whiskey and I wasn't expecting the twist involving his character. A memorable scene from The Secret Service showed Galahad fighting a group of men in a pub and there's a similar scene with Whiskey taking over the fighting using a lasso that can sever people.
The main villain from the previous film was Samuel L. Jackson's Valentine who, thanks to his lisp and phobia of violence, was a very entertaining villain to watch. As Poppy, Moore is less successful, however, she still gives a strong performance. Despite her sweet smile, Poppy proves to be incredibly evil. In her first scene, she drops a character into a mincing machine and, literally, makes him into a burger. This further proves why you don't want to get on the wrong side of Poppy.
A lot of people may be surprised to see Sir Elton John make an appearance and most of the comedy comes from his performance. In the beginning, he is kidnapped and ordered to perform for Poppy.
The fight sequences are just as exhilarating as they were in The Secret Service. The opening shows Eggsy fighting his nemesis, Charlle (Edward Holcroft) in a taxi through the streets of London. Other fight sequences are just as thrilling to watch and the camera thoroughly captures the action.
Kingsman The Golden Circle was certainly one of the highly anticipated films of this year and, fortunately, I wasn't disappointed. I walked into the cinema expecting a sequel that is just as entertaining and fun to watch as its predecessor and that is what I got. I think that the current percentage rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a bit harsh. The quality of the sequel may not be as good as The Secret Service, however, Vaughn has managed to re-capture what made the first film so entertaining to watch. Judging from the films I've watched in the past month or so, Kingsman The Golden Circle was the most enjoyable to watch.
7/10
Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman - an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents' strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that's becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy (Taron Egerton).
This isn't the first time Vaughn has directed a comedy. Back in 2010, he released Kick-Ass, which was based on the superhero comic book of the same name. It proved to be highly successful. Despite this, Vaughn didn't return for the sequel which lead to Jeff Wadlow being hired to direct the follow up. Kick-Ass was a thoroughly entertaining and funny superhero film, unfortunately, the 2013 sequel was nothing more than a mess. Because of this, when a Kingsman sequel was announced, a lot of the fans were worried, however, they all breathed a sigh of relief when Vaughn confirmed that he would be directing it and I doubt they'll be disappointed with his end result. The tone of The Golden Circle is similar to that of its predecessor and those who loved the over-the-top violence will love this film.
The majority of The Secret Service was set in England, however, with the headquarters being destroyed in the first part of the film, both Eggsy and his trainer, Merlin (Mark Strong), travel to Kentucky in America to visit the Statesman, a secret American organisation. It's here they're introduced to the agents including Tequila (Channing Tatum), Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and Champagne "Champ" (Jeff Bridges). It is also here that they discover that Harry 'Galahad' Hart (Colin Firth) is actually alive despite being shot in the previous film. Unfortunately, he has amnesia and has no recollection of anything. Meanwhile, a notorious criminal mastermind, Poppy Adams has laced every drug with a toxin causing everyone who has taken drugs to fall ill before leading to a violent death. This leads to Eggsy, Merlin and the Statesman working to stop Poppy before millions of people across the world are killed.
The performances are just as solid as in the previous film. In The Secret Service, Eggsy was a troubled teenager, however, he is now a fully trained Kingsman agent. In some ways, he is now like a young James Bond as he spends the film fighting villains, flirting with women, drinking with alcohol and using new gadgets, such as a baseball hand grenade. Egerton gives one of his best performances yet since playing the titular character in the 2015 drama/comedy, Eddie The Eagle. Unfortunately, despite the impressive cast list, the majority of them are underused. Don't get excited about Michael Gambon, he's practically dead before the first half an hour. More could've been done with Tatum's Agent Tequila and Bridges' Champ, however, they're not in it that much but they still give a good performance and make the most of their limited scenes. Berry is great as Agent Ginger Ale, who is pretty much the female version of Merlin. The two work together to help Eggsy and Agent Whiskey find out more about Poppy in order to stop her. Pascal gives an impressive comedic performance as Whiskey and I wasn't expecting the twist involving his character. A memorable scene from The Secret Service showed Galahad fighting a group of men in a pub and there's a similar scene with Whiskey taking over the fighting using a lasso that can sever people.
The main villain from the previous film was Samuel L. Jackson's Valentine who, thanks to his lisp and phobia of violence, was a very entertaining villain to watch. As Poppy, Moore is less successful, however, she still gives a strong performance. Despite her sweet smile, Poppy proves to be incredibly evil. In her first scene, she drops a character into a mincing machine and, literally, makes him into a burger. This further proves why you don't want to get on the wrong side of Poppy.
A lot of people may be surprised to see Sir Elton John make an appearance and most of the comedy comes from his performance. In the beginning, he is kidnapped and ordered to perform for Poppy.
The fight sequences are just as exhilarating as they were in The Secret Service. The opening shows Eggsy fighting his nemesis, Charlle (Edward Holcroft) in a taxi through the streets of London. Other fight sequences are just as thrilling to watch and the camera thoroughly captures the action.
Kingsman The Golden Circle was certainly one of the highly anticipated films of this year and, fortunately, I wasn't disappointed. I walked into the cinema expecting a sequel that is just as entertaining and fun to watch as its predecessor and that is what I got. I think that the current percentage rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a bit harsh. The quality of the sequel may not be as good as The Secret Service, however, Vaughn has managed to re-capture what made the first film so entertaining to watch. Judging from the films I've watched in the past month or so, Kingsman The Golden Circle was the most enjoyable to watch.
7/10
