Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
Based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons
Rated R
I’m kind of sad right now. Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a real disappointment. This wasn’t a case where I was expecting the sequel to transcend the first film or have it cure cancer or anything like that. I’m aware that Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) was lightning in a bottle and replicating what made that film work so well while trying to do something different is extremely difficult. I kept my expectations somewhat lowered and was just hoping for a new film in the series that had a tight script with little to no wasted moments. I kind of felt bad for not liking it afterwards given how much I love the first one but I have to be honest with myself.
Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) is on the run with another Kingsman agent Merlin (Mark Strong) after fellow Kingsman agents are killed and bases are destroyed by a mysterious criminal organization called the Golden Circle led by a woman named Poppy (Julianne Moore). They seek help from a similar organization based in Kentucky called Statesman which comprises of agents codenamed Champagne (Jeff Bridges), Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and Ginger Ale (Halle Berry). They have to work together to stop the Golden Circle’s scheme which involves using a more dangerous form of narcotics.
It did start off promising enough with a cool car chase at the start but after about twenty minutes, things started to feel amiss for me. First, the film loses momentum after the opening action scene and it never really recovers. The first film moved at a very brisk pace and the story moved with it seamlessly. The entire film took you on a ride and while there were action scenes interspersed here and there with some going wildly over the top, they felt like they were really part of the plot and didn’t feel wasted or just tacked in to keep the audience’s attention. In the Golden Circle the pace slows to a crawl and never manages to have the sense of excitement that kept me invested in the first one. A lot of scenes drag on far too long where a majority of the jokes don’t always land, the action scenes go on for a touch too long even if they are well made, and there were too many subplots that only made the film feel longer. If the first film was a well-toned Olympic caliber runner going at top speed with plenty of energy to spare, then the second film is more akin to an out of shape person who loses their breath after about a half mile.
Second, I did not like the villain. Julianne Moore is capable of playing creepy or unsettling characters but her Poppy character doesn’t work. While she may be doing and saying very villainous things, she doesn’t sell the sense of menace that Samuel L. Jackson did in the first film. While Moore does try to be funny with her villain in this film talking like a sweetheart and being overly happy while doing terrible things like sicking her robot dogs (those are in this film just…because) on henchman who fail to obey her commands or putting people in a meat mincer, she just comes off as irritating. While Samuel L. Jackson was funny in the first film with his lisp and the fact that he can’t stand the sight of blood, he still showed he was someone not to trifle with. He showed more determination and he had a more diabolical plot that really pushed our heroes to their limits. Even when you are entertained by him in the movie, he was still a real threat. I never got that with Poppy as her evil plan was kind of lame compared to Valentine’s and when she was on screen I wanted her to go away.
Third, there were creative choices that just baffled me. First was how Channing Tatum was built up as being a major part in the movie and then his character gets put on ice midway through due to exposure to the dangerous narcotic and sits the rest of the movie out only to show up at the end after all is said and done. They built him up as being a major character in all the ads so why do this to him in the movie? Then there is Colin Firth’s Harry Hart coming back to the story. That’s not a spoiler as that was extensively advertised. When he does get his memory back to help our heroes he doesn’t really add much. Sure, he figures out a few things and shoots his share of the bad guys but that sort of work could have easily been passed on to another character. Given how little he added to the story he shouldn’t have been in this movie. I would have just had Eggsy partner up with Tatum’s character Tequila. Maybe there was some pressure to bring Firth back due to how awesome he was in the first movie but whatever the case may be bringing him back was an overall bad idea.
Fourth, the film kills off a certain character from the first movie and that should have gotten me to at least be sad or show some emotion that resembles sadness but by that point I was so bored and waiting for the movie to end that I felt nothing.
Last but not least, we have Elton John in this movie…WHY?! He shows up in scenes where Poppy is clearly holding him prisoner so he can perform his songs for her and in later scenes he is shown beating up Poppy’s goons and even showing up to help Harry fight off a robot dog. On top of his scenes not being funny, you could remove all his scenes and it would not affect the plot at all. That is how useless it was to include him.
I could go on for a long time about this but I won’t as it would likely degenerate into a ton of nitpicking. This film is not badly made, some of the action is quite good as well as the acting but this just feels like a movie that studios or filmmakers pinch out to fulfill a contract and while that may very well not have been the case, it does come off that way when you watch the film. Watching the Golden Circle only served as a reminder of how good the first one was and I would rather watch that at home. It’s not unwatchable but it just…sits there.
Look I am very fond of Matthew Vaughn’s directorial works and if anything parts of this film shows that he’s still got talent. I will just look at Kingsman: The Golden Circle as an unfortunate setback and wish him luck on his next film.
