I’m going to be slightly biased for a moment and state a fact that the original film of the Kingsman franchise – Kingsman: The Secret Service – is one of the best, action comedy films to hit the silver screens in recent years. Produced by Marv Films and appointing X-Men: First Class director Mathew Vaugh, every second of the film ran like a well-oiled machine and the suited-and-booted cast were equally as slick and dapper as the outfits that they wore.
So it’s no surprise that I was first in line to catch the latest showing of the sequel to this insanely successful franchise, which generated a hefty gross profit of $414.4 million worldwide and received glowing reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 74%. However, to tide people over until the release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the cast panel at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, released a short animated film named Throwback To That Time Archer Met Kingsman, which teases at the Kingsman agents crossing the pond to America – which the trailer soon reveals is a central element to the Kingsman sequel.
Soon enough I find myself in the cinema, my overly-sized bag of popcorn resting in my lap, waiting in anticipation for the lights to dim and for Kingsman: The Golden Circle to begin. The film eases you into a happy, rosey storyline where protagonist Egssy (portrayed by Taron Ergerton) is settling very nicely into his new life as a Kingsman agent: he owns a lavish property in Central London, drives a equally nice vintage car, and even lives with Princess Tilde (portrayed by Hannah Alstrom) whom you may remember Eggsy saving at the end of the original film. Oh and you can’t forget his pet pug! But things don’t stay peachey for very long, as within a matter of minutes Eggsy witnesses the explosive destruction of the Kingsman Secret Service institution, along with the headquarters, the large training building and his very own home, thanks to international drug lord Poppy (played by Julian Moore). With pretty much everyone from Kingsman wiped out, Eggsy and his former trainer Merlin are the sole survivors, and have no choice but to flee to America to seek refuge with their USA cousins, The Statesman.
The two agents left standing are then sent on a whirlwind trip to the states where they are soon confronted with a world-wide hostage situation, crafted by Poppy, who has manufactured a deadly form of the drugs she usually deals. The President of the United States has a set amount of time to grant her immunity and let her come home, without the threat of her arrest, otherwise she won’t release the antidote and hundreds of millions of people around the world will die. Therefore, the Statesman and Kingsman agents are forced to work together to stop Poppy and get her to release the antidote before it’s too late.
This is where the lives of the Kingsman institution, sporting their slick suits and custom-fitted brogues, clash with the free-balling, shotgun-wielding lifestyles of the Statesman. However, Eggsy and Merlin have no time to adjust to their surroundings as they’re introduced to the US counterparts – portrayed by Hollywood residents Channing Tatum and Halle Berry – before they are (sort of) reunited with their old companion, Harry Hart (portrayed by Colin Firth).
In my opinion, the film would have executed the most perfect shock factor when they reveal that Harry survived the shooting outside the church, however, some idiot decided to include clips of Colin Firth in the trailer! So there was zero shock factor when Harry was reintroduced. Strike one. Secondly, the trailer hyped up the fact that Channing Tatum was going to star in the film, insinuating that he would be a central character within the Statesman institution. However, his character disappears not long after he is introduced, as he falls victim to the drug’s deadly disease and is locked in a huge freezer to stop the virus from developing. Strike two. Then there is the matter of the film’s villain Poppy. I feel like the writers were trying too hard to create a villain similar to Valentine from the original film. They wanted to craft a character that was so twisted, they actually believed that they were helping the world. However, Poppy came off as a sort of rubbish copy of Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter franchise, even though she was all sweet-as-sugar with her own little village full of girly attire (and Elton John), and she believed that she was the victim, since she couldn’t go back home to America because, you know, she was a wanted drug-lord. In my opinion, she wasn’t crazy enough and any craziness she did expire, I didn’t believe. She was just a slightly nutty woman with deadly robot dogs and a mincing machine. Strike three.
Therefore, Kingsman: Golden Circle didn’t top the original, and I would have been very surprised if it did. Whenever franchises create an outstanding film and replicate the formula again and again, it becomes saturated and bland. In many cases it will never be as good as the very first film. However, it was still a highly enjoyable action-comedy film, boasting an outstanding cast and infectious soundtrack that will have you humming the tunes for the next week. It’s the perfect weekend-in and take-away type of film.
Louiseeanna 