MOVIE REVIEW: “Kingsman – The Golden Circle”

Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service was one of the sleeper hits of 2015. Showing that comic book films can be more than the usual offerings that involves men in tights and more room for levity for the spy genre. The newest sequel ‘The Golden Circle’ is not at all adapted to any existing book after Gibbons and Millar’s The Secret Service comic from 5 years ago so this is an entirely new story and introducing new concepts all around in terms of worldbuilding. So how did this sequel fare compared to the original?

In “Kingsman – 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.

GP Manalo: The newest Kingsman sequel is still a good balance of action and comedy despite tamer in nature with less of the ultra-violence we’ve come to know from its predecessor. Which does offer a lot of room for some solid character moments and a surprisingly relevant social commentary to back it up. However in this 2 hours and 20 minute runtime (11 minutes longer than the first) it does seem like a chore to go through when it comes to going the story elements that actually worked. I’ll be honest, despite the fact that I enjoyed the film I felt as if this movie could’ve been further shaved down if it had another revision in the script as it did have a lot to work with.

Kimberly Mas: Yeah, completely agree with GP regarding the length of the film. A 2 hour film has always been the standard for me – anything longer than that would be a bit dragging to watch. Kingsman: Golden Circle has all-star cast, whimsical sequences & lots of James Bond feels.

GP: The movie had a lot of things to juggle that’s for sure; not only did it have to bring callbacks from the last one but also introducing new elements as well. New elements being Statesman, though it is fun to see its differences and similarities at how they operate, most of the characters fall in the background and have little effect on the overall film except Pedro Pascal’s Whiskey and that cool electric lasso of his. This is still a Kingsman movie after all, and Taron Egerton’s Eggsy yet again grounds the movie. He’s no longer a spy-in-training so we’re past the how-tos and more of the in-mission ass-kicking and investigating that we wanted more of from the last movie. You get to see how much he grew from his reckless self in the first movie to a more mature individual in this one, especially with a new flame (considering that she’s not shown in any of the trailers, it’s best if we just not spoil it for you to be surprised) and a more vulnerable Colin Firth’s Harry Hart.

What we expected as a go-to escapist action movie, to our surprise the movie had a lot to say towards the latter half of the movie with the subject being the War on Drugs. Which is quite relevant (there were many uncomfortable laughter in our screening based on the parallels) considering the state of our nation as they beg the question if whether or not we give drug users (whether it is a troubled teen or the average joe) a shot to redeem themselves? or do they deserve to get shot for being so? Though the message is nice and clear I feel like the way it was presented is quite messy considering the spokesperson wasn’t exactly coming from a character we’re not at all all familiar within the context of its own narrative. I just felt like even without the faux Trump and Clinton characters, the debate would still be as relevant and compelling. They could have had somebody like Eggsy be the focal spokesperson on this particular subject, considering he himself has redeemed himself from his brash and “plebeian” attitude in the first film.

Amidst the negativity, I still found myself enjoying the movie and I won’t deny that this movie has a lot of entertainment value. The film cranked it up with a high-speed chase scene at the streets of london, and then follows a bond-esque on-foot chase by the alpine, and its epic final jungle showdown. If you enjoyed Vaughan’s stylistic fight sequences from the last film, you will not be disappointed at all.

Kim: A little peek into the film: Suit & Tie, a trip down the 50s era & Elton John. This sequel brought back some familiar faces from the first film, an all-star cast & fantastic action scenes to the table, but still fails to deliver an explosive sequel to the franchise.  Vaughn stages the action scenes with slow-mo shots and quirky angles which makes all the fight scenes enjoyable. I also love how Elton John’s extended role added a lot of comic relief to the movie – probably one of the best comedic performance this year. I guess sequels are usually a hit or miss. There are plenty of good scenes and also a few that could’ve been better. Overall, the plot is complex – I guess the Vaughn is trying to tie loose ends from the first film, the running time is excessive – a bunch of scenes could’ve been cut to pave way for a shorter length film and the cast is full of famous names in the industry that when a new character is introduced, you can hear the audience’s reaction in the cinema, but fans of the original Kingsman would still enjoy the run!

On the bright side, I’ve always enjoyed Vaughn’s cinematic cuts & fight scenes. Not to mention, the beautiful set & props design by the production team. Funny how timely and relevant this movie is to our political situation. If you adored Kingsman: The Secret Service – this sequel is pretty much worth watching. Time to suit up!

Catch Kingsman: The Golden Circle in cinemas nationwide starting September 20, 2017!