Kingsman: The Golden Circle missed its target and has failed to live up to its predecessor. It's a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's not a good thing.
After reading all of the negative reviews about Kingsman: The Golden Circle that have come out since its release back in September, I still decided to see it. Why? I have no clue, and I immediately regretted that fateful decision ... It's been a year since the events of Kingsman: The Secret Service took place, and we find Eggsy (Taron Egerton) still settling in his role of a Kingsman as he struggles to manage his emotional response and prove himself worthy. Things only get harder when the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed, leaving Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) as the only surviving agents. The two have no choice other than to partner with the Statesman, their American counterparts, as they try to stop Poppy (Julianne Moore) from poisoning the world's drug users. Kingsman: The Golden Circle, while it delivered a few humorous and action-filled scenes, strayed too far from the formula that made its predecessor so successful. There's a cool car chase at the beginning with Eggsy -- most of which we saw in the trailers -- then the story takes a big halt after that. It picks up a bit towards the end with a fight scene that involves a meat grinder, a bowling alley, and Sir Elton John. I went into the movie with the hopes of there being at least one crazy action scene like the famous church fight from The Secret Service, but there was nothing that came close to that.
It's an unfulfilling sequel that pads its runtime with pointless subplots and introduced too many new characters, only to underuse them. Seriously, when you have talented actors like Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, and Channing Tatum, you've got to use them. I did enjoy when those actors were on screen and they all did a great job in their roles, but it only made me want more.
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I left the movie theater with more questions than answers, many of which I had prior to seeing the film. In my opinion, The Golden Circle was a lazy film that essentially had an identical plot as the first but with less heart and more cringe-worthy moments (i.e., every single scene with Sir Elton John).
What did you think of Kingsman: The Golden Circle? Did it live up to the expectations that the first one set? Do you think there will be a third film in the series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Also, check out our YouTube series "Double Feature" where we discuss how Kingsman: The Golden Circle misses the mark even further, as well as other awesome movies and tv shows like It and Game of Thrones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLXCqs6J1ZA
