Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
A lot of Hollywood series nowadays don't deserve to exist. From tiresome clichés, money grabs and unoriginal rides, so many reasons can be found as to why we don't need the series's that we have. After a hit of a first film and now a sequel in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, this seems like this is primed to be the next big series. Is this sequel the step in more of the right direction or a step backward? Do we really need this series?
Afte the events of the first one, Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) is still in the Kingsmen organization and finds a new enemy in Charlie (Edward Holcroft), a former trainee of the Kingsmen who tags along with Poppy Admas (Julianne Moore), the leader of the new villain group "The Golden Circle". Both Poppy and Charlie lead the group which is drug cartel bent on ending the world. As you would expect, a spy film but also a drug film in this latest installment.
After just a phenomenal performance in the underrated sports film Eddie the Eagle, Taron is back in the Eggsy role again in a positive way. Once again, he's likable that has a charm that can't go unnoticed and you can't just not root for him. Even though Egerton is in his 20's, he feels like a kid character saving the world in these films. Though he isn't on the same level as Taron, Mark Stong works as the wingman in the story as the character of Merlin, a nerdy agent character to the story. Even you get back agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) who is back with a spin. Even though she not as important as the agents, Princess Tilde (Hanna Alstrom) is back as Eggsy girlfriend; a character we can care about on a surprisingly high level. In new roles and characters, you have Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), Champagne (Jeff Bridges) and Tequila (Channing Tautm) who are all apart of the group called "Statesmen", a secret agent group posing as a whiskey distillery in Kentucky. Yes, at times they are all not given much to do especially Tatum but a sequel sets them up for more. It does seem like a lot of characters but the script makes them flow and never makes them hard to follow.
It's the plot here that's really the highlight of the film in different ways. This is a drug cartel set up in the jungle of the Cambodia as a mini town ( yes, it's unrealistic). It does seem odd to have an actress like Julianne Moore as our main villain but she's creepy who works as basically a sociopath that somehow still feels like a 'mom' character somehow at the same time too. Being that it's drug plot, it does have a strange message about 'Wars on Drugs' and brings a political side creating a president character played by Bruce Greenwood. Political idea that really does connect to our president and the political world today. Even don't forgot about Elton John in this drug story (yes, really).
Once it all comes together, the film still comes back to Matthew Vaughn style as a director. From action with it's different and outstanding cinematography to this story that somehow able to blend settings like Kentucky, Cambodia, and Britain together, he knows how to work with a lot. He's created such an original plot here even if it doesn't have the smartest brian. This doesn't feel like a sequel and feels as though it isn't forced like most sequels are. Again like its predecessor, Kingsmen: Golen Circle is techy with ideas and just like Matthew Vaughn other films in his filmography, he willing to be edgy with that said action which is needed in the film world. Vaughn continues to rise as a director.
Yes, it's an odd sequel and it will turn some people away. It's the oddest drug film you're going to find or least I've seen. Kingsman feels like a techy child of the James Bond and it's a good child. A series is set up now with an EVEN more of a bigger cast for Matthew Vaughn to extend this series. Extend it all you want because so far it's mostly all working.
