By Nadia Ranaputri
 |
| Image source: nerdsite.com |
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges.
When Colin Firth's Harry Hart states "Manners maketh man," before engaging in a bar brawl, Kingsman: The Secret Service places its foot on a pedestal and sets its sights on a lavish and all out fun ride. Its sequel, The Golden Circle, boasts no less of them.
After becoming an official Kingsman agent, Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) is greeted by an old foe that leads to a fight and an array of new complications ahead. When a criminal organization by the name of the Golden Circle attempts to wipe Kingsman out, Eggsy and his remaining Kingsman companions seek assistance to their American counterparts, the Statesman.
Taron Egerton's second round in the role of Kingsman agent Eggsy is still as fantastic as in the first film, but in here, there's really not as much of a development here as it was in the first film. It probably has something to do with the fact that being a spy is the highest development he's ever going to get, but it doesn't offer as much range and depth that the first film had. His companion, Colin Firth's Harry Hart, once an equal front man with Eggsy in The Secret Service; takes a backseat in the sequel, albeit still impeccably entertaining during his presence with his dry humor and compelling action scenes.
 |
| Image source: Allocine |
The Statesman, being the Kingsman's new addition, adds in big names with some having wittily fun action sequences and some good humor, but that's about it. There's nothing much else under the surface for them. Halle Berry's Ginger Ale makes an intriguing companion alongside Mark Strong's Merlin. However, it's not until the very end that she truly gets the opportunity do something exciting for a little while. Channing Tatum's Agent Tequilla, the Statesman's resident bad boy, has a great entrance with a two-on-one brawl and a Southern accent to boot, but backs out from the rest of the action for most of the film's portion. Pedro Pascal, an ultimate charm who has played eccentric characters in Game of Thrones and Narcos; gets the biggest amount of screentime and action out of the rest of the Statesman. Even so, it doesn't entirely compensate his muddled motivation that doesn't seem to pan out as well as it could have. Ultimately, his character felt like a wasted opportunity, which is unfortunate, since I was already a fan of Pascal prior to this film, and his involvement made me even more excited for it than I already was.
If there's one thing that the film manages to really do brilliantly is its action, and despite relying half of its weight on CGI; it's pretty remarkable, and bloody, too (not a surprise, there.) There's a great action sequence involving Egerton's Eggsy in a cab fight around London with an old foe that starts the movie on a promising note. When it comes to the rest of the action afterwards, whether it was the fun rehash of the infamous bar fight scene from The Secret Service with an Indiana Jones like twist, or the color popping vicious brawl set to Elton John's Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting; it keeps its promise. Kingsman's humor and eccentricities are as expected, absurdly good, which isn't much of a surprise, but it is dialed up more here than it was in the first film. From a cussing Elton John to killer robo-dogs, a Kingsman film is not without its eccentricities, and The Golden Circle is no different.
Unfortunately, The Golden Circle, despite its glorious action sequences and wickedly colorful palette, overstuffs itself a little too much with its many ideas being plunged in all it once. Most of the concepts are brilliant, but it's so much to take in, that it feels like a Jenga tower that's slightly tilted, and nearly, just nearly; on the verge of falling. Only difference is, a Jenga tower could only fall if a couple of its blocks are removed. The Golden Circle, on the other hand, could been more solid by removing a small chunk out of its runtime (particularly on a scene that takes place in a music festival that doesn't really offer anything to the story other than to amp its vulgarity) and give a couple of minutes to process the things that just happened instead of running rapidly from one act to another.
 |
| Image source: Slash Film |
Think of The Golden Circle as a roller-coaster. You're about to embark on a roller-coaster with your friends, and once the ride starts, the only thing you're focused on is the ride. Once you get off, all you remember is that sense of fun. Everything else, the people, all the twists and turns, are mostly blurred out, because your focus will be on how fun and exciting the ride was. That's Kingsman: The Golden Circle as a whole: all fun on the action standpoints, but a little forgettable on everything else, especially when it comes to its villain Poppy, who despite her devious plan of wiping out most of the Earth's inhabitants by her drug cartel and punishing her henchmen in gruesome ways; doesn't bring as much to the table as Samuel L. Jackson's Richmond Valentine did in The Secret Service.
There's something odd about The Golden Circle. When you look back and revisit the film, there's that sense of peculiarity from the film that doesn't quite sit well. It's eccentric in all the right ways, but some seem misplaced, as if they shouldn't really be there. For a sequel to a film that paints an entirely new slate to the spy genre, The Golden Circle doesn't feel as solid or memorable as The Secret Service, rather the opposite. It's still a fun ride that boasts a witty charm, and the action scenes are brilliantly boisterous, but that's probably the most memorable thing that you're going to get from it.
Stars: 2.5/5
Trailer
- Review){kind=link}
