'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' Review

⌚ Kingsman: The Golden ⌚ Review ⌚ 8.4/10 ⌚

This sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service has just as much slick, inventive, crazy comic action and is just as much fun. But while it's equally violent, it also shows far more empathy toward human loss. Matthew Vaughn returns to the director's chair, co-writing the screenplay with Jane Goldman; though their story is convoluted and just a tad bit insane, it more or less sticks together and follows a pleasing flow. It even manages a sly bit of political commentary on the "war on drugs" which was pretty cool. Set pieces, including a runaway gondola lift and Poppy's 1950s-inspired hideout, are outrageously cool.

Vaughn's direction is the opposite of Hollywood's usual shaky-cam tendencies; it's graceful and fluid, with dance-like movement in the heat of battle. In the previous movie, scenes involving the brutal deaths of dozens of people were played for laughs and entertainment. But in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, loss/death carries a heavier weight. There's now time to react and mourn, which serves to make the characters more emotional and more appealing. Indeed, one of the movie's most welcome themes is that life is more valuable if you have something to lose.

The hole cast were great but Julianne Moore, Colin Firth and Elton John were sensational. Channing Tatum was brilliant for the short time he was in it, I don't really have any complaints about that like most people because the way I see it, it was a good introduction to his character and what we will get from him in future films!