Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

A Review

By Moriya Porter

B+

Sequel to the 2014 hit Kingsman: The Secret Service, our new favorite british spy duo is back.

Premise:

Taron Egerton is Eggsy, troubled youth turned secret agent, codename: Galahad.  In the wake of the death of his mentor and the previous Galahad (Colin Firth), Eggsy has proved himself a true Kingsman: a member of a covert intelligence agency that helps protect the world.  But when most of the Kingsman are targeted and killed, only Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) narrowly escape death.  They’re bent on finding who killed their friends and bringing them to justice.  The stakes are raised when they find out what they’re up against: a global drug syndicate that’s holding the world hostage.  With limited resources, the remaining Kingsmen join forces with the Statesmen, the American equivalent of the Kingsmen, to hunt down the Golden Circle.

Thoughts:

The Kingsman movies are over the top in almost every way, but it’s so much fun.  With likable protagonists and easily hateable villains, a classic hero’s journey, and some potent messages on society/politics, it’s hard not to enjoy this Bond-like spy film.  

Newcomers to the series are Channing Tatum as Agent Tequila, Halle Berry as Ginger Ale, Jeff Bridges as Champ, and Pedro Pascal as Agent Whiskey, all members of the Statesmen.  Tatum's role, while entertaining, is not much more than a long cameo- Elton John has about as much screen time.  Julianne Moore also joins the cast as the psychotic Poppy, a drug Queenpin as it were, and the leader of the Golden Circle. For my more in depth (and spoiler) thoughts, you can check out the Superhero Moviecast podcast episode on the film, where I was a guest.

Content:

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a clear R Rating, and for good reason.  They are based off of comic books, so the crazy action and gore (and it is crazy) is consistent with the source material.  It comes across almost cartoonish, but it still might be too much for some people- which is fair.  There is strong language throughout, as well as sexual material and drug content.  One poor taste sexual scene in particular is what keeps this movie from being an A for me. All that said, it’s a hilarious action comedy for adults.  For more in depth information about the film’s content, you can check here.