September 20, 2017 marked the official U.K. theatrical release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, followed by a September 22 theatrical release here in the U.S. Nerd Nation Magazine was in attendance for the early press screening of this film two days earlier on September 18, courtesy of 20th Century Fox, Allied Marketing, and Regal Cinemas.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS FOR ANYONE THAT HASN’T SEEN THE FIRST ‘KINGSMAN’. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!
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The second movie in the Kingsman series takes us one year later, after the death of Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has taken on the mantle of Galahad after the death of his mentor, Harry Hart (Colin Firth).
New movie, new villain(s). Julianne Moore plays Poppy, a drug cartel leader with a cringe-worthy smile. As for bad guys go, she’s playing a cold sociopath with a thing for the 50’s, robots, and hamburgers. Speaking of her love of the mechanical, wait until you see her favorite sidekick.
If you’ve seen the previews, you’ve seen why Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) end up traveling to the U.S. to “visit” their American counterparts, the Statesmen. Their first encounter is with Tequila (Channing Tatum), which isn’t favorable for them. Not going to give you more on that.
Also, if you’ve seen the previews, you’ll see the return of a certain character that, if you haven’t seen the previews, I’m not going to mention here. Suffice it to say, it’s a bit of a shock for Eggsy and Merlin.
Later, they meet with the Statesmen’s counterpart to Merlin, Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) and their senior most officer, Champagne or Champ (Jeff Bridges) who agrees to aide them in their mission…quest…thing to find and stop Poppy.
If you’ve seen the first movie, expect to find more epic fight scenes. More explosions. Lots of laughs. Some tears. There were some moments of “what the!?!” that’ll make you think about what’s going on today.
The Bottom Line:
Overall, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is pretty good for what it is, but nothing particularly spectacular. Is it as good as the first Kingsman? Ehhh, no… not so much. Honestly, I think they tried to fill too much into a two-hour twenty-one-minute run-time. They didn’t throw in the kitchen sink, but they did throw in one Sir Elton John at some really crazy moments. The action sequences and plot line were pretty tight, but some of the unbelievable moments were just a bit too much to suspend disbelief. Essentially this sequel just felt like it tried too hard, and just wasn’t as good. – 6.5/10
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-Hannah Collins
Staff Writer: Nerd Nation Magazine
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