Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) ☆ ☆

I was surprised to thoroughly enjoy Kingsman: The Secret Service a few years ago; its blend of James Bond-ish intrigue, ultra-violent action and sardonic wit was quite appealing.  Now it has a sequel, positing that the “Kingsman” secret service is almost entirely destroyed by a ruthless drug kingpin, forcing young Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and wise Merlin (Mark Strong) to emigrate to America, to contact a sister organization named, appropriately enough, “Statesman.”  There, they uncover clues about their nemesis, and reconnect with an important figure from the past.

Matthew Vaughn’s film follows the pattern set in the first film, mixing familiar spy elements and intrigue with eye-popping action sequences, much of it shot in slow-motion.  The script tries to be as wild and diabolical as the first film, incorporating elements like having the drug kingpin be a woman (Julianne Moore) who builds her 1950’s themed fortress in the Cambodian jungle, protected by robot dogs.  It has fun with the comparison of methods and personnel between England and America, which also allows a cadre of popular actors to join the action (Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Bruce Greenwood, Emily Watson).  It even affords a choice supporting role to Elton John!

Alas, I felt it was all a bit much, especially the dastardly American political response to the “blue virus” that sweeps the world and its drug users.  I never believed Poppy (Moore) as being able to conquer the world’s drug lords (all offscreen, described as the story begins), and was unimpressed with her scheme for ransom.  Much of the intrigue is obvious and some of it is quite off-color.  Finally, some of the big names recruited for action have very little to do, especially among the Americans.  I’ve read that the first cut for this film was more than an hour longer — watch for that as a director’s cut later; perhaps it will improve the film’s inconsistencies and weaknesses.

Plans for a third movie (and even a “Statesman” spinoff) are allegedly underway; I can only hope that better judgment is employed to return to what works so well in the first film.  By no means is this film a total failure; it is entertaining, but not as clever or thrilling as it should have been.  Eggsy’s romance doesn’t work at all for me, though perhaps there will be a dramatic payoff in the future involving Swedish royalty.  So many spy movies depend on their villains to provide balance and conflict; let’s hope that the next one has a better villain (or villainess) than Poppy Adams.  ☆ ☆.

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