Film Review: "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" (2017).

From the creators of Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service comes Kingsman: The Golden Circle. This action spy comedy film produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, and based on the comic book series Kingsman, created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. It is a sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). When the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents' strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that's becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy.

Prior the release of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Millar and Vaughn stated that a sequel would be possible if the first film was to perform well at the box office, and Vaughn expressed interest in returning to direct. Vaughn also noted that he had hoped to have Firth back in the sequel. In late April 2015, Fox announced that a sequel was in production, but that it was unclear if Vaughn would return due to his interest in directing a Flash Gordon film. In early June 2015, Vaughn told Yahoo that he had begun writing the script for the sequel, and that he could return to direct. In September 2015, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Egerton would not return for the sequel due to his commitment with a new Robin Hood film. However, in mid-October, it was confirmed that scheduling issues had been settled between both films. Thus insured Egerton's return. By mid May 2016, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Edward Holcroft, Hanna Alström, and Sophie Cookson returned to reprise their roles, with Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, and Elton John as newcomers. At the same time, principal photography commenced, wrapped in early September. Filming took place in Leavesden and Birmingham, England, as well as Italy and Sri Lanka. The original cut of the movie had a total run-time of three hours and forty minutes. The movie had so many added scenes during production that FOX even asked Vaughn if he wanted to split the film into two separate movies. Vaughn shot down that idea and cut the film to two hours and twenty-one minutes.

The film stars Firth, Egerton, Strong, Holcroft, Alström, and Cookson, who reprise their roles, with Moore, Berry, Pascal, Tatum, Bridges, and John. The performances, given by the old and new cast, have entered the charisma-free zone. Egerton's Eggsy dealing with a normal relationship with Hanna Alström' Tilde would have been more interesting, than film trying to be a spy film, if the story hadn't been marred by bad jokes about bodily sex.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle falls short in its attempt to emulate the original's unique blend of ultra-violence and ironic humour.

Simon says Kingsman: The Golden Circle receives:

Also, see my review for Kingsman: The Secret Service.