Along with Baby Driver, Kingsman: The Golden Circle was the film I was most excited for this year. A couple of days before the release, I decided to venture down to London for the World premiere, which was an amazing idea. I got to see all the stars of the film, as well as getting selfies with various celebs, including Taron Egerton, Mark Strong and Andy Serkis (attending as a celebrity guest). All this meant that I was entering to the cinema on Friday with a huge amount of excitement. Having read reviews before, I saw that the critical reception was mixed but was happy to make my own opinion about the film.
Maybe I’m bias, but my god did I love the film. Everything about it was the perfect sequel. The excitement and style of the first film was matched, with new characters adding to an interesting plot that balanced humour and emotion. The all-star cast all did a stellar job, with Pedro Pascal particularly standing out as a fantastic new addition to the Kingsman team. I do admit that some running jokes began to draw thin (look no further that Elton John’s ‘cameo’ that turns into a full-fledged character) and I can see why some of the more extreme sexual jokes have caused uproar. I however, think that they are well thought out, and simply caricature the outrageous sexual exploits of Bond.
One particularly amazing part was the score by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson. The fantastic ‘Manners Maketh Man’ theme they established in the first film was back, but this time, was bigger, grander, and funkier. Many of the American scenes were over-scored by a western re-work of the original theme, with a ‘Kingsman Hoedown’ even being recorded for the scores release (that my phone has since had on repeat). This fantastic score was accompanied, just as in the first film, with a fantastic eclectic mix of pop songs, including ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’, ‘Word Up’ by The Bosshoss and ‘Take Me Home (Country Roads)’ by John Denver.
On a negative note, the film was admittedly crawling with deus ex machina, exposition and convenient plot points, but at the end of the day, I thought it was bloody good fun, and that meant I saw past the minor issues. And just to contrast to all the other reviews, the film is not too long. At two hours twenty, it sits only ten minutes longer than the first instalment, and not once did I feel the film beginning to drag.
In my humble opinion, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a fantastic film, a great sequel to the original, and a brilliant bridge to a third, hopefully up and coming film.
Daniel Robinson: From Reel to Real 