Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Not much new but still lots of fun

The first movie titled Kingsman: The Secret Service, based upon the comic written by Mark Milar was basically a cooler and slightly extra silly take on the spy genre. It followed a young man named Eggsy (Taron Egerton) as a British street youth who is recruited by his fathers best friend named Galahad (Colin Firth), into The Kingsman, a secret defense organization that has weaponized the fashion and behavior of a gentleman. Bulletproof suits, glasses with computers inside, kick-ass Umbrellas, and so on. All to protect the world from over-the-top villains and their attempts to take over or even destroy civilization. It was an enjoyable experience with fresh and likable characters, well-timed humor, excellent action scenes, and a clever riff on the spy genre. If you have not seen this film yet, I would highly recommend you do so. Not only is it a great movie on its own, but it will enhance the experience of watching the sequel now in theaters. Which is not really as good as the first film, but is still lots of fun.

The first comparison that comes to mind when thinking about this sequel is Men in Black 2. Mainly because both films suffer from the same problem. Assuming that the audience just wants more of the exact same thing again, so they go out of their way to bring back elements and characters that were already established and had already completed their arcs from the first movie. However, to use a video game analogy, while Men in Black 2 was a lesser film for hitting the reset button, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is more like playing the game over again, but with all of the accomplished skill levels and goodies you've picked up. Add to that some bonus content, and you've actually got a pretty enjoyable movie.

This time around the world is threatened by an over-the-top drug cartel named Poppy (Julianne Moore), who has secretly laced illegal drugs with a poison that will eventually kill all who have used said drugs and plans to provide the cure under the condition that she basically be given the power to rule the world. To ensure her success, Poppy destroys all of The Kingsman except for Eggsy and his friend Merlin (Mark Strong). The two of them head to the United States and make contact with the Statesman, their American cousins who are just like the Kingsman but utilize a Cowboy motif with weaponized lassos, explosive whiskey bottles, and old-fashioned six-shooters.

The film manages to be both familiar and fresh. While it still basically hits the same beats as its predecessor, it manages to have just enough of an original personality to feel like a new experience, if only sometimes. Even though it brings back a character from the first film by very contrived means, even by this movies universes standards. Despite that, the film is a lot of fun with action scenes, character arcs and jokes all executed with the same finesse as the previous adventure. Not at all surprising given the film's director, Matthew Vaughn.

Vaughn is a great filmmaker. He has a keen eye for casting, a great feel for action, and knows how to create interesting and likable characters. This film, in particular, seems especially fascinating because Vaughn doesn't like sequels. I don't' know what the studio did to bring him back for this movie, but I'm glad he did. As I am convinced that, in lesser hands, this film would not have been as enjoyable as it was.

If you liked the first film, then you will have fun with the sequel.

Is this movie worth seeing? - Yes

Is it worth seeing in theaters? - Maybe

Why? - While it is a fun experience, it still loses points for reusing too much of the first film.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.