Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Elton John, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal, Sophie Cookson, Vinnie Jones, Michael Caine
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Action spy sequel directed by Matthew Vaughn, when the Kingsman headquarters is destroyed and the world held hostage by Poppy (Julianne Moore), a notorious criminal mastermind and member of the secret new world order group “The Golden Circle”, Eggsy (Taron Egerton), Merlin (Mark Strong), and Roxy (Sophie Cookson), set off on a journey that 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 an adventure that tests their strength and wits, the elite secret agents from both sides of the pond band together to battle a ruthless enemy and save the day, something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy.
Our Favorite Quote:
Just know that having something to lose is what makes life worth living. - Harry Hart (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) Share on X
Best Quotes (Total Quotes: 20)
Harry Hart: [voice over] Eggsy, I saw in you what someone once saw in me, something that can’t be taught, the makings of a Kingsman. Being a “Kingsman” is more than the clothing we wear or the weapons we bag. It’s about willing to sacrifice for the greater good. I hope you’re ready for what comes next. It’s important.
Poppy: My name is Poppy Adams, CEO of the Golden Circle. We engage in an aggressive business strategy, invest in the latest technology, and take strict disciplinary action. I’m speaking to you today because our world leaders have let us all down, so we are coming out of the shadows and taking over. And to make sure no one gets in our way…
Poppy: Kingsman, it’s crumpets.
Poppy: My drugs are everywhere. They were never my thing, but here I am, running the biggest drug cartel in the world. The only downside is having to live in the middle of nowhere. You know, these ruins are technically undiscovered. I just added a few touches to remind me of home. I grew up on all that awesome ’50s nostalgia. Grease, American Graffiti, Happy Days. But I digress. The thing you need to understand is the hard work and ingenuity it took to achieve a global monopoly on the drug trade. And that’s all on me. Not to toot my own horn, I just think it’s really important for new recruits to understand the history of The Golden Circle.
[Eggsy and Merlin see Harry alive, with an eyepatch and about to shave]
Merlin: Oh, my God. Harry?!
Eggsy: Fuck me.
Eggsy: We’re from the Kingsman tailor shop in London. Maybe you’ve heard of us.
Poppy: Today marks the beginning of a new age. Wait, I’m going to show you.
[she presses a button and we see the Kingsman tailor shop explode]
Poppy: Say goodbye to the Kingsman.
Eggsy: We’ve kind of got a bit of a “save the world” situation here.
Eggsy: Galahad always said, “You’ve got to look at the bigger picture. Ask why as well as who.” So if someone wanted to take out Kingsman, then they’ve got to be planning something major.
Eggsy: Well, we all go our separate journeys, but ultimately we all arrive at the same destination.
Tequila: [to Eggsy] Welcome to Statesman.
Champ: [to Eggsy] As your American cousins we’ll be working side by side.
Ginger: Let’s get started.
Eggsy: We’ve got brains, skills.
[referring to Agent Whiskey]
Eggsy: Skipping rope?
Whiskey: It’s a lasso.
Eggsy: Whatever.
Eggsy: It’s very American.
Tequila: Yeah. Fuck, yeah!
Whiskey: Manners maketh man.
Harry Hart: Do you know what that means?
Eggsy: I’m sorry.
Harry Hart: Don’t be. Just know that having something to lose is what makes life worth living. Now, let’s go and save your girl.
Eggsy: I missed you, Harry.
Elton John: Now, go off and save the world.
Harry Hart: If I save the world, can I have two tickets to your next concert?
Elton John: Darling, if you save the world, you can have a backstage pass.
[Harry and Eggsy toast each other]
Harry Hart: Cheers.
Eggsy: Are you sure I don’t look like a dick?
Harry Hart: Look in the mirror.
[Eggsy goes over to the mirror]
Harry Hart: What do you see?
Eggsy: Someone who can’t believe what the fuck is going on.
Harry Hart: I see a man who is honorable, brave, loyal, who’s fulfilled his huge potential. A man who’s done something good with his life.
Eggsy: I owe you everything, Harry. Thank you.
Harry Hart: Don’t mention it. You ready?
Eggsy: Not a doubt in my mind.
[last lines]
Harry Hart: As one of our founding Kingsman once said, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Total Quotes: 20
What are your favorite Kingsman: The Golden Circle quotes? Let us know in the comments below as we’d love to know.
Trailers:
If there was ever proof of the statement that “sequels are rarely as good as their originals”, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is that in its physical form.
Despite Director Matthew Vaughn and Screenwriter Jane Goldman’s immense talent back behind the helm along with a conveyer belt of famous faces, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2015’s high-flying spy spoof Kingsman: The Secret Service fails to deliver on its predecessor’s pulpy mix of Tarantino-esque exploitation and 007 espionage.
Falling into much the same trap as the awful Kick Ass 2 (2013) (of which’s comic-book source was similarly created by Mark Millar), The Golden Circle wrongly suggests that “bigger means better” as it systematically shifts action from its London-based, Eton-educated roots to the Country Roads of Kentucky.
Taron Egerton – supposedly 27, but looking no older than 19 – returns as the first film’s council estate thug-turned-superspy Eggsy.
Now living a lush life with his leggy blonde, Swedish princess girlfriend (Hanna Alstrom), Eggsy longs for the thrill-seeking finesse of his previous life; working as a secret agent for the undercover agency “Kingsman”.
The ideal opportunity for escapism arrives when a missile blows up Kingsman HQ.
With the institution’s highest members now vanquished, all who remain are Eggsy, Mark Strong’s sweary Scotsman Merlin and Colin Firth’s “deceased” Kingsman Harry “Gallahad” Hart (brought back to life by a super-enhanced gel in the most preposterous of manners!).
The film’s “menacing” threat arrives as an unusually below par Julianne Moore as a Vegan-hating, camp villainess with a ludicrous plan to legalize drugs. A plot device which backs up many Guardian writer’s theories that the film is a covert Conservative attack on the Liberal Left (is it a coincidence that the first film’s villain was an environmentalist?).
Good thing that “Kingsman” should have its own stateside equivalent ironically named “Statesman”. Cue a cascade of celebrity cameos ranging from a spectacularly buff Channing Tatum, Game of Throne’s Pedro Pascal channeling a slurring Johnny Depp to Elton John “tiny dancing” as an embarrassing shadow of his former self and The Golden Circle begins to resemble a naff ‘Austin Powers’ parody!
To say the film is stupid beyond belief is understating yet where its predecessor had a funky edge, this sequel bounces around like a boisterous deflating balloon!
Despite the melodic twang of John Denver blaring against the soundtrack, every martial arts mad fight sequence appears to have been choreographed by a cokehead yuppie unable to locate his latest line. I spent every second of the film’s taxi-speeding opening wishing Edgar Wright had been behind the camera.
Most criminal, however, is a return to much of the grossly inappropriate, lad mag humour that hampered the original. One grossly inappropriate scene involves the sexual planting of a tracking device into a hooker at Glastonbury. A guarantee to offend female audience members of all ages and only providing false ammunition for Thatcher-worshipping Daily Mail readers to bash today’s working class male youth!
It leaves an obnoxious, sour taste in the mouth. I expect better from Director Vaughn and Screenwriter Goldman…
Rating: 2/5
Were it so easy to eradicate a virus on screen versus the reality of cancer aka The Big C. Pooling resources toward a common goal and driving straight through to the finish line. The fiction of story becomes the primer for a nonfiction effort. Lets remember this month is breast cancer awareness. How can we be not aware, when family, friends, and even strangers document the scares, the bald heads, and a grave stone markers far in front of any finish line. The Kingsman 2 is more then just comic relief.
TARON EDGERTON IS HOT AF@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LIKEW TUEISURGFH
HE IS MY LIFE AND SOUL AND I SAID YES TO HIM AND I DO AND I DON’T WANT YOU TO KILL HIM AND I HOPE HE MARRIES ME!!!!!!!!
If you want immediate gratification of role, then the Graham woman is the go to of go to. She can substitute ditzy for nerdy with brief moments of brilliance. Why was she absent of casting… then again maybe not. Head to head… Graham beats Berry. I can’t help daydreaming about what could have been. Required reading for those who have already exited the movie house.
Who really invented the word amnesia? I think the medical profession adopted the Soap’s format. Can you tell the difference between a butterfly having amnesia and one whose not. Must be the aimless direction is the tell. Who cares if the amnesia angle works or not? The Kinsgsman 2 is pure fiction, so we take a few liberties. Take that you villain. We got less then two hours. . . no time to be eased out of misty waters. We need you to return to normal ways like the seat backs in airplanes. The Kingsman live to fight another day with or without amnesia.
Ms Moore has the soft touch of sinister. She smiles to your face while secretly yearning for you to be the guts of her burger supreme. She delights has she lures you into the taffy pulling strands of burger. Thank God she’s only in character.
Least I not forget about the Berry woman. Casted as a nerd; she was not nerdy enough. The casting crew tried to do a half and half (beauty and the nerd) and ended with a watery mix. Seems like her haircut reminds me of the runaway stylist who gave Bill Gates the experimental… remember that. You can be beautiful and nerdy. The Berry woman will grow into the role… I can wait.
Diary of A Mad Woman
Ms Moore character can best be describe in the “who me” genre. She dances softly but carries a big grinder for insurance to ensure the outcome. The grinder is so overkill, its become a comical extract. Your right… I’m fixated on her character. She pulled it off.
Loved the movie. . . enough to make a funny observation. Those who have scene the first “Kingsman” are aware of the set ups. Funny to hear people laugh in advance of the other movie goers. There’s like a ten second delay between the two groups.
Who does not want the world to be saved from a dreaded virus? Juliana Moore dishes up her own dog eat dog justice. The trio of Kingsman from the east hooked up with far west cowboys to counter her dastardly plot to get rid of drug takers. The typical spy kit took her down. The Kingsman will always resurface to fight another day.