KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE Review

There is a difficulty to pinning down what exactly it is about Matthew Vaughn's work that makes it stand out if not necessarily resonate, but to date it has been difficult to not at least enjoy, on a surface-level, every single film the director has released including the oft forgotten 2007 Neil Gaiman adaptation, Stardust, that is a genuinely great, very funny, and wickedly entertaining fantasy film told by someone who knows how to manage tone. Maybe this is it. Maybe it is the way in which Vaughn is able to deliver on a particular tone above everything else that makes his personality shine through so much more than other for-hire action directors tend to be able to do. It would be easy enough for studios to craft generic comic book adaptations, X-Men sequels, and James Bond spoofs-everyone is making some variation on one of those today-but to bring a unique perspective and distinct personality to such common proceedings is a gift and there is no denying Vaughn has that gift whether you appreciate where he's coming from or not. It is a tough thing, straddling what is to ultimately be an intangible aspect of one's final film, but Vaughn has always done well to imprint his films point of view throughout the film-thus making for the literal actions of the characters in the climactic scenes to feel all the more successful as they have not only accomplished the proper resolution the plot desired, but have simultaneously satisfied their moral compasses. Having listed many of Vaughn's previous projects it isn't difficult to note the guy has had ample opportunity to make sequels, but that he hasn't and that he did decide to take on the follow-up to his surprise 2014 hit says a lot about how much he is invested in this world and in this material. What then would Vaughn do in his first sequel? What is the direction he would choose to go? Those were the thoughts and questions stewing in my brain as the Kingsman logo on the front of the Kingsman tailor shop is revealed once more in the opening moments of Vaughn's latest, but while Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a bigger sequel and dares to explore the extended universe that exists around this independent agency we were introduced to three years ago it isn't nearly as cheeky or outrageous as we've come to expect the Kingsman or for that matter, Vaughn himself, to be. And so, while the film is serviceable and generally a good time it doesn't touch the bonkers and bawdy tone of the original despite being bigger in every sense a sequel can be.

SDCC: Green & Red-Band Trailers for KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

The second trailer for Kingsman: The Golden Circle is the first major release from 2017's edition of San Diego Comic-Con. This is the follow-up to the wildly successful Kingsman: The Secret Service from 2014 with director Matthew Vaughn returning for what will be his first sequel despite two other films he's directed having spawned follow-ups. So, what is it about the world of the Kingsman that made Vaughn want to return? It seems to be the fact there is so much more to explore here whereas Vaughn knew that what he had to say about the Kick-Ass and X-Men universes was more or less complete in his respective films. With Kingsman, which, like Kick-Ass, is based on a Mark Millar graphic novel, the filmmaker seemingly only scratched the surface of the world in which this secret service organization exists and the sequel is certainly expanding that world. Bringing in a host of big name newcomers. The Golden Circle sees the Kingsman's headquarters being destroyed and the world coming under siege forcing Taron Edgerton's Eggsy on a journey that leads him to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called the Statesman. This new trailer certainly shines more light on the Statesman giving Channing Tatum and Pedro Pascal a lot more to do this time around as well as getting a little more of Julianne Moore's villain who she's described as “Martha Stewart On Crack” . The trailer is also pretty relaxed about showing us Colin Firth's Harry Hart is alive and kicking, but I'm hoping there's more to this story that is divulged in the final cut. Vaughn and his crew have really seemed to up the ante by genuinely expanding the scope of the universe in which these characters exist so I'm hoping that given the director has finally decided to make a sequel that this turns out to be well worth the time and creativity invested. Kingsman: The Golden Circle also stars Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong, Michael Gambon, and opens on September 29th, 2017.

Full Trailer for KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

Last week we received a brief, 16-second teaser for Kingsman: The Golden Circle. This is the follow-up to the wildly successful Kingsman: The Secret Service from 2014 with director Matthew Vaughn returning for what will be his first sequel despite two other films he's directed having spawned follow-ups. So, what is it about the world of the Kingsman that made Vaughn want to return? It seems to be the fact there is so much more to explore here whereas Vaughn knew that what he had to say about Kick-Ass and the X-Men universe was more or less complete in his films. With Kingsman, which, like Kick-Ass, is based on a Mark Millar graphic novel, the filmmaker seemingly only scratched the surface of the world in which this secret service organization exists and the sequel is certainly expanding that world. Bringing in a host of big name newcomers The Golden Circle sees the Kingsman's headquarters being destroyed and the world coming under siege forcing Taron Edgerton's Eggsy and the the rest of the gang on a journey that leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy. While an added layer to an already familiar operation is always an exciting facet in a sequel it would appear that, from this trailer, Vaughn and his crew have really upped the ante in this second film by not simply adding more characters, but by genuinely expanding the scope of the universe in which these kinds of individuals can exist with not all of them falling under the same category of being slick-suited super-spies. Rather, we get a fair amount of footage of Channing Tatum sporting Americana to the brim while essentially being the U.S.'s answer to Britain's Eggsy. I was a big fan of the original and am a big fan of Vaughn's work in general so I'm hoping that given he's finally decided to make a sequel that this turns out to be well worth the time and creativity invested. Kingsman: The Golden Circle also stars Pedro Pascal, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong, Michael Gambon, Colin Firth, and opens on September 29th, 2017.