Kingsman: The Golden Circle

After a strong critical and audience reaction to the first action comedy about a group of British secret intelligence agents known as the Kingsman ("Kingsman: Secret Service"), director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") brings his startlingly amusing voice to the second installment, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle." Strangely, things still amuse in this over-stuffed follow-up, but they don't add up to the visceral and giddy thrills of the first installment.

Maybe that's because this time we know what we're in for. Maybe the franchise is more of a "one and done," I'm not sure. But this latest chapter feels slightly stale, while still providing a pretty good time at the movies.

This time around, we find Agent Eggsy (hottie Taron Egerton) newly engaged to Tilde (Hanna Alstrom), the princess he rescued in "Secret Service." He still mourns the death of the man that got him into the Kingsman, Harry Hart (Colin Firth) and takes orders from his own "M," here named Merlin and played by Mark Strong. But when a mysterious villain takes out all of the Kingsman locations, killing almost all of them, Eggsy and Merlin discover an American arm of the Kingsman hidden in Texas and called the Statesman. This secret crew is headed by a good ole rich boy named Champ (Jeff Bridges) and fronted by Agents Tequila (Channing Tatum) and Whiskey (Pedro Pascal), and assisted by their own Merlin, Ginger (Halle Berry). The two teams figure they have to work together in order to fight the evil that has entered their midst. Oh, and someone Eggsy knows and loves might be secretly held in their facility, to boot!

The evil they must face is a drug lord named Poppy, played awkwardly by Julianne Moore. She holes herself up somewhere in the world in what appears to be her own personal amusement park. There, she has built things that remind her of the comforts of Americana like burger joints, donut shops, and a concert hall complete with none other than Elton John, whom she has kidnapped to endlessly perform for her. (Don't ask.)

Her prime irritation is that she is the most successful businesswoman in the world, but no one knows her name because she has to remain hidden. She decides to change all that with a diabolical drug plot that will affect the entire world.

There's lots going on, and one of the pure thrills of Vaughn's world is the dizziness of discovery, therefore, I won't spoil any more here. Suffice it to say that there is a ton of whackiness, clever weaponry (Wonder Woman's lasso has nothing on Whiskey's), over-the-top violence and huge, cartoonish set pieces. If you liked the first one you'll most likely enjoy this effort, but truth be told it gets a little wearisome a few hours in. (It's long.)

Eggerton and Strong are great here, as is most of the cast. Pascal is the real surprise as he settles into his role like he was born for it. The big misstep is Moore, who looks and feels out of place. She's a terrific actress, but comedy just isn't her forte and as hard as she tries to add a comedic edge to her villainess role, it comes off like she's trying too hard. This needed someone with real comedic chops to give it the wink-wink that the entire picture has.

Add to that the ridiculous Elton John extended cameo that is just truly unfunny. Berry and Bridges are sort of wasted in roles that have them doing nothing more than making pronouncements or staring at computer screens. Even Tatum disappears after a brief hello and doesn't return until the end.

But the fun of the Kingsman movies is always the heightened action scenes that go purposely over the top and become laughingly gratuitous. Oddly, this installment didn't feel as heightened in the violence department. It's there for sure, but after the shocking church massacre of "Secret Service," there's nothing here that matches it. Which might be a good thing. It doesn't really take anything away from the film for sure. It's still goofy fun, even if it's overlong.

While the Kingsman and the Statesman still have entertainment value, here's hoping that Part 3 ups the ante and really nails where it all could go. To be a successful franchise we need to want to come back for more of the same, but we want that same to be a little grander than before. Vaughn aimed for the golden ring and almost snatched it, but it bounced out of his hand and got away from him.