Kingsman: The Golden Circle

When Matthew Vaughn's "Kingsman: The Secret Service" came out, it was a surprising delight. The type of film informed by great spy movies and series, primarily of the English persuasion, but not afraid to flaunt its own style. It was the kind of candy-coated mayhem that is so enjoyable that you'll even forgive an odd speech impediment adopted by Samuel L. Jackson in his portrayal of that film's villain. From afar, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is the next logical step for the now franchise. The cast gets beefed up with a whole slew of American actors and the action is arguably even more untethered. So why is it that I feel a whole lot less satisfied?

Picking up shortly after the conclusion of "The Secret Service," "The Golden Circle" sees Eggsy comfortably settling into his new position as Galahad in the Kingsman. He has confidence in his position and at home is a wonderful girlfriend to round things out. But soon everything gets turned around, when the ultimate drug kingpin takes it upon herself to eliminate The Kingsman. In one night, all that remains of the secret organization is Eggsy and Merlin. In hopes of finding a solution to their problem, the pair heads to Kentucky and finds the Kingsman's American counterpart: The Statesman.

One of the things that was so great about "Kingsman: The Secret Service" was how fresh it felt. Since at least Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" comic book fans have been delighted to see film adaptations of properties that truly feel like the comics, even if they are rarely faithful to the written material. And that is why "The Secret Service" works: because it feels like something different with knowledge of something familiar. That originality propelled the film forward and that is ultimately what ends up slowing down "The Golden Circle."

The Blu-ray release of "The Golden Circle" is like the execution of the film itself. The cover proudly boasts "over two hours of special features" and they aren't lying. "The Golden Circle" does not skimp on its behind the scenes peeks, which admittedly is pretty much all you're getting in that two hours of special features. The features, while interesting, start to blend together, leaving me wondering if the cast and crew were repeating themselves, or if they simply reused the same footage. I'm not one to complain about too many features, but a little variety would've been a welcomed addition.

"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is a great sequel for those who loved the original. However, with its perfunctory casting, faux complexities, and entirely too long runtime (clocks in at 141 minutes) it isn't about to win over any new fans. It's still a lot of fun though.

"Kingsman: The Golden Circle"
Blu-ray Combo Pack
$34.99
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