right, to expand on my impressions:
taron egerton is even better in the role this time round. he gives a great performance with some surprisingly subtle moments here and there.
whilst it is true that there isn't an equivalent to the church scene here, i would say as a whole the action is stronger. if people are concerned about the way in which the action is shot based on the first film it's worth noting that despite sharing a similar style, the golden circle seems a lot more polished up and readable - much smoother camera movements and seemingly cutting less. the opening action sequence in particular is great, and features one of the coolest car chase shots this year outside of baby driver (even though it seemed completely cgi).
add to that the film definitely looks a lot nicer in general than it's predecessor. whilst the first film didn't have an enormous budget it could look quite 'cheap' at times, something that became quite noticeable seeing it on the big screen again and especially back to back with it's sequel. there's way less horrible green screen and compositing effects here and whilst the cgi definitely has over the top qualities it can look quite good. the cinematography seems more polished up and nicer in general too.
i liked how there was quite a bit more 'spying' in here over its predecessor. the film is full of gleefully goofy gadgets that the character's get to use as well. really does feel like a classic bond film on drugs at times.
turning the
was pretty fun and led to an amusing and believable rivalry between him and eggsy. his eventual
was pretty satisfying.
the trump lampooning was pretty spot on.
the humour as a whole hits more than it misses. there's some really funny moments and lines in here. but sadly the
cameo overstays its welcome enormously. whilst there are some pretty good jokes surrounding them here and there
is an absolutely terrible actor, and that aforementioned moment where the film crosses the 'absurdity' line with their character feels like it came out of a completely different, lesser comedy.
the
rubbed me the wrong way and i definitely think it's gonna be a sore talking point when more people start seeing this. the first kingsman didn't shy away from using sex as a gag (which i still think people missed that it was supposed to be a parody of the way older bond films ended) but the implications of this scene in golden circle feel really uncomfortable. maybe they just wanted one-up themselves? not sure what they were thinking here :/
julianne moore's poppy is introduced quite interestingly and she seems to really be enjoying the role but the film never really does much with her beyond her introduction, making her come off as a bit of a damp villain. people like to mock samuel l. jackson's valentine for the lisp thing but he was a compelling villain that secret service used well throughout the film, leading to a satisfying pay off. there's never really the same thing in the golden circle. i kind of wish they had explored the implications of her obsession with americana aesthetics in particular, could have made for an interesting discussion on the damaging aspects of nostalgia for that period.
the statesmen are a bit of a disappointment in the end. whilst i can appreciate that they didn't want to take away too much of a limelight from the main characters, their presence is slightly lacking throughout the film, most notably in regards to
this, combined with my issues about poppy genuinely makes it feel like there's a chunk of this film that's been cut out, perhaps because it was already too long anyway. there's definitely a moment or two from the trailers that didn't make it in.
so as a whole i'd say the film starts off really strong as it's setting everything up but never quite comes together, leading to pay offs not really hitting with the impact that they should and the film feeling messy as a result. it's not a bad film but definitely a disappointment.
taron egerton is even better in the role this time round. he gives a great performance with some surprisingly subtle moments here and there.
whilst it is true that there isn't an equivalent to the church scene here, i would say as a whole the action is stronger. if people are concerned about the way in which the action is shot based on the first film it's worth noting that despite sharing a similar style, the golden circle seems a lot more polished up and readable - much smoother camera movements and seemingly cutting less. the opening action sequence in particular is great, and features one of the coolest car chase shots this year outside of baby driver (even though it seemed completely cgi).
add to that the film definitely looks a lot nicer in general than it's predecessor. whilst the first film didn't have an enormous budget it could look quite 'cheap' at times, something that became quite noticeable seeing it on the big screen again and especially back to back with it's sequel. there's way less horrible green screen and compositing effects here and whilst the cgi definitely has over the top qualities it can look quite good. the cinematography seems more polished up and nicer in general too.
i liked how there was quite a bit more 'spying' in here over its predecessor. the film is full of gleefully goofy gadgets that the character's get to use as well. really does feel like a classic bond film on drugs at times.
turning the
failed recruit charlie from the first film into a henchman
comeuppance
the trump lampooning was pretty spot on.
the humour as a whole hits more than it misses. there's some really funny moments and lines in here. but sadly the
elton john
elton
the
glastonbury scene
julianne moore's poppy is introduced quite interestingly and she seems to really be enjoying the role but the film never really does much with her beyond her introduction, making her come off as a bit of a damp villain. people like to mock samuel l. jackson's valentine for the lisp thing but he was a compelling villain that secret service used well throughout the film, leading to a satisfying pay off. there's never really the same thing in the golden circle. i kind of wish they had explored the implications of her obsession with americana aesthetics in particular, could have made for an interesting discussion on the damaging aspects of nostalgia for that period.
the statesmen are a bit of a disappointment in the end. whilst i can appreciate that they didn't want to take away too much of a limelight from the main characters, their presence is slightly lacking throughout the film, most notably in regards to
channing tatum's tequila who literally spends the majority of his time in this film incapacitated. this also makes the ending's set up where tatum seems to be a part of kingsman (?) seem a little hollow considering he hasn't really had much to do with anything.
pedro pascal's agent whiskey has some great moments but they completely fumble his 'turn' to being the final villain. once again it feels like the film is missing a set up to make the pay off work, as something that is important to his character's motivations is barely touched on outside of a brief moment where drugs aren't even mentioned. if the film had integrated his backstory into the plot a bit more or given any indication that he despises drugs it would have given him a clearer arc and made his turn seem less awkward.
this, combined with my issues about poppy genuinely makes it feel like there's a chunk of this film that's been cut out, perhaps because it was already too long anyway. there's definitely a moment or two from the trailers that didn't make it in.
so as a whole i'd say the film starts off really strong as it's setting everything up but never quite comes together, leading to pay offs not really hitting with the impact that they should and the film feeling messy as a result. it's not a bad film but definitely a disappointment.
