First film was the first time I left a Matthew Vaughn feeling let down. It was just a little too ugly, mean and vacuous with shit characters and a nonsense plot. I had decided to skip this one but saw a preview during It that piqued a friend's interest so checked it out tonight. Probably had more fun with this one honestly, the actiony bits were the strong suit of the first one so they did more of those and I dug that. Casting for the Statesman was fun, wish they had of given Bridges something to do. Loved the behaviour of the President. And all the swirling and swirling. The writing hasn't gotten better and I'd honestly hope Vaughn gets away from this franchise and does something different because these aren't good movies and I think he can do better.
These movies have this weird tone or something I haven't been able to completely articulate. Something's just off.
First film was the first time I left a Matthew Vaughn feeling let down. It was just a little too ugly, mean and vacuous with shit characters and a nonsense plot. I had decided to skip this one but saw a preview during It that piqued a friend's interest so checked it out tonight. Probably had more fun with this one honestly, the actiony bits were the strong suit of the first one so they did more of those and I dug that. Casting for the Statesman was fun, wish they had of given Bridges something to do. Loved the behaviour of the President. And all the swirling and swirling. The writing hasn't gotten better and I'd honestly hope Vaughn gets away from this franchise and does something different because these aren't good movies and I think he can do better.
These movies have this weird tone or something I haven't been able to completely articulate. Something's just off.
Colin Firth's only reason for being in the movie was to tell Eggsy "We were wrong about the whole 'you can't have a girlfriend' thing. Go be a family man." The reveal that he was still alive also fell flat because they show him in the trailers, they show his face in the movie posters, and one of the very first promo images for the movie was this. It's quite clear that the studio knew people would be upset if Colin Firth didn't come back, so right out of the gate they showed a promo image easing the worries of the masses.
I really hope the ending wasn't alluding to Eggsy retiring and Channing Tatum taking over. If so, I'm all the way out.
I didn't see the first one, I still enjoyed it, it is pretty self contained I thought. But probably not as much as the person I was with who saw the first one since you don't get the background of Taron Egerton and Colin Firth's characters and not on the origin of the Kingsman. It made me want to see the first movie.
It's just that the first Kingsman kinda blew away my expectations, and this is more of the same. Sometimes just the same. Sometimes actually less. Feels like they didn't cook up enough novel ideas for a sequel, they even had to drop hints for a third movie, for some reason.
Golden Circle just didn't really up the ante in any way, but it's still a good time with lots of expertly executed action sequences.
I was excited to see this and it was boring. They wasted Julianna Moore and her character's goals and motivation didn't make sense to me. The Statesmen were lame and uninteresting other than watching the cowboy guy fight. Nothing comes closes to the church scene in the first one. It seemed to rely more of the same old hollywood action scenes instead of complex fight choreography of the first one. Why did they kill off Merlin? Couldn't he just stand there until everything is done and then have someone safely help him out.
I think the first movie is objectively better, and believe me, I have PROBLEMS with the second movie, but in general, I had a fun time with the Golden Circle. Where as the original is a genuinely a great film, second entry is more like a fun guilty pleasure of a popcorn flick.
Some really enjoyable scenes in this but man it is way too fucking long. There also really wasnt much effort to create memorable baddies like blade feet woman.
Some really enjoyable scenes in this but man it is way too fucking long. There also really wasnt much effort to create memorable baddies like blade feet woman.
Yeah, seems they wanted Charlie to be that role in this one, but while she was slick and powerful, Charlie felt like an overpowered henchman.
Also agreed on too long. They needed to cut Firth and the love story. Moore was excellent but she didn't really have a lot to do.
Overall, felt like this movie wanted to actually be a spy movie instead of a send-up of one like the first one, and it just wasn't a great one. I had fun with it, but if there's a third installment and they don't tighten it up and not just try and ape what made the first one great, I'll probably tap out.
Seems like it but it seemed like a really really weird way to introduce a guy. Like
'heres a guy! he might be awesome'
guy is not in rest of movie.
why should i care if guy is in part 3 other than 'that's a famous actor!' ?
All it left me doing is puzzling out why he was there at all, like did they just pay him almost no money with a promise for a starring role in 3? It just made me think about movie budgets because the whole 'hey look its channing tatum' followed by channing tatum not being in the movie was so jarring.
I liked the movie and it was fun, but basically the Americans were not in the movie.
It's just that the first Kingsman kinda blew away my expectations, and this is more of the same. Sometimes just the same. Sometimes actually less. Feels like they didn't cook up enough novel ideas for a sequel, they even had to drop hints for a third movie, for some reason.
Golden Circle just didn't really up the ante in any way, but it's still a good time with lots of expertly executed action sequences.
I agree. This is actually sorta basically what I wrote in my review, only I thought it was amped up in terms of ideas, and sometimes those "new ideas", weren't used as good as they could have, otherwise I couldn't complain too much.
First film was the first time I left a Matthew Vaughn feeling let down. It was just a little too ugly, mean and vacuous with shit characters and a nonsense plot. I had decided to skip this one but saw a preview during It that piqued a friend's interest so checked it out tonight. Probably had more fun with this one honestly, the actiony bits were the strong suit of the first one so they did more of those and I dug that. Casting for the Statesman was fun, wish they had of given Bridges something to do. Loved the behaviour of the President. And all the swirling and swirling. The writing hasn't gotten better and I'd honestly hope Vaughn gets away from this franchise and does something different because these aren't good movies and I think he can do better.
These movies have this weird tone or something I haven't been able to completely articulate. Something's just off.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is one of the most indulgent and bloated films in recent memory. There is no reason for this to be longer than two hours, and an argument can be made that a film like this best at hitting the 100-minute mark. No one in their right mind has the patience for a two-and-a-half-hour-long action-comedy in the vein of Kingsman. The plot is overly complicated and bloated, while also refusing to spend anytime on character development, instead moving from plot point to plot point without ever stopping to take a breath.
This is also a deeply personal blockbuster. The politics of this film are complex in their ugliness and clearly come from a place of confused frustration. The disappointment arises from Vaughn's previous works, which was usually smart about how it played with race and gender politics. Here, it's clear Vaughn actually cares for very little who aren't as white, masculine, and well-mannered as his leads. There is literally a scene
where two men fight over who is a better agent than the other, where the winner is whoever coerces a clearly under-the-influence woman into having sex with them. No coincidence that the winner of the two men is the white one. But hey, if the hero asks for consent from his girlfriend to have sex with another woman, that makes it okay, right? (Ignore that she said no, of course!)
This along with the Fox News cameos are downright irresponsible, especially considering how smart the first film tackles classist undertones into today's political landscape. Put these with the main female villain who's grossly underwritten despite having one of the best working actresses play her,
the Hispanic hero who ends up constantly being the real villain of the movie,
and the Republican president who isn't Donald Trump despite the first film being happy to make Obama evil and kill him on screen, and what do you get? Nothing good.
However, if you are able to turn off your brain, you'll probably have a good time, despite thinking it's overlong. Technically, the film is very well-made, and Egerton is still a charming lead. Mark Strong steals the show again, and even with her limited screentime, Julianne Moore is a lot of fun. The action typically astounds with its cartoony aspects, although the lack of any grounding in reality kinda makes it feel like a step down. If you can ignore the clearly awful political content of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, maybe you'll find a typical overlong blockbuster sequel that ignores a lot of what made the first film great, but still worth seeing. However, if you can't, like me, you'll regret ever spending on your money on it the first place. Stop this franchise right now.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is one of the most indulgent and bloated films in recent memory. There is no reason for this to be longer than two hours, and an argument can be made that a film like this best at hitting the 100-minute mark. No one in their right mind has the patience for a two-and-a-half-hour-long action-comedy in the vein of Kingsman. The plot is overly complicated and bloated, while also refusing to spend anytime on character development, instead moving from plot point to plot point without ever stopping to take a breath.
I loved the first but Golden Circle is what the cinema experience is about for me : Fun characters, fun moments, crazy action.... Just pure joy, a lot of fun.
Kingsman is now one of my favorite franchises and I eagerly wait for more.
Probably one of my favorite actresses right now, I loved her in the first Kingsman and Star Trek: Beyond, and I also liked her part in Atomic Blonde this year. Haven't seen The Mummy yet though.
I think one of my disappointments with this movie was in regards to the villain, I still enjoyed Julianne Moore's character, but Samuel L. Jackson was just such a good charming villain in the first one for me.
Probably one of my favorite actresses right now, I loved her in the first Kingsman and Star Trek: Beyond, and I also liked her part in Atomic Blonde this year. Haven't seen The Mummy yet though.
I think one of my disappointments with this movie was in regards to the villain, I still enjoyed Julianne Moore's character, but Samuel L. Jackson was just such a good charming villain in the first one for me.
Yeah, it's such a waste of Moore, especially since they could've done so much more. Especially since she's more of a cartoon villain than what Sam Jackson's character was lampooning in the first. It feels like they're playing it all straight this time and it's super silly.
The last act was... uh... ok? A lot of suspension of disbelief than usual with the action scene. The henchmen are dumb as fuck. But suspension of disbelief is the name of the game, I can't quite make an argument against the movie when I should be able to.
The last act was... uh... ok? A lot of suspension of disbelief than usual with the action scene. The henchmen are dumb as fuck. But suspension of disbelief is the name of the game, I can't quite make an argument against the movie when I should be able to.
Honestly, aside from the action-packed opening, the finale from Take Me Home, Country Road beginning to hamburger patty end was probably the most enjoyable part of the movie for me. It just went full stupid and I said Fuck it: I'm watching Colin fucking Firth run away from Robot Dogs named after an Elton John song and it's entertaining for simply being ridiculous.
Uh yeah, this is the most comic book comic book movie I've ever seen. Felt like a literal graphic novel I might have read in Borders in 2008 on the screen with no changes.
Honestly, aside from the action-packed opening, the finale from Take Me Home, Country Road beginning to hamburger patty end was probably the most enjoyable part of the movie for me. It just went full stupid and I said Fuck it: I'm watching Colin fucking Firth run away from Robot Dogs named after an Elton John song and it's entertaining for simply being ridiculous.
That section is my favourite part too. I loved how the pseudo-one-take action scene this time was a two-on-one battle. It did a good job differentiating it from the church scene while still offering that same type of excitement. I'm a big fan of cheesy 80s music too, so I had the biggest smile on my face when I recognized "Word Up". The soundtrack to that section as a whole is fantastic (Take Me Home, Country Roads; Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting; and country Word Up).
This is also a deeply personal blockbuster. The politics of this film are complex in their ugliness and clearly come from a place of confused frustration. The disappointment arises from Vaughn's previous works, which was usually smart about how it played with race and gender politics. Here, it's clear Vaughn actually cares for very little who aren't as white, masculine, and well-mannered as his leads. There is literally a scene
where two men fight over who is a better agent than the other, where the winner is whoever coerces a clearly under-the-influence woman into having sex with them. No coincidence that the winner of the two men is the white one. But hey, if the hero asks for consent from his girlfriend to have sex with another woman, that makes it okay, right? (Ignore that she said no, of course!)
This along with the Fox News cameos are downright irresponsible, especially considering how smart the first film tackles classist undertones into today's political landscape. Put these with the main female villain who's grossly underwritten despite having one of the best working actresses play her,
the Hispanic hero who ends up constantly being the real villain of the movie,
and the Republican president who isn't Donald Trump despite the first film being happy to make Obama evil and kill him on screen, and what do you get? Nothing good.
First off, there is nothing, apart from his actor being hispanic, to suggest that Whiskey is hispanic. At no point does he ever do anything that would indicate his character is hispanic. His real name is even Jack Daniels for crying out loud, and Pascal's make-up and accent just makes him look stereotypically American. When I first saw the trailer, I had no idea he was being played by Pascal until I looked at the cast list (I thought he was honestly another actor). I honestly think Whiskey was written the way he was long before Pascal was cast, without any idea of who would be playing him, since Pascal was playing way again type in that role (An actor who's most recognizable from playing hispanic characters (Pena from Narcos) or characters from fantasy-Spain (Oberyn Martell). He was practically unrecognizable as Whiskey (which is a compliment to Pedro and his acting talent; he completely disappeared into that role and became the character so much that I completely forgot he was Oberyn. That's the mark of a great actor.)
As well, the spy competition has nothing to do with race. The closest thing it has to do with on that front is the British vs. American rivalry, and even then, it's more about young vs. old, since Whiskey doesn't know what Tinder is, and Eggsy succeeds with his knowledge of new-age Burning-Man hippee bullshit (like Spirit Animals). And considering the film is distributed by 20th Century Fox, I think you might be reading too much into the Fox News cameos. Maybe there should be another version of Hanlon's Razor which should say "Never assume something to be political when it can be explained by trying to promote one of your company's brands".
The president of the film is also Not-Trump in the same way the one in the first was Not-Obama, and who, since the film deals with The War on Drugs, has the anti-drug viewpoints of the Republicans. The movie was also written way before he was elected, so it's sort of crazy that they manage to get so much right back in early 2016 considering that now, the U.S. Attorney General is planning on trying to stamp out legal marijuana in the states that have approved it.
I'm not an defender of the movie that ignores all its flaws; I agree with you that Poppy was underwritten, but so were a lot of other characters (*cough*Tequilawhoappearsforlike5minutes*cough*), and several subplots weren't fleshed out as well as they could have been. I liked the movie, but it did have issues, and wasn't as good as the first. It's why I'm hoping that the 4-hour original cut is released, since I think that fleshing out those plots could make the material contained in them more interesting, and improve the film.
and the Republican president who isn't Donald Trump despite the first film being happy to make Obama evil and kill him on screen, and what do you get? Nothing good.
The film was written and filmed before Trump was even elected. Why would the president be him? Nobody was even expecting him to win at that point. Vaughn also addressed the Obama thing.
First off, there is nothing, apart from his actor being hispanic, to suggest that Whiskey is hispanic. At no point does he ever do anything that would indicate his character is hispanic. His real name is even Jack Daniels for crying out loud, and Pascal's make-up and accent just makes him look stereotypically American. When I first saw the trailer, I had no idea he was being played by Pascal until I looked at the cast list (I thought he was honestly another actor). I honestly think Whiskey was written the way he was long before Pascal was cast, without any idea of who would be playing him, since Pascal was playing way again type in that role (An actor who's most recognizable from playing hispanic characters (Pena from Narcos) or characters from fantasy-Spain (Oberyn Martell). He was practically unrecognizable as Whiskey (which is a compliment to Pedro and his acting talent; he completely disappeared into that role and became the character so much that I completely forgot he was Oberyn. That's the mark of a great actor.)
Sorry, but if you're being played by a Hispanic actor, unless the character explicitly states "I'm white!" it's a Hispanic character. That's how representation works. Just because you did not know he was Hispanic does not make him not Hispanic. As for the character, to me it's pretty clear it was supposed to be Tatum before his schedule took him out of the filming for a huge chunk. I think they split the character in two then, removing Tatum from the story quickly, but not thinking at all at how underdeveloped Pascal's character was.
As well, the spy competition has nothing to do with race. The closest thing it has to do with on that front is the British vs. American rivalry, and even then, it's more about young vs. old, since Whiskey doesn't know what Tinder is, and Eggsy succeeds with his knowledge of new-age Burning-Man hippee bullshit (like Spirit Animals).
I can concede this point to you since the issue with that scene isn't the racial context (although there is a side effect there); it's how the film treats the women involved within. That scene is easily the most obvious time that the misogyny is displayed, but it's there throughout the film, and not in the clever parody way the first film plays around with Bond girl tropes.
[qupte]And considering the film is distributed by 20th Century Fox, I think you might be reading too much into the Fox News cameos. Maybe there should be another version of Hanlon's Razor which should say "Never assume something to be political when it can be explained by trying to promote one of your company's brands".[/quote]
This is a political franchise. The first Kingsman is very explicit with its thoughts of classism and making the governments of the world complicit in the evil plot. The fact that Fox News is used in this film, when it's not in the first film, is an issue. I don't care about it's distribution, Vaughn can easily make his own news station for the world of Kingsman, and tell Fox to fuck off. He clearly has control over a ton of other stuff in this film; making a fictional network would not have made Fox pause.
The president of the film is also Not-Trump in the same way the one in the first was Not-Obama, and who, since the film deals with The War on Drugs, has the anti-drug viewpoints of the Republicans. The movie was also written way before he was elected, so it's sort of crazy that they manage to get so much right back in early 2016 considering that now, the U.S. Attorney General is planning on trying to stamp out legal marijuana in the states that have approved it.
That "Not Obama" is such bullshit. He looks exactly like Obama and his one line is clearly an Obama impression. Yes, he is not credited as President Obama but it's obvious it's meant to be a stand-in. And that's fine, it's a work of fiction. What's not fine is this film completely ignoring that and going with its own generic Republican president. Make him an outsider from politics. Make him outspoken. Make it obvious people don't trust him. This was shooting last May, when it was obvious Trump was the candidate for president. If you want to skewer Republicans, just make it more of a Trump surrogate than generic southern Republican. Especially after you literally blew up Obama in the last movie.
It's why I'm hoping that the 4-hour original cut is released, since I think that fleshing out those plots could make the material contained in them more interesting, and improve the film.
Oh god, a four-hour-cut of this sounds horrific to me, lol. I can respect your desire to watch that, especially since it'd probably answer a lot of questions I have with the subplots. However, the answer for a stronger movie here comes from cutting in my opinion, not adding.
Cut Poppy's intro with the random henchman, cut the dinner with Eggsy's friends, cut the half-assed Halle Berry subplot and you begin to making this movie watchable.
You can cut more too I believe, but I don't wanna get into it.
(To be clear though, I respect and am glad you liked the movie. I wish I did. I didn't go into this movie hoping for it to suck. I really like the first movie. It just didn't work for me at all.)
The film was written and filmed before Trump was even elected. Why would the president be him? Nobody was even expecting him to win at that point. Vaughn also addressed the Obama thing.
You know what's another answer for this. Make Biden the president. Obama died in the last one, making there suddenly be a Republican president when I presume this is set in 2015 makes less sense. Either put a Trump-like character in the movie for the president or put Joe Biden there even though you'd have to rewrite the entire movie. I definitely think the former would work better.
You know what's another answer for this. Make Biden the president. Obama died in the last one, making there suddenly be a Republican president when I presume this is set in 2015 makes less sense. Either put a Trump-like character in the movie for the president or put Joe Biden there even though you'd have to rewrite the entire movie. I definitely think the former would work better.
There is a Trump-like character in the movie. He just doesn't look exactly like Trump because he wasn't the president at the time. This was written when it was still any Republican's game.
Nobody is thinking about the presidential status as hard as you. he's obviously generic fuck drugs politician.
There is a Trump-like character in the movie. He just doesn't look exactly like Trump because he wasn't the president at the time. This was written when it was still any Republican's game.
Nobody is thinking about the presidential status as hard as you. he's obviously generic fuck drugs politician.
I think what I can't seem to reconcile in my mind is that if this were the third movie in the franchise, and took place 5 years after the events of the first movie, I'd enjoy it a lot more.
Ranging from Eggsy
marrying Tilde after just one year of dating
, Roxy and new Arthur
dying before the first act even finishes
, Merlin's
gracious exit singing John Denver (which I think hurt more than Colin Firth, knowing he definitely won't be back, also wanted to see him flirt more with his counterpart in Halle Barry
. Plus, with more time you can give Poppy more buildup, giving her reason to hate the Kingsman after recruiting the guy with robot arm
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but I feel there needed to be a movie between it and the first movie. But unless they retcon in the BluRay release I know I won't be satisfied and I'm worried they're in an extremely tight corner they can't manoeuvre much around in for the next movie.
The only thing that really irked me that came off creepy/sexist was the whole seduction thing
having to fingerbang the target.
Completely ignoring the other implications, it just seems like such an impractical gadget. You can only use this GPS tracker on women if you're not gonna stick your finger up the target's nose, and I find it hard to think that Halle Barry, who played Catwoman in another life, would actively sanction the R&D of this device.
This is also a deeply personal blockbuster. The politics of this film are complex in their ugliness and clearly come from a place of confused frustration. The disappointment arises from Vaughn's previous works, which was usually smart about how it played with race and gender politics. Here, it's clear Vaughn actually cares for very little who aren't as white, masculine, and well-mannered as his leads. There is literally a scene
where two men fight over who is a better agent than the other, where the winner is whoever coerces a clearly under-the-influence woman into having sex with them. No coincidence that the winner of the two men is the white one. But hey, if the hero asks for consent from his girlfriend to have sex with another woman, that makes it okay, right? (Ignore that she said no, of course!)
This along with the Fox News cameos are downright irresponsible, especially considering how smart the first film tackles classist undertones into today's political landscape. Put these with the main female villain who's grossly underwritten despite having one of the best working actresses play her,
the Hispanic hero who ends up constantly being the real villain of the movie,
and the Republican president who isn't Donald Trump despite the first film being happy to make Obama evil and kill him on screen, and what do you get? Nothing good.
I didn't see the first one, I still enjoyed it, it is pretty self contained I thought. But probably not as much as the person I was with who saw the first one since you don't get the background of Taron Egerton and Colin Firth's characters and not on the origin of the Kingsman. It made me want to see the first movie.
Kingsman is basically James Bond but turned on its head. The story is basic enough just to setup the action scenes which is what the director is best at. Yea it was little long but watching it with breaks in between it didn't feel long.
This movie had no idea what to do with its characters. Just a complete mess. Not on the level of something like Suicide Squad, but edging pretty close. It almost felt like they made this movie up as they went along because there are so many things that don't have a proper buildup OR go absolutely nowhere. Some good fights, costume and set design was also pretty nice. But the script...woof.
Loved the first film, but now I don't really care if they make another one.
This was my favorite movie of the year. People said it got too goofy or over the top, but that's what I loved about it. I don't understand how you can like the first one but not enjoy this one, though I could see you not liking either.
Anyways, thanks for the bump, need to pick this up on Bluray.
Exactly Pejo : This is what big cinema screens are made for, in my opinion; Humor, heart, action, drama, sadness... this movie has it all.
I despatched this tonight with my mom and I can't wait to watch it several more times this week. After rescuing my dog costing a fortune recently my mom bought the steelbooks for me. I'm with this franchise until the end, absolutely incredible movies.
Admittedly Breaking Bads perfection has ruined some things for me : Why the fuck did Eggsy open the cure at the mountain to begin? BB is so flawless in every way that out of character shit like this does irk me a bit. If it was in the metal contained and broke it's still be useable.
This movie had no idea what to do with its characters. Just a complete mess. Not on the level of something like Suicide Squad, but edging pretty close. It almost felt like they made this movie up as they went along because there are so many things that don't have a proper buildup OR go absolutely nowhere. Some good fights, costume and set design was also pretty nice. But the script...woof.
Loved the first film, but now I don't really care if they make another one.
Explain?
The first scene with the had guy set up to the final fight, the bad guy and the good guy turned bad had real motives, even the celebrity cameo from the start had a magical payoff.
Suicide Squad was incoherent and messy by comparison. Garbage, and not the fun mind because I enjoy almost anything. I would have said 'I can enjoy anything' before watching Squad and laughing the first death.
I'd love to here actual critic (No offense).
Admittedly I fell in love with the first (weed enhanced that church scene to interstellar levels) and this coming out on my birthday was pure fun: I didn't enjoy it as much as the first but it was still a blast.
